Political parties reluctant to nominate women in local elections but some women are defiant

Last week witnessed new developments in women participation in the upcoming municipal elections throughout Lebanon, ranging between staunch opposition to women candidates, the announcement of new lists which included women candidates as in the case of the opposition list in Saida, and finally the boldness and attitude of defiance of a number female candidates who choose to run solo against the very powerful coalition lists of political parties and families.  In the first instance, last week saw the announcement of a religious ‘fatwa’ rejecting the participation of women as candidates that was issued by Druze religious clerics of Khalwat al Bayada In this respect, Al Bayada senior chief cleric Sheik Ghaleb Kais told Al Akhbar newspaper that the religious institution informed all concerned political parties that it will boycott any list carrying the names of women. The newspaper pointed out to contradictory views among those parties (Lebanese Democratic Party, Syrian Social National Party, the Progressive Socialist Party), which while expressing full support to the political rights of women, in fact have decoded to bow to the will of the Druze spiritual leaders. It should be noted that some 54 candidates are running for the municipal elections, including four women, namely, Faten Sabeq, Samiha Abu Dehn, Samiha Sharoof and Ghada Kahki. Meanwhile, women associations in Hasbaya insisted that women nominees are decided to continue in their nomination despite the refusal of political parties to include them in their own lists of candidates. In the North, however, the situation looks somewhat different. The candidate list of the current head of Mashtah Hassan municipality, Hamzah Ahmad, which includes representatives of all families, also comprises four women, notably, Dr. Ruba Haddad, Alya Assad and Manal Ajaj. Likewise, in Nabatiyeh, Fatma Badreddine, who owns a driver teaching office since more than 25 years, decided to run for the mayor post in the Saray district of the town. In the same vein, former Minister Charbel Na7hhas announced his support to Claude Merji Bshara, as a candidate to run in Byblos under the banner of Citizens group of which he is a member. Claude Bshara is running under a political platform that cautions against turning Byblos into a second Solidere. (Al Diyar, Assafir, Al Akhbar, May 14, 15, 2016)