In its issue of today, Al Akhbar newspaper brought attention to an internal circular issued recently by the Amal Movement Educational Institutions and which went viral on social media. The circular bars pregnancy and dubs it as an act punishable by either ‘immediate resignation’ or by unpaid leave. The circular, cited by Al Akhbar, read the following: “In the interest of academia and of students, granting a health leave due to pregnancy is prohibited. Any leave due to pregnancy related health conditions of the teacher is considered a leave-without-pay… and in the event of repeated absence from school, the teacher in question should resign immediately…” The administration in turn released a statement explaining that the above circular came after a series of suspect medical reports submitted by teachers and related to their pregnancy conditions, a fact which has adverse repercussions on the institution. The purpose of the circular, the administration statement added, is to contain the situation through intimidation. Al Akhbar wrote that, due to the uproar caused by the circular, the administration replaced the provision of resignation with a petition for a leave without pay. Meanwhile, the media officer at the National Council for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Marie Debs, stressed that the labor law explicitly mandates the right of the female employee to a health leave as a result of pregnancy or other relevant reasons based on a medical report from a competent physician. Any administration that doubts the validity of medical reports can resort to alternative measures while not banning the granting of leaves. (Al Akhbar, May 30, 2018)