Other news

The phenomenon of deadly violence against women has gone beyond borders with the murder last week of Maguy Bou Kreim (47, mother of two children) by her husband in Sidney (Australia) who bludgeoned her to death.  This is the fourth such incident in less than a month.  The husband was charged with the murder of his wife by the Australian police who refused to release him on bail.  Within the same vein, the husband of Krystel Abi Assi who had succumbed to a lethal dose of poison was arrested at the Jdaideh judicial station following a warrant after he was sued by his wife’s family and whilst waiting for the communication data so as to go further in the investigation.
Against this gory background, the president of the Parliamentary Commission for Human rights, MP Michel Moussa, called on the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Interior and Municipalities as well as the district attorney and the director general of internal security to meet next Tuesday to hear the Ministers’ new plans with regards to addressing the growing problem of domestic violence.  In an interview to the An Nahar newspaper, MP Michel Moussa noted that his Commission will first require that the judiciary speeds up the processing of current cases as well as call on the Parliament to proceed with the endorsement of the project law to protect women from domestic violence.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir, Al-Nahar 19 February 2014

Krystel Assi, 30 years, was buried yesterday after succumbing to a lethal dose of poison.  Krystel leaves behind a five year old boy whilst her family has accused her husband for her murder.  Preliminary investigation have not yet resulted in the arrest of her husband who has been called for questioning twice only to be released last Sunday with a simple request to remain available for further questioning.  Krsytel’s mother, Josephine Abu Chacra, as well as her uncle, Jean Tahhan, confirm that Krystel was a victim of sustained domestic violence as her husband kept stalking her and refused to let her see her son who is living with her in-laws after she had fled her husband to live with her parents, and initiated a divorce procedure.  Krystel’s uncle noted that her husband had taken her to the hospital where she dies after ingesting a large quantity of poison.  At the hospital, he did not divulge his identity and did not sign her admission papers.  He simply called her family to tell them that she is in bad condition.

As Safir notes that the victim had resorted to Kafa more than a year and a half ago and had shared her horrific experience with violence and requested legal assistance.  However, she only came to Kafa twice whilst the organization declared yesterday that it is ready to provide legal assistance to the victim’s family in their case against her husband.  Kafa’s lawyer, Leila Awada, noted that Kafa will escalate its protest vis-à-vis the Parliament as of next month.
In a related vein, the Judge Raja Hamouche requested the penalty of forced labor in perpetuity for the husband of Manal Assi for the charge of murdering his wife two weeks ago.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar, Al-Safir 18 February 2014

Within the context of heightened debate on the law to protect women from family violence and with the increased reporting of family violence and abuse against women and children, An Nahar newspaper published an interview with lawyer and legal scholar Ibrahim Trabulsi who gave an overview of the texts in the Christian jurisdiction which address violence and mistreatment and which protect tormented “spouses” and kids abused by their parents.  Current religious text address these through providing the possibility of separation as well as requesting divorce or annulment.
Trabulsi noted that Christian religious courts seek to protect the “family” through legal texts that do not recognize all possible cases of abuse whilst there is no social policy to protect family members from mistreatment at all levels.  He added that court decisions are often impossible to implement because of various procedural challenges.  Traboulsi also spoke of the absence of any form of civil protection since all matters related to the family are within the remit of religious laws.  He also reiterated that there is no reference or official recourse to go to in case a family member is subjected to mistreatment or abuse aside from civil society initiatives.  He added that the state should enact a comprehensive law to protect the family as well as mobilize social workers to investigate cases in addition to creating a specialized unit within the Ministry of Social Affairs as well as a social public prosecution to investigate crimes within families.
Trabulsi concluded that the proposed domestic violence protection bill, and which ought to be endorsed by parliament, should not be viewed as a battle between civil society and religious institutions as, according to Trabulsi, the proposed law does not intend to take away the responsibility of religious courts in matters related to the family.  He also added that the protection of Lebanese families is primarily the responsibility of civil institutions and not religious institutions notwithstanding the religious family laws which regulate family matters.

