Future women seminar in Beirut on protection from domestic violence

Coinciding with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based ‎Violence campaign, the two committees for legal awareness and social ‎development at the Future Movement Women’s Sector organized last ‎Friday a discussion seminar on the protection of women from domestic ‎violence at their premises located in Beirut. Participants discussed the ‎issue of violence, its legal and social impacts. Developing on the subject, ‎the Sector’s assistant for Organizational Affairs, Nawal Mdalali, pointed ‎out that “the Future Movement was on the forefront in adopting the law ‎for the protection of women against domestic violence.” Likewise, ‎lecturer, Ziad Khaled, defined the verbal and physical violence against ‎women and outlined its psychological and social impacts on the entire ‎family, particularly on the children, pointing to the “discriminatory ‎stereotype traditions that promote and encourage this spiteful attitude ‎against women.” In conclusion, Khaled maintained that “economic ‎empowerment is a key factor for achieving women’s freedom and ‎independence.” He went on to say that eradicating gender differences ‎starts from developing appropriate legislations, pointing to the recently ‎adopted law against domestic violence which he described as the ‎beginning of change as it sets legal checks for penalizing the abuser and ‎for protecting the battered woman and her direct family. (Al Mustaqbal, ‎December 5, 2015)‎