Only 32% of heads of households in the South approve of women’s work

According to the PhD thesis on poverty in the South and Nabatieh prepared by Fatmeh Ezzedine, which we posted extracts on 28-4-2015 (Click here to get the link) 38.5% of household in the South receive various forms of assistance (educational, health, material, or in-kind) while the highest level of assistance is provided by charitable and/or political organizations both categories accounting for 33% of total aid. The study also shows that 36% of households have problems commuting to their place of work while 62% of households own cars. The same study points out that 25% of households are in charge of 5 persons or more, noting that the age dependency rate in the South is 48.11%.  Furthermore, some 30% of surveyed families have a migrant family member whilst 27% of households live in houses of less than 100 square meters and 48% lease their living dwellings. In terms of housing quality, 60% of dwellings are old structures which do not possess basic conditions of salubrity such as natural light, healthy environment, etc… In relation to health matters, only 24% of households do regular medical checkups and with 68% possessing some kind of health insurance of whom 29% are covered by NSSF. Results also indicate that 64% suffer from chronic illnesses and 11.4% have members with mental or physical disabilities. In education, 15% of heads of households cannot read or write and only 30% have had elementary education and did not continue beyond it because of their financial situation.  Furthermore, some 60% reported cases of school dropouts and 22% have illiterate family members. Finally and at the social level, the study notes that only 32% of heads of household approve of women’s entry into the job market and 16% approve of women’s participation in politics. To be noted that 46% of the sampled households have affirmed having members that are affiliated in civil society organizations or political parties. (As Safir, 28 April 2015)