For details regarding the text of Christian religious laws, refer to this link.(Arabic content)
Source: Al-Nahar 12 February 2014

The Lebanese Women’s Council organized a book signing ceremony to launch its new publication entitled “The History of the Lebanese Women’s Council – 1800 to 2012”.  The event was held yesterday at the Press Syndicate with the attendance of former Council’s President, Aman Shaarani.  The research volume, which was prepared  and documented by Fatima Kaddoura Shami, documents the struggles and achievements of the Council during that period, and introduces the public to the work and contributions of the said Council during the many phases of its existence at a time when women were part of the cultural, social and educational renaissance of the country.  The book includes 408 pages divided into 5 sections notably a) the impact of education and social renaissance in the Arab region on women in Lebanon and until independence; b) the history of the Council since independence; c) The struggles of the presidents of the various women bodies existing from 1921 to 2012; d) the efforts of selected consultants and experts in the steering committee; and e) legal and economic achievements, conferences, publications, exhibitions and documentation centers from 1921 to 2012.
In an interview with Al Mustakbal, Shaarani emphasized the importance of this book as a reference on Lebanese women.  Current Council President, Jamal Ghobril noted that this volume is the best that could have been done to document the achievements of the women movement and to highlight women’s struggles during a period where it was taboo for women to leave their homes.
It is to be noted, that the book was prepared with the assistance of Linda Kays Saab, Jamal Ghobril, Fadya Sinno, Nadia Al-Bawab, Lina Tamer, and Ra7ma Al-Hajj, as well as Najwa Ramadan, Hiyam Sharif, Iqbal Shayeb, Sanaa Soloh, Qamar Murad, Nada Saad and Saloua Maasri who helped in compiling the bibliography.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar 12 February 2014

According to Dr. Talia Araoui, the Director of The Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program (SHBPP) at AUBMC, women still face a number of health challenges in the Arab region, namely, early marriage, rape, female genital mutilation, aesthetic surgery, hymen reconstruction, violence, and neglect of elderly women.  Women have lesser opportunities to access health and medical care and are prone to exploitation during conflict and disasters.  This raid review was part of Dr. Araoui presentation at the scientific convention on Bioethics of women’s issue which was organized last week with support from the UNESCO office in Cairo and AUB Faculty of Health Sciences.  To be noted that this is the first conference of The Bioethics Network on Women’s Issues in the Arab region (Binwiar), which includes institutions and researchers from various part of the Arab region and working on issues related to ethics and women’s health in the Arab region.
In his intervention, Dr. Adnan Mroueh who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology, spoke of the problems that are likely to threaten women’s health in the future namely poor nutrition, drought, emergence of new diseases, increased resistance of germs strains, obesity, smoking, increase in caesarian birth. He also considered that the mother mortality rate in Arab countries is still high, while the fertility rate decreased from 7 in 1960 to 3.3 in 2002.
Faysal Kak, also specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, spoke of the legal framework and noted that Arab countries lack legislations that address complex issues related to the ethics of women’s health such as medical complications, techniques related to birth, in vitro fertilization, contraception, sexual awareness covering also STDs, choosing the sex of the fetus, etc…  Kak added that whereas most Arab countries had agreed to the universal declaration on bioethics and human rights which was adopted during the UNESCO conference of 2005, none has actually worked towards developing its legislative framework so as to be on par with the international dialogue on this issue whilst the religious discourse still dominates this arena.
Source: Al-Safir 11 February 2014

Lawyer Nizar Saghieh commented on the outcome of the Rola Yaakoob affair following the ruling of judge Alaa Al-Khatib, ordering the release of her husband on the ground that the post mortem forensic examination did not prove that Rola died as a result of his beating.  In his article posted on the Legal Agenda website, Saghieh noted that the text of the judge verdict seems to imply that there is no evidence of guilt as the text only validates proof of innocence and undermines any proof of guilt.

As Safir and Al Akhbar newspapers highlighted for their part several narratives by witnesses whose testimonials were recorded at the police station in Halba and which were not referred to in the judicial decision which freed Yaakoub’s husband from any guilt or responsibility.  As Safir further noted that the Public Prosecution in the North did not even call these witnesses to testify and these were not heard again.  According to the newspaper, a significant number of testimonials were notarized at the public notary in the North whilst awaiting their usage in court by the victims’ family lawyer Raymond Yaakoub.  The lawyer told As Safir that until yesterday, he has not been notified yet of the decision of the court of appeals.  
Meanwhile, the media refers to several narratives and testimonials by the daughters of the victim and her neighbor who spoke of the fighting they heard and which Yaakoob’s husband refuted.  Al Akhbar also spoke of material evidence found in the victim’s house and which were not used in the investigation.

