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English

Ray Daher cultivates olives, contributes to eco-tourism

21-6-2017

In its edition of June 16, L’Orient Le Jour featured the career life of Ray Daher who owns and cultivates vast olive orchards, as well as manages guesthouses of her own design, in the northern town of Arjis, Zghorta. The 24-year-old engineer, daughter of LBCI director general, Pierre Daher, who holds a degree in architecture and interior decoration, told the newspaper that she did not want to work in the field, and chose instead to become an economic analyst at the TV station. Later on, she decided to kick off her own business and revive the forsaken family legacy in her home village which includes 5 deserted houses and some 70,000 meters of olive plantations. The idea, Daher boasted, started with the need to protect a total of one thousand olive trees and plant 201 olive seedlings. She bought the agricultural machinery and tractors to this end and hired assistants to keep the job, Daher explained to L’Orient Le Jour reporter. In the first year, production reached nearly 19 thousand kilograms of olives that were directly sold to olive oil producers, she said. As for the remaining olives tossed on the ground, Daher explained that she recruited skilled village women for making soap from olive oil. On the uninhabited abodes, Daher pointed out that she used one to house the oil press and the others as hostels to promote eco-tourism. (L’Orient Le Jour, June 16, 2017)

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Trial of Eliane Saftali adjourned

21-6-2017

The head of the Military Court of Cassation, Judge Hani Latouf, deferred to June 29 the hearing in the case of murder of Eliane Saftali by Hassan Ahmad Hamiyeh who managed to escape prison (news: http://bit.ly/2nfVwVI ) for two reasons. The first, because the attorney of one of the defendants, Yassir Hamiyeh, did not show up, and the second, because the Beirut Bar Association did not send feedback on the Court’s request to assign a lawyer from the legal aid to defend the other convict, sergeant Talib Hamiyeh. Noting, that the Court has begun questioning the accused as of the end of last month. On the subject, Al Diyar newspaper wrote that the case of Saftali is likely to see many rounds of adjournment after it came out during the hearing by the Court of Cassation that the scene needs crossword clue answers. In every hearing, the newspaper said, new complications emerge that lead to putting off the trial. Moreover, the main hitch is linked to the prime suspect who, it was not known until now, if he was notified with the repeal by the Permanent Military Court of the verdict and its approval by the Court of Cassation which, as a result, decided to retry the convicts. )Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, June 21, 2017(

Previous related news:
Updates on Eliane Saftali case and domestic violence in Lebanon

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In France, parties penalised for not including women on their electoral lists

20-6-2017

The minister of state for administrative development affairs, Inaya Izzedine, said Lebanese women are not marginalized or oppressed by the law or the Constitution, but rather by practice. The right to run for elections is theirs since 1953, but they are deterred by a dominating male chauvinist society, Izzedine lamented in a radio talk show interview. Everyone has supported reform and change to this end, “but the issue was never tackled properly or seriously,” she said, urging Lebanese women to run for parliamentary elections, despite non-inclusion of the women’s quota by the recently endorsed electoral system. Izzedine explained the purpose of the representation quota which is “equality in the take-off point”, because, as she said, “the patriarchal mindset needs time to be transformed.” The woman who assumes responsibility, ought to become resolute as a political party member, Izzedine concluded. It should be noted, that the results of this June’s French Parliamentary elections brought a record victory for women, 223 females out of 577 elected MPs, equivalent to 38.65% of the total parliamentary seats. Some have largely attribute this achievement to a previous decisions by President Emmanuel Macron in August 2014, when as minister of economy, he endorsed a law that increased twofold financial penalties on any political party that fails to comply with gender equality in their elections lists. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, June 20, 2017)

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Land export via Syria unlikely in the near future

20-6-2017

While the director general of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Zahleh and Beqaa, Youssef Jeha, stated that land export through the Syrian-Jordanian and Syrian-Iraqi crossings will be resumed within 10 days after removal of all obstacles, the vice president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association (LIA), Ziad Bekdash, told Al Markaziya news portal that exporting through the Syrian borders cannot be resumed until after the Syrian Authorities declare so. Moreover, Bekdash said, insurance companies still refuse to cover exported goods amidst a fragile security, adding that it is unlikely for land export activity to pick up soon. Bekdash maintained that despite the renewal of the IDAL-backed maritime bridge, the transport/export costs remain relatively high and uncompetitive. The cost of road transport has exceeded USD 6 thousand compared to USD 3,000 to USD 4,000 in the past, LIA deputy chief noted, warning that national industry continues to suffer with the drastic decline in export activity.  (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, June 20, 2017)

Previous related news: 
Second phase of export sea bridge kicked off
First year results of M.LEB below expectations
More welcoming of border closure and demands for further tightening measures
Can unilateral protectionism save Lebanon’s declining agricultural sector?

 

 

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“Direxiona”, new ICT application for teaching driving to women

20-6-2017

In an exceptional women-only initiative in Cairo, Nairuz Talaat launched the application ‘Direxiona’ that encourages women to take driving lessons with women instructors in their neck of the woods. The idea of Direxiona (steering wheel in Arabic) came after she discovered that her lack of driving experience impeded her everyday life, Nairuz explained. She decided to help her peers willing to learn the rules and boost up their confidence on the dangerous and chaotic roads of the Egyptian capital, noting that in a conservative society, like Egypt, women are generally dissuaded from driving. And to transform the concept into an actual business, Nairuz applied to and was accepted by the Business Builder program in July 2016, following which she rented an office in Garik Campus known as a center for entrepreneurship in the city and a hub for many startups and emerging youth-led enterprises. Currently, the driving platform embraces some 300 students and 50 female instructors, while noting that the majority of instructors in Egypt are men, which can be a cultural barrier to many Egyptian women. (Al Mustaqbal, June 18, 2017)

