Other news

In collaboration with the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the Future Movement Women’s Sector organized last Saturday a workshop on advocacy and the participation of women in political parties. Targeting the central sector’s committees officers from all across Lebanon, the workshop stressed the role of a party in promoting a more effective engagement of women by reestablishing their rights in being part of the decision making process. Participants were divided into working groups, who were asked to draw their vision of advocacy to be used in campaigns related to the rights of women and the need to promote awareness and societal and partisan mobilization programs to pressure for change in the prevailing legal and social systems. Participants also discussed proposals for anti-violence and discrimination campaigns and ways to raise awareness on the problem and influence decision makers on the one hand, and the community on the other to this effect.

Al Mustaqbal, November 1, 2015

 

The National Commission for Women’s Affairs (NCW) in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched yesterday the annual report for the year 2013 for implementing the action plan of the National Strategy for Women in Lebanon (2011-2021). Sossi Bouladian, from NCLW, said the report has been prepared jointly with UNFPA and with the collaborative effort of the relevant official departments and some 40 civil society organizations working with women. The latter, it should be noted have provided NCLW with the input on the various projects and programs carried out during 2013 across 12 sectors stipulated in the said strategy http://lkdg.org/ar/node/7814. “The aim of the implementation plan is to convert goals into feasible and operational programs and interventions in line with performance indicators that measure the anticipated progress in women’s conditions,” Bouladian said. The annual report reflected the extent of application of the plan and the response of the civil society and government institutions in realizing the key objectives calling for the end of all forms of discrimination against women. The report has also shown that while the implementation process is on the right track, however, it is impeded by the limited resources and the absence of a political will. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, October 30, 2015)

 

The Future Movement’s Women Sector in the West Bekaa and Rashaya, in cooperation with SAWA for Development and Aid Association, Hayya Bina Initiative and the Rassemblement Democratique des Femmes Libanaises, organized yesterday a seminar on the ‘Lebanese woman and nationality’ to promote awareness for their rights, namely their right to grant nationality to their children.  Stressing the legal aspect, Roula Zaaiter from RDFL, explained  the rationale behind the Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Lebanon’s reservations on specific articles related to nationality and personal status law. 

In the same vein, the Future Women Sector- Beirut Coordination Committee held yesterday a talk on the ‘role of women in political life’ at the Movement’s premises in Ashrafieh. The Future Bloc member, MP Serge Sarkissian, noted that the presence of women in the Parliament is “inadequate so as to partake in decision making”, adding that it is “possible to replace the women’s quota with another formula that ensures more effective participation”. He urged women to engage in political work bravely and confidently in order to strengthen their presence and participation in the national political decision making.” Meanwhile, Nadine Jaroudi, coordinator of Beirut Future Women Sector, said Lebanese women have proved the usefulness of their contribution to all areas of work, yet and despite all impeding obstacles, they are still seeking to achieve greater success through their participation in political and partisan activity.” (Al Mustaqbal, October 27, 2015)

 

MP Bahia Hariri said that the Arab woman presently faces the challenge of restoring the unity to families, supporting the national and social backbone of communities and promoting stability as the catalyst for progress, change or influence of a nation. Hariri was speaking yesterday during the opening of the fifth Arab Conference yesterday at Holiday Inn hotel organized jointly by the ‘Makers of Change, Development and Advancement’ and the ‘Center for Innovative Thought for Development’.  For her part, the head of the Conference’s Preparatory Committee, Dr. Adab Saoud, pointed out to the purpose of the meeting which is to highlight the role of the Arab woman in positively changing their societies. Likewise, the Makers of Change CEO, Dr. Mohamed Khalifeh, hailed the important role of government and private institutions in promoting, empowering and strengthening the role of women through a package of programs and activities. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, October 23, 2015) 

 

The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering  in collaboration with Ufuk Akkar Association held last Thursday at Halba’s a seminar on women’s quota in the presence of Akkar community leaders at Halba’s municipal library. The event comes as part of the civil mobilization and advocacy for electoral reform program implemented in partnership with a number of organizations, namely: The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, Samir Kassir Foundation, the Lebanese Transparency Association, the Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union, Maharat Foundation and the Independent Resources and Information Services IRIS. The RWG head, Iman Sayyid, opened the meeting noting the importance of the role of women and the need to strengthen it in all aspects of public life to the end of the advancement of society as a whole. For her part, Nariman Shamaa, coordinator of the above electoral reform program in the North, underlined the need to promote women’s political participation through the ‘quota’ system. The main parts of the meeting focused on defining quota, its patterns and the rationale of its adoption, shedding light on women’s present participation in public affairs and identifying the obstacles while drawing appropriate solutions to this issue. (L’Orient Le Jour, October 21, 2015)

