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A number of local, regional and international NGOs as well as activists issued yesterday a statement condemning the defamatory attacks on the reputation of civil society organizations.  The statement noted that women and civil society organizations, especially those working on violence against women and providing counseling, legal, social and psychological support are being subjected to pressure by society and by the media leading to denigration of these organizations.  According to the same statement, women beneficiaries of these organisations are also being subjected to pressure so that they change their position towards these organisations and to stop seeking their support and assistance.  The statement called for an end to attacks against the reputation of CSOS, their staff and hoped that the media, and TV show hosts will give due consideration to exposing the truth regarding these kinds of social and cultural pressures and to highlight the important role that CSOs play in serving human rights.  The statement concluded by expressing its solidarity with LECORVAW as well as its president Laura Sfeir and all its staff and association members.
Source: http://www.almustaqbal.com/v4/Article.aspx?Type=NP&ArticleID=612725">Al-Mustaqbal 9 April 2014

The National Coalition for the Protection of Women from Violence declared in a statement issued following the meeting of its members after the endorsement of the domestic violence bill last week, that the said law fails to protect women and does not recognize the violence to which they are subjected.  Furthermore, and according to the statement of the Coalition, the new approved law legalizes marital rape through endorsing the concept of “marital duties” and does not recognize all the penalties stipulated in the penal code against crimes that may be committed within the family.  Other critiques of the new law include the fact that it does not allow women to protect their children unless they are in her custody.  The Coalition noted that it will continue with its Campaign even if it takes decades especially since the issue has become a public concern especially amongst the youth.  The Coalition asked the President of the Republic to reject subjecting the state to the will of the present confessional system and to give women their right to be protected from all forms of crimes against them within the family, through returning the law to the Parliament to be duly revised and brought back to its original version. Sources in the presidential palace have told the As Safir newspaper that the president and his team will be studying the law and will take action accordingly and may return it to the Parliament if he finds that it violates women’s rights.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir 7 April 2014

The Partnership Center for Development and Democracy PCDD completed the two phases of its project entitled “when women talk CEDAW” during an event which was held for this purpose at the UNESCO palace with the participation of representatives of many partner organizations as well as representatives of the American and Norwegian embassies.  The second phase of the project included the organisation of 45 gatherings which were held in different parts of the Lebanese Mohafazats, and carrying the slogan of “open your eyes and get to know your rights in CEDAW”.  The first phase included a number of workshops organized by PCDD and targeting staff of sister organizations with the aim of introducing them to CEDAW.

The final event included a review of the opinions of participants in the project especially in relation to what they gained from the workshops followed by a distribution of certificates.  Key note addresses were made by Stine Horn, the first secretary at the Norwegian embassy in Lebanon and Lina Alam Eddine, PCDD President. Alam Eddine spoke about the need for an advanced vision of Lebanon which will improve the situation of women in addition to the transformation toward a civil, secular and democratic state where all citizens are equal.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 7 April 2014

World Vision International (WVI) and Abaad launched yesterday the result of a field study of women and men's attitudes with regards to the rights of women, and entitled “Varying Perceptions, One Outcome: Field study monitoring the attitudes and perceptions of women and men towards women’s rights in Lebanon”. The event was attended by pioneer women's rights advocate Linda Matar, the director of the Arab Institute for Human Rights, Joumana Merhi, Izza Sharara Baydoun and the Director of WVI office in Beirut, Anita Delhaas-Van Dijk.  The latter noted that it is important to understand people's perspectives and attitudes in order to put in place adequate programmes especially when it is about combating violence against women.  The director of Abaad, Ghida Anani, noted that the study posed a number of questions about women and men's knowledge and their participation in social activism notably in relation to the rights of women.

For his part, Zuheir Hatab presented the results of the study which he conducted and added that the study covered a certain age group and the sample included respondents from rural and urban areas and with different degrees of education.  He highlighted the discrepancies shown by the study which covered various themes: violence against women, marital rape, the rights of elderly women, gender equality and women's rights to nationality.  He concluded with a number of recommendations.

