Other news

Al Diyar published a feature which ranked the Lebanese Bank for Commerce as the first bank in Lebanon and the Middle East to aim at becoming a financial and banking reference for women. The newspaper reported that BLC was the first bank to join the Global Banking Alliance for Women (GBA) and to sign the agreement issued by the United Nations, UN Women and UN Global Impact. This showcases the bank’s commitment to support and empower women and enhance their role and in their capacity as a strategic partner representing half the society. BLC, it will be recalled, has kicked off a project termed “We-Initiative” three years ago under the banner of empowering women. This initiative provides women with the support they need to enhance their financial autonomy and ultimately promote the concept of equal opportunity between men and women. In this respect, CEO of BLC, Maurice Sahnawi, stressed the vital role of women in the economy and the need to equip them with the right tools that help build their capacities and therefore, contribute to their advancement in the world of business, finance and entrepreneurships. In a practical step, BLC launched a new website dedicated to women and characterized by its independent content which acts as a platform for social communication and exchange of ideas and experiences between women: http://we-initiative.com/ . The website also offers suggestions for practical solutions to various professional problems which women face, as well as showcases the experience of business women. The bank also organises various events to honor pioneer women such as granting, under the supervision of an independent jury, an annual banking award for the best project run by a women in Lebanon. (Al Diyar, 27 February, 2015)

In cooperation with Save the Children and under the patronage of Minister of Social Affairs, Rashid Derbas, the Resource Center for Gender Equality, ABAAD, yesterday launched a handbook on engaging men in parenting roles. The booklet, edited by Anita Nassar, is divided into three sections. The first section targets social workers in the health care sector while the second targets fathers and includes guidelines, instructions and proposed activities for prenatal medical visits, family planning, children’s rights and needs and on ways for constructive fatherhood. The third section covers international experiences on the subject and proposes ways of involving the local community in promoting the concept of positive fatherhood. According to ABAAD Gender Program Manager, Rola Masri, the handbook seeks to break the cultural and social patterns by persuading men of their role within the family without infringing on the issue of manhood and masculinity. Similarly, Save the Children Director in Lebanon, Ayan Rodgers, noted that owing to women’s increasing role in the economy, societies are witnessing a change in family roles. “Positive fatherhood helps in the healthy upbringing of children and supports them to become more capable of taking the right decisions and follow up their education, as well as overcome problems of adolescence and face life challenges,” he said. To this end, ABAAD and Save the Children Lebanon will be involving all stakeholders and will conduct trainings of local and international partner organizations operating in the country on how to use the handbook and engage with parents in order to boost positive fatherhood in the Lebanese society. (As Safir, 26 February, 2015)

Minister of Labor, Sajaan Azzi, issued Tuesday a new decision to close 12 agencies across Lebanon that recruit migrant women domestic workers (MWDW). The move comes as part of the Ministry’s on-going efforts to regulate and organize the work of these agencies and follows a series of complaints of bribery and mishandling of funds. (As Safir, 24 February 2015)
 

L’Orient Le Jour newspaper published in yesterday’s issue an interview with secular activist Dr Ghada Al Yafi who disclosed she is committed to remaining in Lebanon so as to participate in community and social development. Al Yafi, daughter of late Prime Minister, Abdallah Al Yafi, became famous for her motto: “Towards a Non-Sectarian Society”. Furthermore, she unsuccessfully ran for the 1998 municipal and 2000 legislative elections. She also indicated that she turned her father’s house into a meeting place for academia and intellectuals to exchange views and debate about various social and political issues. Al Yafi noted that her primary concern now is to initiate a dialogue on Islam, a religion which is not reconcilable, as she put it, with divisive sectarianism. Describing her religion as that of “wisdom”, she told the newspaper theta she is presently militating to establish a secular society in Lebanon. And while she confessed that sometimes she feels down and betrayed, she said she will never give in to defeat. (L’Orient Le Jour, 24 February 2015)

Al Diyar daily newspaper published an investigative report on women high positions in media and marketing departments in the Lebanese banking sector through conducting a number of interviews with selected women. This website is uploading parts of that article while expressing some reservations regarding some of the opinions of the interviewed women who in our opinion fall into the dominant stereotypes about gender. Director of Media and Advertising at BLOM bank, Isabelle Naoum, for example, said she believed that “despite the many studies which tackled the subject of capacities in both sexes, however, the issue is not that of who is more capable or more talented; there should be an integrated teamwork or a merger of aptitudes of both sexes. She added: “Yes, men and women are not the same and that is why they complement each other”. Naoum’s counterpart in Fransabank, Dania Al Qassar, pointed out that recent international studies of banking institutions around the world, indicated that women, namely, working in the media, advertising and marketing sectors, are more capable than men in management, namely in the “development aspect of work, owing to their unique democratic and communicative qualities” particularly in dealing with co-workers. “The key to women’s success in management maybe attributed to the fact that women try to model themselves on successful managers anywhere in the world, learn from them and therefore inspire to develop their knowledge and build their own personal experience.” For her part, media senior manager at Bank Byblos Group, Nada Tawil, linked the matter to the society which looks to the education of women and men in a different way pushing young men or women into so-called “serious” or “easier” fields of specialisation and this according to gender. Hence gender imbalances in university specialisations, in terms of number of graduates, are reflected in the media and advertising sectors.

