News

The so-called ‘Nis Binnis’ gathering (equal share) launched last Friday the ‘Sit el Baladiyeh’ campaign to promote the effective participation of women in the upcoming municipal elections for 2016. The National Committee for Following Up Women’s Issues is responsible for the implementation of the initiative with the support of the British Council in Beirut, and in partnership with the National Commission for Lebanese Women, SMART Center, Future Movement’s Women’s Sector, Beirut Association for Social Development, ABAAD, Shabab el Balad and CREADEL. During the launching ceremony, the Nis Binnis gathering submitted a study it implemented over the past three years and which addresses  the status of women in elections and political participation. The above study has shown that the participation of women in decision making remains a social problem, noting a decline in the rate of participation in Parliament from 4.6% in 2005 to nearly 3.13% in 2009, and not more than 2% in the Cabinet. This, the study went on to indicate, despite the progress in the level of women nominees for the municipal elections. While it pointed out to an increase in the number of women candidates from 550 women in the year 2004 (out of which 215 women have won) to 1300 candidates in 2010 (526 have won), the figure remains below the anticipated level. Analyzing the impact of a higher proportion of women candidates on the distribution of quota in municipal boards, the survey showed that about 95.3% of board members are males against 4.7% females only.

(As-Safir 9 April 2016)

 

Tens of Palestinian women demonstrated last Friday in front of the UNRWA headquarters in the capital Beirut in denunciation of the inequitable policies of the Organization and the shrinking of its services to refugees. During the protest, Fadia Abdel Majid, Zahrat al Rabii and Khaledat Hussein, uttered their opposition to the policies of the UN agency. They called on UNRWA to immediately change its policy and work on improving the services it provides to the Palestinian refugees in the country. At the end of the sit-in, a women delegation handed a list of demands to the UNRWA director general in Beirut, Mathias Chemaly. As Safir April 9, 2016

 

Following the uncovering of the human trafficking network north of Beirut, and in solidarity with the Syrian victims in particular, a number of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian feminist and human rights associations organized last Friday a sit-in in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut to demand lifting the political cover for any party accomplice in the crime. On the occasion, the head of the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering, Caroline Slaybi, said there is a determination on the part of the state not to curb the prostitution business because it is profitable, pointing out that the “advertising of the bodies of women in commercials by the tourism ministry is a blatant proof of this.”

At the end of the demonstration, a statement by participating organizations was issued which called for a transparent investigation into the human trafficking case and the disclosure of the names of persons and parties involved. The statement also demanded strict  punishment for the perpetrators, warning no mercy is justified based on excuses that the nationality of the victims are non-Lebanese. The statement urged security forces to continue their raids against other similar mafia cells. On the legal side, the above organizations called for the following: activating legislations related to protection of women against domestic violence and human trafficking; the creation of a law that criminalizes sex-based violence in Lebanon; amendment of the penal code so as it indicts both the dealer and beneficiary of sex services, in addition to the settling of the status of women refugees and provision by UNHCR of their protection. (Al Akhbar, April 9, 2016)

 

 

Quoting the latest commercial data, the President of the Committee for Commercial Markets in Beirut, Rashid Kibbeh, disclosed that over one thousand enterprises in the different markets of the capital, have closed down completely. Kibbeh who was speaking to Al Mustaqbal newspaper named the downtown commercial district as one example, in addition to the shops scattered in the neighborhoods of Corniche al Mazra3a, Mar Elias, Barbour, Hamra and vicinity, Furn el Chebbak, Badaro, Nuweri, Basta, Verdun, Ashrafieh, Afeef Tibi, Cola and Wata Musaytbeh. Kibbeh warned that “unless the causes of the crisis are addressed immediately, these figures are likely to rise considerably over a short period of time.” He stressed that the resistance of similar businesses has weakened  after “they lost their backup system following years of decline.” Kibbe indicated another new factor that is widely seen in the expansion of transactions by Syrian business people, which is mostly illegal. He pointed out to “an established network of Syrian traders who tend to import wholesale items and smuggle them into Lebanon to be later distributed among Syrian retailers operating over all the Lebanese territory and unfortunately unchecked by the authorities.” Kibbeh grieved the losses incurred on many commercial sectors, some being seriously threatened with closure, urging the ministries of interior and economy to intervene and stop illegal activities. The Committee’s President voiced his concern over a further deterioration of the situation  He further added that the sector is expected to remain in a dire situation in view of the general conditions still prevailing in the country. (Al Mustaqbal, April 8, 2016)

 