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New executive bureau of NCLW

20-6-2017

In its first meeting chaired by President Claudine Aoun Rukuz and the presence of vice presidents Wafaa Diqa Hamzeh and Abir Shbaro, the new general assembly of the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) elected yesterday members of its new executive bureau. Besides its chief and her 2 deputies, the executive committee is formed of Rana Ghandur, Dr. Fadia Kiwan, lawyer Ghada Hamdan Hodeib, Dr. Hania Hamud, Martine Najm Kuteili, Dr. Miriam Younis Abu Abdallah, lawyer Colette Hayek Masaad and Faten Ali Younis. (Al Diyar, June 20, 2017)

Previous related news:
Aoun’s daughter to preside over NCLW
 

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To make up for the electoral quota, Aoun urges women to run for Parliament

19-6-2017

Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressed on Friday his disappointment that the new electoral law did not include women’s quota. He urged more women to run for Parliament especially that the Constitution does not discriminate between men and women running for candidacy. Aoun said he hoped political parties would include women nominees on their lists, while noting that the vote law based on proportionality “allows for a larger representation contrary to the majoritarian law.” Similarly, the head of the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH), Randa Assi Berri, congratulated all political forces for enacting a proportional voting system which divides the country into 15 electoral districts, denouncing at the same time the failure to include the 30% women’s quota. Speaking on behalf of the Lebanese Women Affairs Association, Amal Movement’s Women’s Affairs division and the National Alliance in Support of Women Political Participation in Lebanon, Berri wondered why women have been absent from the deliberations that led to endorsement of said law. “Any electoral system that ignores the right of a woman to be represented in Parliament lacks national credibility by virtue of the Constitution. This credibility is not measured by sectarian representation standards, but rather by a nationwide partnership between all the human and state components that make the nation,” Berri stated. Does not the proportional system represent all segments of society, aren’t women half the society, why are they warded off? (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, L’Orient Le Jour, June 17, 2017)

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Hamadeh: vocational education graduates ready to participate in Arab reconstruction

19-6-2017

Hamadeh: vocational education graduates ready to participate in Arab reconstruction In his opening of the vocational and technical state exams on Friday, education minister, Marwan Hamadeh, stressed the importance of vocational education on par with traditional schooling. The general public opinion, Hamadeh said, tends to laud and reinforce the conventional school and university learning, while totally disregarding a vital vocational and training sector that is essential in building a nation and propping up the labor market, (pointing to some 102000 students in the public and private education sectors). The number of students in public vocational institutes is 52000 students, as compared to 50000 students in the private vocational institutes, Hamadeh maintained. The vocational sector is an all-embracing national pillar as it delivers ample skilled human resources and potentials that have done good to the Arab countries. Vocational teaching in Lebanon has contributed to the construction and shaping of the region, and may be asked to participate in the post war reconstruction of neighboring countires, the minister said. (Al Diyar, June 17, 2017)

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British Ambassador commemorates IDWD

19-6-2017

On the occasion of the International Domestic Workers’ Day, the British Ambassador to Beirut, Hugo Shorter, received at his home on Saturday a group of migrant women domestic workers (MWDWs) in cooperation with EQUIP center to participate in a cooking class with the personal chef of the Ambassador.The British Embassy said that seven MWDWs participated in a cooking lesson that was followed by a lunch with the Ambassador attended by representatives of non-governmental organizations working in the field. Expounding on his initiative, Shorter said: “as promised last year, we are proud to support Equip center that transforms the lives of employers and the workers to the better, as well as to host a group of MWDWs who traveled from far countries in order to make a living”. Shorter stressed the significance of this special event, emphasizing the commitment of employers and workers to ensuring the implementation of ethical standards that govern working relationships. For her part, EQUIP’s founder and director, Lena Qussaifi, explained that the center has been in operation for 6 months now and that the results “are amazing and exiting”, pointing to the launching of a new service by the center entitled safety and hygiene in the kitchen. Concluding, Qusaifi called employers to register domestic workers who wish to enroll in the program and benefit from other facilities provided by the center which is based on developing communication, management, and other professional skills, including first aid courses offered by the Lebanese Red Cross, language lessons and many other services such as caring for children and the elderly. (Al Mustaqbal, June 18, 2017)

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LF opposed to women’s quota, Hezbollah reserved all others shy away

16-6-2017

News sources revealed that despite previous declared positions, the LF was among the staunchest opponents of endorsing women’s quota, while Hezbollah not in favor but in yj case adoped by the government was intending to express reservations on the matter during the Parliamentary session. Moreover, the retraction of political parties from their previous promises to endorse the quota triggered strong criticisms from feminist and civil society groups. In this respect, ‘Women in Front’ reminded in a statement yesterday of all the documented pledges made by politicians to support women’s representation, namely House Speaker Nabih Berri. The coordinator of Future Movement’s Women Division, May Tabbal, said that the majority of women associations in the country were optimistic about reaching the requested quota, describing what happened as a new setback to women's right. Similarly, The Gathering for the Republic considered that blocking the participation of women in Parliament is a serious setback, and appealed to all political forces to engage women in politics with or without legislation. On the official level, the minister of state for administrative development affairs, Inaya Ezzideen, disclosed to Al Mustaqbal newspaper that she voiced her strong opposition for not including the quota in the electoral law, describing this as a missed historic opportunity. “Justifications made during the session were not convincing,” Ezzideen noted. For his part Kataeb Party president, Sami Gemayel, declared that authorities had no convincing reason not to approve the quota. (Lebanon 24, Al Mustaqbal, June 15 and 16, 2017)

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