For more information, please check: http://www.charlesayoub.com/more/856477

(Al Diyar, 23 February 2015)

The North capital of Lebanon honored Dr. Rana Hajjeh for winning the prestigious award of the federal employee of the year in the US for her accomplishments in introducing the Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) vaccine into the national immunization programs of more than 73 countries among the poorest of the world. The ceremony organized by the Unified Women’s Commissions of the North, chaired by Nahla Kabbara, was held at the Safadi Cultural Center, under the patronage of Health Minister, Wa2el Abu Faoor. In her speech, general director of Safadi Center, Samira Baghdadi described Dr. Hajjeh’s distinctive achievement as extraordinary for it came as a recognition and acknowledgement from “the world’s greatest nation”, the United States of America. Advisor to the Unified Women’s Commissions, Dr. Fatmeh Badawi speaking on behalf of Kabbara, noted that Hajjeh success for innovation paves the way for even higher and more remarkable successes. For his part, Chairman of the Health Department in the North, Dr. Jamal Abdo Hajjeh, representing Minister Abu Faoor, complimented Hajjeh’s ingenious spirit in research and science as well as in social work and humanitarian action. Similarly, the President of the Lebanese Order of Physicians in the North, Dr. Elie Habib, said the honoring ceremony is reciprocated between Tripoli and its loyal daughter who brought back into focus the city’s human qualities which were masked by decades of deprivation, poverty and misery. At the end of the ceremony Dr. Hajjeh received medals of honors from the Secretary of the Unified Women’s Commissions in the North, Dr. Hind Sufi, from the Safadi cultural institute, and Al Azm Center for Biological Research. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, February 19, 2015)

Al Diyar newspaper announced receiving a number of complaints from families in North Lebanon reporting attempts of abuse of women and girls by taxi drivers on the Tripoli-Halba-Akkar highway. The recurrence of such incidences has prompted a number of families not to ride such vehicles and to circulate descriptions of the accused drivers and owners of such buses as a precautionary measure. The public appeal published in Al Diyar urged the ministry of transport to enforce a number of suggested measures, mainly: organize the transport industry and ban any unregistered vehicles from work; enforce that the driving license and plate number as well as the name and address of the driver is clearly visible inside the van; circulate descriptions of violating drivers so as to boycott them; tighten security services control on infringers and hunt for reckless drivers; organize rehabilitation workshops for private van and public transport drivers, and finally, regulate the situation of bus stops located between Tripoli and Akkar to reduce the number of intruders on the profession. (Al Diyar, February 16 2015)

The National Steering Committee organized a follow up meeting at the Minister of Labor’s office to discuss issues related to migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. Present at the meeting were representatives of the concerned public departments, the International Labor Organization and civil society organisations. During the meeting Minister Sejaan Azzi warned that “rabble-rousing is unacceptable when it comes to humanitarian subjects, such as the subject of migrant domestic workers, adding that it was a deplorable thing whether, whether coming from official, diplomatic or civil society circles. He appealed to international organizations active in Lebanon “not to take sides or engage in support of any trade union that is not recognized by the government.
Furthermore, he stressed that "no one is more supportive of the social and human rights of migrant workers than the Ministry of Labor”, and particularly so since he is fully in charge of the matter. He underscored the primary role of his Ministry in the protection migrant workers in line with the law. He also highlighted the need to activate the role of the above mentioned committee in its follow up of the conditions of domestic workers. In this context, he listed the various new measures and regulations taken by his ministry to improve the working and living standards of domestic workers, “notwithstanding union conflicts” as per Azzi’s quote.
(Al Diyar, Feb 13, 2015)

The Lebanese Democratic Women Gathering (LDWG), Diakonia, Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center and Dar Al Amal jointly organized a press conference to release their assessment report on conditions of women prisoners in Lebanon. Work on the report comes as part of a project entitled, “Promoting Human Rights Policy and Practices in Lebanese Women Prisons” which is financially supported by the European Commission and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). During the press conference the representative of the Commission on Prisons at the Beirut Bar Association (BBA) outlined the work carried out by BBA in support of various human rights issues in the country.  For his part, the representative of Diakonia, Rodolph Jebrail, listed the various achievements of the project in terms of improving the competence of prison authorities and in providing women prisoners with legal and social support in order to help women attain their rights to report on any human right violations.
The report included several recommendations principally that policies should be compatible with the effective law, especially on issues regarding pregnant inmates and babies born in jail, and that women inmates be provided with three regular meals. Manal Zoaiter, on behalf of LDWG highlighted the present practices of prison authorities and the new measures that should be adopted and that will should in line with international standards of human rights. She concluded by saying: “Women in prisons still suffer horrendous violations of their basic human rights and are still subjected to gender-based discrimination and abuses.”
(AL Diyar, As Safir, Feb 13, 2015)