Source: Al-Nahar 3 April 2014

The Lebanese Parliament endorsed during the second day of its sessions the law which raises maternity leave to 10 weeks, i.e. 70 days instead of 40 days.  Sami Gemayel described the new law as a major achievement in Lebanese legislation even if it was not possible to raise the maternity leave period to 12 weeks as initially intended.  This law did not herald any struggle unlike the case of the domestic violence bill.  MP Boutros Harb stood up to endorse the proposal to raise the period of paid maternity leave to 10 weeks and noted that this is important for safeguarding women’s rights and equality.  This was perceived as funny by Harb’s peers whilst the Speaker of the House continued with an anecdote about men becoming pregnant.
Source: Al-Hayat, Al-Safir, Al-Nahar 3 April 2014

The Parliament endorsed during its first session yesterday the domestic violence bill which was referred by the Parliamentary commission and which takes into consideration the prerogatives of religious family laws and the various religious interpretation of guardianship and heads of households, rather than using human rights as a reference.  The endorsement of the law came at a time when Kafa had called for a sit-in in front of the Parliament whilst 3 of its members were attending the parliamentary session, in addition to lawyer Iqbal Dughan.
The law was hastily endorsed in just ten minutes since Speaker Berri did not intend to give the chance for discussions on new amendments. MP Ali Ammar, who was the first and the only one to speak, complained about the violence of civil society who organised campaigns for the law to be endorsed.  He also added that the revisions brought to the original text were drawn from the spirit of the Constitution and were essential to preserve the fabric of the community and the family laws.  He added anecdotally that he is now asking CSOs to propose a project law to protect men from domestic violence!  After that, MP Simon Abi Ramia raised his hand asking to read the statement issued by Kafa.  However, Berri ordered that there will be no discussion and added that Parliament does not legislate under pressure.  Paradoxically, and after being lobbied by Kafa, 70 MPs agreed, before the session, to propose new amendments to the domestic violence bill so as bring it back to its original form. But despite those pledges, the project law was passed with no objections.
The positions of civil society diverged vis-a-vis this event with some welcoming the endorsement and calling for a baby step approach with others refusing it in the present form, namely Kafa who considered that the adopted revisions violate the essence of the original law.  Kafa officials expressed their disappointment, and that of civil society following the parliamentary session, pointing out to several objections namely that the law was diluted to include all members of the family and has limited procedures in relation to child custody to what is applicable by religious family laws.  The revisions also stipulated that the law restricted the measures to protect women victims of violence and their children to the personal status laws specific to each different sects in Lebanon, while giving the investigating judge, and not the public prosecution, the authority to adopt a protective resolution, thus making it impossible to seek protection during weekends and holidays.  The women activists also protested to keeping the clause related to the mandate and primacy of religious court which is in contradiction with the essence of the original law.  
For her part, Setrida Geagea considered that endorsing the law was an achievement but she expressed her reservation with regards to the title of the law and the fact that it is no longer specific to women, and did not criminalise marital rape.  In the same vein, University Professor Azza Baydun regretted the process and asked for the criminalisation of marital rape and to be considered as regular rape.  She noted that it is important for women victims of violence to be able to resort to the district attorney.  
Former Minister Rayya al Hassan noted that what PM Hariri said was loud and clear and that the Future movement is with rights and against violence and harm against women.  She added that this is a first step and a major achievement which should be build on .  She added that the demands by Kafa are fair and the MPs could have endorsed many of these without touching on the privileges of religious institutions.  The coordinator of the women sector at the Future Movement, Afifa al Sayed, noted that the law is below expectations and she called for taking into account Kafa’s objections and for adherence with the position of PM Hariri regarding the domestic violence bill and women's right to transmit nationality.
Moreover, and in a radio interview before the endorsement of the law, MP Robert Ghanem said that the law was studied in depth and it will be endorsed by the assembly without difficulty. He also added that the reservations expressed by a number of religious leaders have all been addressed.  He reiterated that what will be endorsed in the Assembly is enough to protect women.  MP Sami Gemayel considered that what happened is an important first step and he congratulated women for this achievement which can surely be improved later.  He stressed that had discussion about the law been open during the parliamentary session, then it would have risked not being endorsed.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Akhbar, Al-Diyar 2 April 2014