Under the sponsorship of the industry minister, Dr. Hussein Haj Hassan, the Syndicate of Owners of Food Industries organized yesterday the 10th edition of the ‘National Day of Food Industries’ at the HORECA Hospitality Fair in Biel Exhibition Center. On the occasion, the President of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, Dr. Fadi Gemayel, stressed the association’s serious interest in developing the capacities of the various industrial sectors, most notably the food industries. “The challenges of globalization combined with the particularities and high prices of manufacture in Lebanon, require more specialization and uniqueness in the quality of goods we export to the world markets,” Gemayel said, adding, “this alone calls for greater cooperation between sectoral establishments.” Likewise, the president of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), Nabil Itani, maintained that the food industry has constantly proved its competence, particularly in the past couple of years. Exports in the sector, Itani noted, have reached record high levels in 2014, as a result of the efforts by owners of establishments to keep up with the latest international standards in production and packaging. For his part, Haj Hassan seized the opportunity to propose a comprehensive strategy to achieve the desired economic growth through giving the industry the resourceful contribution it needs over the next 10 years. This, Haj Hassan explained, is based on “the well-known facts related to the value of deficit in trade and budget, unemployment, public debt, the size of economy and the large discrepancy between the volume of deposits in banks and the GDP.” He urged the government to work for increasing the size of industry, and food industries in particular, and to encourage the establishment of third, fourth and fifth category industries, up to doubling the size of the food industry over the next ten years. (As Safir, Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, April 7, 2016)

 

The general assembly of the Syndicate of Pharmaceutical Plants in Lebanon elected its board yesterday under the presidency of Dr. Carol Abi Karam, vice president Rida Chaito and secretary, pharmacist Dr. Berta Abou Zeid. Following her appointment, Abi Karam stressed that the purpose of setting up the syndicate is to ensure professional solidarity between the various pharmaceutical factories on the Lebanese territory. It also aims at strengthening collaboration with relevant official departments and persons involved in order to ensure the proper environment necessary for the continuity and development of the health sector, and the national economy at large. Abi Karam concluded by saying that “the essential role of the Lebanese pharmaceutical industry is to reduce the cost of the pharmaceutical bill by providing qualitative and sustainable medications at affordable prices. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, April 7, 2016)

 

Within the framework of the national campaign, ‘Your Right is a Guarantee for your Family, Huda Hbeish and Haifa Banna won the media competition launched by Search for Common Ground (SFCG) non-governmental organization in coordination with Act for Human Rights (ALEF). The above young women were offered the opportunity to publish their articles on An Nahar’s s electronic portal. Hbeish for example, shed light on the imbalanced socio-economic conditions of women in Lebanon, while Banna highlighted the absence of gender equality, in her short film entitled ‘Your Social Security is useless. The two winners will be honored during the closing ceremony of the Campaign as part of ‘Everyone is a Winner: Economic and Social Empowerment of Women in Lebanon’ initiative. The latter it should be noted, is the outcome of cooperation between a number of associations, including, Amel International, Nahar al Shabab, the Progressive Women Gathering, Smart Center for Media and Advocacy, ABAAD, Caritas Lebanon-Migrant Center, the National Community for Following Up Women’s Issues, LOST and the Women Workers’ Union Association in the North. (An Nahar, April 7, 2016)

 

For the 18th edition of the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards, the Scientific Society of Paris honored five exceptional women for their ground breaking scientific work, in addition to 15 promising young women researchers, notably, Hiba Haj from Lebanon. Since its inception in 1998, the above program has sought to ensure a fair representation of women at all the levels of science which is still largely dominated by men. The awards are divided annually among five outstanding scientific experts, from five continents, based on their innovative achievements in relevant research and the extent of their commitment to and impact on society. Throughout the past 18 years, the program has honored some 92 winners and supported another 2438 gifted women. From Lebanon, the program has selected Dr. Hiba Haj from the American University of Beirut, who works in the field of oncology and parasitology. Her ultimate objective, however, is to provide a better understanding of the biology of diseases in order to create better management, care and treatment strategies for the patients. (Al Mustaqbal, April 2, 2016)

 

The Lebanese-American professor, Christiane Farran, is a new name added to the list of Lebanese women achievers for her outstanding invention in identifying the gene related to resistance of organ transplant in the human body. Farran, originally from Saida in the south, has lived through Lebanon’s civil war and had her share of a sniper’s bullet in her leg. Fortunately, she was treated at Hotel Dieu Hospital where she became fascinated with the medical profession and decided to enroll in Saint Joseph university’s school of medicine. Later on, Christiane moved to Paris where she specialized in nephrology and kidney surgery at the University of Paris (V) and later practiced at Necker Hospital in the French capital which, luckily, witnessed the first kidney transplant in the country. Eventually, Christiane discovered the crucial function of the immunity system in tolerating or resisting a transplanted organ, and therefore, decided to turn to scientific research in the field. She received a masters from Pasteur Institute followed by a doctorate in immunology from the University of Paris (VI). Her post doctorate research led her to Harvard in the US where she contributed to advanced studies on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Her efforts culminated with the determination of the gene A-20 responsible for organ transplants. (Al Hayat, April 3, 2016)