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In collaboration with the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (LDWG), the Al Fikr wal Hayat Association organized last Saturday a seminar on ‘women quota and promotion of women’s political participation in Be7hayn, Minyyeh. The event was part of a project implemented by LWDG and a number of partner organizations, namely the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, Samir Kassir Foundation, the Lebanese Transparency Association, the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union and Maharat Foundation. Nariman Sham2aa, the Program’s Coordinator for the North, said that the seminar is part of a series of activities to be followed by an interactive theatre and two central sessions in Beirut aimed at developing unified national plans to advocate the endorsement of women’s quota as a provisional measure in support of women’s participation in decision making.

For its part, the Future Movement Women’s Sector is pursuing its advocacy and lobbying workshops targeting the Sector’s women from the various regions and implemented in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Foundation. One of these workshops took place last Saturday in Beirut, during which proposals for launching social and political leadership campaigns to fight violence against women and early marriage were discussed as well as ways for strengthening women’s participation in political life and for ending discrimination against women. (Al Mustaqbal, October 4, 2015)

 

Lubnayiyoon Association launched last Tuesday a national platform to the political role of women in the Lebanese parties in the presence of the President of the Woman and Child Committee MP Gilbert Zuwayn and representatives of women organizations and journalists. On the occasion, Lubnayiyoon, President Nadine Daher pointed out that the women in politics theme was prompted not only “by our belief in the principles of democracy and equality which are violated in many aspects, but also by our conviction that women who are absent from the political seen have the capacity to bring about a positive impact needed to end the vicious circle.” For her part, the Kataeb Party Political Bureau member, Dr. Mira Wakim, urged the Lebanese parties to act as pressure groups to change the status quo and genuinely work to realize a balanced regional development and administrative divisions that take into consideration societal integration. Similarly, the Hezbollah Women Committees officer, Khadigeh Saloom, stressed the need to address the political presence of women as a social question that weigh in the attitude and the intellectual underpinnings of the various partisan factions in the country. Lastly, the Progressive Socialist Party Women Commissioner, Wafa Abed, noted that women’s rights are being denied or ignored in marriage, education, work, court, politics and state jobs. (An Nahar, October 1, 2015)

 

Riyak’s airbase in Beqaa held yesterday the graduation ceremony of military women who completed a crash course in raiding under the supervision of the Second Intervention Force Regiment. The graduates carried out a combat exercise on raiding a number of buildings and directing a painful blow to a terrorist group hiding inside them. The women soldiers also conducted a series of landing, air drops, and use of explosive operations. (Al Mustaqbal, September 22, 2015)

 

The Development and Improvement Association in cooperation with the Municipality of Khraybet Jundi organized last week its first recycling art exhibition in Akkar in the presence of the Future Movement’s General Coordinator for Akkar-Drayb and the town’s mayor, Khaled Taha. Mohamad al Jundi, the Association’s head, emphasized that the “initiative reflects our distressing reality.” “We distributed baskets on households, sorted the garbage and turned it into artistic objects in a modest attempt to improve our environment.” Similarly, Fatmeh al Ahmad, also from the Association, pointed out that the project began two weeks ago where the participating youth were divided into working groups for coloring glass and tires and melting candles to cast them in glass containers. Wool and wood were also used among other materials. Taha for his part applauded the efforts to recycle household waste into craftwork, and called on all other municipalities to follow suit. (Al Mustaqbal, September 21, 2015)

 

The Future Movement Women’s Sector organized last Saturday a workshop in Beirut under the heading of ‘Advocacy and Lobbying’ that targeted women members from all parts of the country . The event held in the presence of the General Coordinator, Afifeh Sayyed, comes as part of a series of events implemented by the Women’s Sector in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation. In this respect, the Future project coordinator, Tala Itani, pointed out that the workshop will be followed by a series of training sessions addressing the topic of women empowerment across all levels. Participants were divided into working groups and each group was asked to draw its vision of the required advocacy plan to be adopted in relevant campaigns promoting women’s rights, as well as the importance of developing awareness- raising and societal mobilization to pressure change in prevalent social and legal norms. Other discussions tackled societal and partisan advocacy campaigns to fight violence against women and early marriage and strengthen women’s participation in political life, as well as ending all forms of discrimination towards achieving equality. The workshop also focused on ways to increase awareness and pressure decision makers as well as society in order to achieve the campaigning objectives. (Al Mustaqbal, September 12, 2015)