Today's newspapers include intensive coverage on the law to protect women from domestic violence which is one of the most prominent items on the agenda of today's session which will go on for three days.  Meanwhile, women's rights activists are organising, upon the invitation of Kafa, in downtown Beirut a gathering to demand the full endorsement of the domestic violence bill.  Activists are calling for a discussion of some of the clauses so that they are reinstated in their original version before they were revised by the Parliamentary commission.  Activists are calling for the endorsement of the law as is in its specificity to protect women from family violence.
To be noted that the previous government of PM, Saad Hariri, had initially approved the law with several modifications and referred it to the parliament through decree 4116 dates 28 May 2010.  In an interview with Al Mustakbal newspaper yesterday, Hariri noted that he will do his best so that the law is endorsed (in its previous form) and so as to create a specialised public prosecution and a special detachment of the internal security forces which will have the remit to protect women from family violence.  Future MP, Amman Hurri, also endorsed the present project law and told the Mustaqbal newspaper that the Parliamentary Commissions studied this law in depth ad endorsed it on 27 July 2913 when it met under the presidency of MP Samir al Jisr.  It was then referred to the assembly which meetings were withheld since then.  He added that the Parliamentary Commission introduced some additions to the law at the level of penalties and protection mechanisms and the law is now "comprehensive" and not restricted to violence against women and is comparable to the Council of Europe's official Treaty thus moving Lebanon to become in the same league of countries with advanced legislations(!).
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Akhbar, The Daily Star 1 April 2014
For more information about the objections of Kafa, please refer to the following link.

The Legal Agenda published last month a report about a court ruling issued by Judge Ralph Karkabi on 18-3-2014 and which prevented a man from posting pictures of his wife lest he is penalised an amount of USD 20,000 for every picture posted or leaked in any way.  The case is that of a man married to a woman for 16 years during which he took intimate pictures with her consent.  However, when their relation deteriorated, he threatened to publish the pictures so that he can annul the marriage and accuse her of adultery.
According to the author, lawyer Nizar Saghieh, this decision is important since it recognises the harm caused by moral violence which is even more dangerous than physical violence as is the case of this woman since such actions would have jeopardised her future especially that posting intimate pictures of women is indeed a form of violence which harms women's dignity and their social and family standing.  Saghieh further considers that this judgment is in opposition to the current format of the domestic violence protection bill as endorsed by the parliamentary commissions in July 2013 and which failed to recognise moral violence (including marital rape, forced sex, attack of women's dignity, etc...) from the definition of violence and restricted the implementation of the law to certain specific cases only.
Saghieh notes that this court ruling paved the way for recognising the role that the judiciary can play especially in the creation of new jurisprudence in the absence of laws protecting women from violence.  Such court orders will protect women until a suitable law is endorsed.
Saghieh also notes that this court order follows two previous ones by Karkabi and Antoine Tohme within the framework of protecting a woman and her daughter from violence exercised by her ex husband.  These court orders which were endorsed by the highest judicial authority, namely the Supreme Court (or Court of Cassation), emphasize a new legal principle namely that individual safety takes primacy over anything else thus creating new opportunities for protecting women from violence.
Source: http://www.legal-agenda.com/newsarticle.php?id=616&folder=legalnews&lang=ar#.UzqH3c7Z7xU">Legal Agenda 20 March 2014

The SMART centre for “specialized & advertising research & training center”organised an event in collaboration with the American Embassy in Beirut.  The event was held at the hall of the American Cultural Forum at the public library in Baaqline and was an occasion to announce the completion of the SheLeads programme funded by the American Embassy and which included a number of training workshops, and an English language competition in which 135 women from the region participated.  The overall aim of this initiative was to strengthen women's role in engaging in social, political and health issues in their communities.

The director of SMART centre, Randa Yassir, encouraged women to continue to find ways to develop and advance in various sectors.  For his part the American ambassador thanked all those involved in the programme and acknowledged the strong partnership through the Forum which offers to women and their communities, important information about the USA and its culture, and provides a space for learning and exchange between Lebanese and Americans.  He also added that women's success paves the way for their children to advance as well as for women to strengthen their role in society.  He also reiterated the importance of all the opportunities available to girls to continue their education and to pursue a career and to enjoy being well prepared mothers.  At the end of the event, prizes were distributed to participants who won the competition for best article.

Source: Al Mustaqbal and Al Diyar 29 March 2014
 

The Gathering of Women Organisations in “the Jabal” issued a statement last Friday welcoming the the formation of the new Cabinet and its vote of confidence in Parliament.  The statement hopes that this vote of confidence will lead to stability and the political, social and economic renaissance of the country.  The Gathering also thanked the President of the Republic for appointing a woman cabinet minister, Alice Chabtini, as Minister of the Displaced.  The statement further hoped that the Cabinet will be fairer to women so that we reach equality in citizenship, and demanded the enactment of a 30% women quota in the new electoral law and as per the stipulations of the Beijing Platform of Action which was signed by Lebanon.

 Source: Al Mustaqbal 29 March 2014