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NCLW president, Claudine Aoun Rukuz, stressed in an article published today in An Nahar, that the subject of domestic violence has always been a priority for the Commission and for her, personally, as part of her advocacy for human rights, specifically women's rights. Choosing the headline, “Why we persist on proposed amendments to the Law on Protection of Women and Family Members from Domestic Violence,” Aoun said that NCLW’s efforts to protect women and children shall remain the core of struggle to achieve gender equality in the country. With the rise in domestic violence incidence during the coronavirus lockdown, the need arises, now more than anytime, to improve the said law, Aoun wrote, thus adding it to the July 22 meeting of the joint parliamentary committees. Aoun said she entrusts members of the legislature with improving the domestic violence law, urging them to place the provision of protection for the victims of domestic violence abuse, women and children, among their main concerns. In these dire times, Aoun concluded, our representatives should bear witness to the suffering of victims of domestic violence. (The article can be found on the following link: https://bit.ly/2WFENQ4). (An Nahar, July 22, 2020)
 

Labora association concluded yesterday the training course which started earlier in June with the participation of 150 young men and women at its offices in Zghorta, Zahleh and Antelias. This comes as part of workshops organized by Labora in coordination with the USAID-funded Lebanon Enterprise Development (LED) project. Speakers on the occasion urged participants to seek to achieve their goals and aspirations, encouraging them to stay in Lebanon. Labora discussed with beneficiaries the needs of the labor market, underlining the importance of developing basic skills, like communication, languages, IT and others. Speakers also emphasized the role of self-development in stimulating compatibility and integration with market requirements. The workshops, to recall, cover the following subjects: English language, IT, communication skills and technical training and they accommodate over 400 young men and women from various regions of Lebanon. (Al Diyar, July 22, 2020)
 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the Covid-19 pandemic could imperil the significant progress made by women over the past three decades in terms of reducing the economic gender gap. In a statement released yesterday, the IMF said women in the Mediterranean region are mostly affected because of they perform the larger part of unpaid domestic work, at a rate of 2.7 hours per week. Hence, it is of utmost importance that policymakers take measures to reduce the costs of coronavirus on women, the statement maintained. The IMF also stressed that the health crisis anticipated to cause a shrinking of the global GDP (by 4.9%), will weigh heavily on women more than men. Noting, that women occupy more jobs in industries largely hit by Covid-19, such as the services, retail and hotels sectors. In the USA alone, nearly 54% of women work in sectors that don’t support remote work, while about 67% of women in Brazil are unable to work remotely. The IMF statement hailed the Latin American Alliance, founded last April at the request of Colombia, Costa Rica and the Economic Commission for South America and the Caribbean, for promoting the status of women. It also praised steps taken by Italy, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia to grant paid leave, albeit partially, to parents of children under a specified age. (An Nahar, July 21, 2020)
 

In a special feature published today, An Nahar newspaper talked about women political participation, reminding its readers that in June 2020, 22 countries around the world had a woman president, prime minister or political advisor. In the fifties of the past century, An Nahar wrote, the participation of women in politics was uncommon. Today, however, they have forced their presence in decision-making positions, An Nahar said, while pointing out that the majority of countries referred to as great powers are largely patriarchal. Expounding on this, An Nahar wrote that in 1960, Sirima Bandaranaike in Ceylon (presently Sri-Lanka) became the first democratically elected woman head of government in modern history. She entered politics after the assassination of her husband, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike who was shot and killed by an extremist Buddhist monk after serving three years since 1956. Sirima remained as head of the government until 1965, and assumed respectively two other terms in the same position between 1970 to 1977, and from 1994 to 2000 during the presidency of her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga. (More info on the following link: (https://bit.ly/2OHYS40). (An Nahar, July 20, 2020)
 

Recently, there has been a surge in local farmers’ markets in various regions, notably in the Shuf towns of Freidis and Baruk, Ghalbun in Jbeil as well as in Tyre, in an attempt to support local livelihoods. In this respect, the minister of agriculture, Abbas Mortada, inaugurated on Saturday the Jabal Amel market to promote and sell local agricultural produce directly to the consumer at reasonable prices. During the opening of the market projected to be held every Saturday, Mortada criticized the slackness on the part of former governments toward the sector, calling for cooperation to improve and protect food security. Concurrently, the municipality of Kfar 3kab launched ‘Village Market’ (Souk el Dai’aa) to prop farmers, artisans and industrialists. Residents of the Upper Matn town and environs displayed food, seasonal veggies and fruits, traditional mouneh items, in addition to handicrafts at competitive prices. The bazaar takes place at 6 am every Saturday at the Kfar 3kab square. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, July 19, 2020)