 

In a feature published last Saturday , L’Orient Le Jour shed light on the notable role of women in the ongoing protests in Beirut against corruption through interviewing a number of women activists participating in the civil campaigns. One film director and actress in ‘You Stink’ campaign, Farah El Shaer told the newspaper that she is active on different levels, including organization and decision making, pointing that women in her country are generally marginalized because of discriminatory laws, particularly those that concern protection at home and at work. She noted that while Lebanese women are virtually absent from the political life, they are largely present as civil campaigners and have clearly spelled out their demands. Dani Jouni, another activist from ‘Bidna N7hasseb’ campaign emphasised that men and women are equally playing their roles within the civil movement. (Daily Star, September 12, 2015)

 

MP Bahiya Hariri met last Saturday in Beirut a delegation of the preparatory committee of the fifth Arab Conference ‘the Arab woman – a force to lead change’. The event organized by ‘Changemakers for Development and Advancement’ is scheduled to be held this coming October in Lebanon. The CommitteePresident and advisor for the development of organizations and communities, Mohamad Khalifeh, discussed with Hariri the present conditions of women and development in the Arab countries and invited the Lebanese MP to attend the conference. (Al Mustaqbal, September 13, 2015)

 

The Melkite Catholic Church in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs Center of Comprehensive Development Services in Tyre, organized last Sunday a graduation ceremony for participants in women’s hairdressing courses. The event was held at Saint Thomas Church Hall under the auspices of the President of the Federation of Municipalities of Tyre Caza, Abdel Mounim Husseini. On the occasion, Bishop Michael Abras noted that such training workshops help the locals “upgrade their businesses and strengthen their self-reliance so as to improve their livings standards and reduce unemployment to a certain extent.” For his part, the head of Tyre Social Affairs Center, Ghassan Abu Jahja, pointed out that these training courses strengthen cooperation and integration among communities, particularly at times of instability, and contribute to stimulating the local economy. (Al Mustaqbal, September 14, 2015)

 

The Lebanese Council of Women )LCW( held yesterday a press conference at its Sanayeh premises in Beirut, in the presence of the leading women figure Linda Matar and EU representative, as well as representatives of women associations. During the conference, LCW president Jamal Hermes Gabreel criticized the attitude of the ruling elite which have expressed its support to the on-going civil and popular movement. She recalled the attitudes of political leaders who in the past announced their support to women’s campaigns for equal rights such in the case of reforming the nationality law. But when push comes to shove, she added, they turned their back on women’s demand. “We, the women of Lebanon, warn you of any attempt to suppress the protests, because you will be the principle looser,” she added. (An Nahar, September 11, 2015)

 

Al Hayat daily covered in its issue of yesterday, a program presented by a Swedish-Palestinian woman, on SVT TV Group in Sweden, which focused on the phenomenon of plastic surgery common among Lebanese women. The program’s anchor Gina Dirawi headed to Beirut to interviewplastic surgeon Doctor Hratch Zaghbazarian who linked the phenomenon people’s interpretation of beauty. Dr a Zaghbazarian added that contrary to the common perceptions of people in the West, “people here in Lebanon consider face wrinkles as a negative indicator of aging”, adding that in order to be “loved and accepted by others, one strives to always look young and wrinkle-free”. Dirawi also pointed out to special banking loans for plastic surgery that encourage women to undertake such operations, and noted additional social factors that promoted this phenomenon, particularly emulation and a deeply-rooted desire of Middle Eastern women to satisfy their partners. (Al Hayat, September 10, 2015)