 

Dar Al Amal Association and Diakonia Lebanon organized yesterday a seminar at the Editors’ Union in Beirut, devoted for the media on how to promote its role in mobilizing and rallying the public opinion to help reintegrate women inmates in their communities after serving their prison terms. Following words by the Lebanese Editors’ Union Chief, Elias Aoun, Dar Al Amal’s Director, Huda Kara and Diakonia’s Office Director in Lebanon, Rodolf Jebrayel, a graphic presentation was screened depicting the conditions of women detainees in Lebanese jails and the relevant rehabilitation programs implemented by Dar Al Amal association to this end. The officer of the prison branch, Commander Ghassan Uthman briefed the participants on related legislation, while Bassem Ahmad talked about the role of civil society in facilitating the reintegration process. To close the seminar, three inmates who have been released lately from jail elaborated on their daily suffering to this effect. (Al Mustaqbal, October 21, 2015)

 

Teymour Joumblat placed the commemorative first stone of the “village Wadi Taym” project upon the invitation of the Wadi Taym association.  The project will be erected on a land offered to residents of the area by his father Walid Jumblat.  The area is in the vicinity of Rashaya, in between the municipalities of Mhaydsseh, Kawkaba, Daher el Ahmar, Rafid and Akabeh.  Mhaydsseh municipality organized for this occasion a celebration at the local stadium.  The Minister of Health, Wael Abou Faour, spoke at the event and noted that the project seeks to provide decent living opportunities to young people from the area.  The Municipal head, Marwan Sharrouf, noted that the project will help those with limited income to realize their dreams.  Six building will be erected during a first phase.  Each building will include 9 flats and will secure living spaces for 45 families. (Al Mustakbal and As Safir, 12 October 2015)

 

The Minister of Labor, Sejaan Azzi, presided yesterday over the meeting of the national steering committee with the presence of the ILO, CSOs and the syndicate of employment offices.  The meeting discussed the situation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon.  Azzi reiterated his humanitarian and social concerns in relation to migrant women domestic workers and the need for their protection.  He also insisted that implementing anti-trafficking laws would require a functioning state which is not the case of Lebanon.  Azzi reminded international organisations and local CSOs to present an alternative to the sponsorship (kafala) system and noted that there is a mushrooming of employment offices many of which are ghost structures.  Azzi added that he asked the state council to present a decree to regulate the work of employment offices. (Al Mustakbal, 13 October 2015)

 

The President of the Order of Engineers in Beirut, Khaled Shehab, criticized the phenomenon of mushrooming of engineering schools that “replicate programs of reputable foreign universities and colleges and deliver indefinite numbers of graduates”. Shehab’s statement came during the gala dinner in honor of the media to mark the launch of the Archmarathon Award for Arab and Mediterranean countries which was organized in Beirut on October 8-10. He clarified that such and unchecked trend has negative impact on the quality of education. “These institutions contribute to increasing the numbers of unqualified graduates and therefore undermine the value of the local engineering diploma widely acknowledged for its adeptness in challenging the world’s most impressive engineering projects”. Shehab also pointed out to the presence of some 60 thousand members in the Federation of Lebanese Engineers, which combines both the Orders of Beirut and Tripoli. “This number of graduates is not exceptional high if only members could find prospects of work in the local, Arab and international job markets,” Shehab said, adding that 3000 graduates are in excess every year, while there is a shortage in other related specialisations. This he noted, makes the Lebanese economy a hostage to foreign, mostly unskilled, workforce, and encourages the flight of educated youth. (An Nahar, September 30, 2015)

 

Featuring the conditions of Syrian refugee women in Lebanon, the Daily Star newspaper reported an exceptional rise in domestic violence against these women by their distressed and violent husbands who lost their traditional role as providers for their families. In its interviews with a number of battered wives, Noora, a mother of three, admitted to being repeatedly beaten by her husband even before their displacement, pointing that the situation has aggravated here in Lebanon when the father started maltreating his children. Noura said she couldn't escape because it is difficult to renew her residency papers, noting that according to the Lebanese Law, the refugee wife cannot independently file for renewal of residency unless her spouse does that first. “When I had to go to Syria, I could not return to Lebanon as a result of the General Security’s newly introduced restrictions regarding the entry of Syrian nationals, so I had to enter illegally,” she grieved. This exacerbated the situation further and now she cannot report any abuse or ill-treatment against her in view of her illegal condition. In the same vein, the Daily Star spoke to some organizations concerned with displaced Syrians, like Caritas, which sponsored Noura. On this, social worker Maya Bu Dagher explained that the organization helps battered women refugees to get divorce or immigrate to other countries if they wanted. (Daily Star, October 2, 2015)