More activities and speeches on Women’s Day

Civil society celebrations on the International Women’s Day continued unabated. The latest was a ceremony held yesterday at Bassel Fleihan Institute of Finance and Economy ending the training program on ‘Mechanisms for the Empowerment and Promotion of Development Role of Women’. The said program, to note, was organized by the Arab Planning Institute under the theme  ‘closing the gender gap’. On the occasion, the president of the Institute, Lamia Bssat, pointed out that helping women access decision making posts starts with an anticipatory planning for jobs and facilitation of prospects of promotion for women though the adoption of a “gender diversity quota in senior positions,” as she said. Similarly, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) held yesterday a celebration for honoring some 20 female directors in the public departments in the presence of the minister of state for women’s affairs, Jean Ogassapian. The minister reiterated the need to promote women to become key partners in the making of political decisions at the national level. (For the full names of the honorees, kindly visit the following link: : http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/273058/20). 

Furthermore, the Lebanese Council for Women staged a symbolic sit-in in front of the Grand Serail in Riad el Solh with the participation of several civil society organizations. Participants hoisted banners calling for the involvement of women in the discussion of elections laws, the inclusion of the women’s quota and introduction of an optional civil personal status law. In the same spirit, the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund, organized a seminar yesterday on ‘ways to help women access leadership positions’ and during which Abeer Shbaro, NCLW officer, outlined a key suggestions. In the same context, the Maronite Patriarch, Besharah Al Rai held a celebration in Bkerki on Wednesday carrying the title ‘I am a woman, present and ready’ that was organized by the Pastoral Office of Women in the Patriarchate. Al Rai stressed the essential presence of women in every household, hailing the role of female Church pioneers and their good impact on schools, hospitals, and on the humanitarian and social fronts. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, March 9 and 10, 2017 )