It should also be noted that the higher judicial council also took part, in an unprecedented way, in the public discussions around the Rola Yaakoob’s affair through a statement released by its media office and whereby it supports the decisions of the judges and warns the media not to critique the judges or their decision.  Saghieh interprets this as an attempt by the Council to obstruct the work of the media, without even providing any evidence of wrongdoing by the media.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar 11 February 2014

Avenir Liban held last week at the bar association a round table on the technicalities of implementing CEDAW in Lebanese courts; which was organized in collaboration with IWRAW and the Beirut Bar Association. The event was attended by 30 women and men lawyers and the president of Avenir Liban, lawyer Patricia Elias Smeeda.
Participants worked on a model document to be used by lawyers in trying cases involving defending women’s rights.  They also agreed to addressing a request to the president of the Republic and to the Prime Minister calling for the ratification of the CEDAW Optional Protocol which provides the necessary tools for effectively implementing CEDAW.
Source: Al-Diyar 10 February 2014

The Association for the Development of Tripoli and Al Mina issued last week a statement after meeting for Tripoli Greek orthodox candidate for the upcoming Parliamentary elections, Robert Alfred Habib, calling for a speedy endorsement of laws to protect women from domestic violence.  The association highlighted the need to seriously address discrimination against women, the importance of granting women all their political and social rights as well as their rights in partaking in trade unions.  According to the association, women should be part of the next government as this will mitigate women’s vulnerability to violence which is a threat to women, families and the entire society.
Furthermore, the association invited all political forces to ensure that the next Parliamentary elections will provide an opportunity to include women on electoral lists which will help in protecting society from domestic violence.  Finally, the statement also urges the media to give this issue ample attention given its importance in ensuring the recognition of women’s rights.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 10 February 2014

Newspapers reported today the death of Manal Assi following physical abuse and beatings by her husband.  The death occurred in the victim’s home in Tareeq Jdeedeh in Beirut where her husband used kitchen tools and furniture to inflict harm and, eventually death.  The facts were confirmed by the affidavit of the victim’s family as well as by the results of the police and judiciary investigations.
The family testified that the victim’s husband called them and told the family that he was beating their daughter and that they should “come and watch”.  The mother of the victim rushed to the scene of the crime with her two other daughters and her son in an attempt to hold off her son in law.  However, by the time they arrived, the husband had already finished what he had started with a final lethal blow on the head with the pressure cooker.  The victim was rushed to the Makassed hospital but soon died whilst the forensic examiner confirmed that the beating was the cause of death.
In its coverage of this unfortunate story, “Al Akhbar” newspaper noted that this matter is of deeper dimension than domestic violence as it is about the pervasive and deep-rooted culture where victims hide their suffering for social considerations and in keeping with traditions and so as to avoid a “scandal”.  In fact, even the victim’s family begun by saying that their daughter fell on the bathroom floor and died.  However, the physician who first came to the scene was suspicious of the wounds on the victim’s body and called the police in the area.  It was the victim’s sister who first came up with the truth otherwise the death would have been ruled as accidental.  To be noted that the perpetrator has fled and the police are on the lookout for him.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar, Al-Nahar 6 February 2014

The National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) concluded yesterday its first gender training workshop which was organised at its training centre in Baabda with the distribution of certificates to the eleven women trainees who completed the training which included an overview of key concepts as well as mainstreaming gender in programmes and within organisations.
The gender training program consisted of six training sessions which took place between October and November 2013.  The subjects covered key gender concepts, analytical frameworks, gender and development, organizational analysis,  gender responsive budgeting and international human rights framework and international development collaboration.

The regional gender consultant at the UNHCR, Nada Darwazeh, noted that this is a unique programme since it involves building and sharing experiences according to international standards which the participants can then apply within their institutions.  She added that understanding gender analytical frameworks will also help in identifying gaps in relationships and in accessing equal opportunities.  She also insisted on the need to revise institutional ways of working so as to change discriminatory environments and ensure that both women and men’s strategic needs are addressed.
To be noted that the NCLW had launched this programme, which targets its members, staff and members of the gender network in ministries and public institutions, within the framework of its collaboration with the UNHCR and the UNFPA and the implementation of its women advancement strategy.
Source: Al-Nahar 5 February 2014