Women in government: Lebanese parliament had only 10 women members in 61 years!

The Ministry of Social Affairs organized in collaboration with IWSAW at the LAU and with the National Commission on Lebanese Women (NCLW) a seminar on women in government. The event was held at the LAU Business School within the framework of the project entitled strengthening the participation of women in local governance and development, a project which is funded by the Italian Embassy Development Cooperation Bureau. The event included a short documentary on the importance of a wider participation of women in parliament and in decision making positions. The seminar was attended by the representative of the Italian ambassador and the Bureau of the Italian Development Coordination, Luca Portacoloni, Afifeh Sayed, representing NCLW, and several CSOs, media people and students. The national coordinator of the project, Zeina Abdel Khalek, noted that the Lebanese Parliament hosted only 10 women throughout its 61 years of existence whilst the participation of women in local governance does not exceed 4.5%. She also added that Lebanese political parties often entrust women with the responsibility of managing political campaigns but fail in nominating them as candidates. Portacoloni spoke about the obstacles women face in participating in political life such as gender based stereotypes, and how to strike a balance between work life and family. A discussion then ensued during which many of the participants called for a reform of educational curricula and for mainstreaming women’s issues in educational programs. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, 30 April 2015)