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English

Greece elects first woman president

23-1-2020

In a majority vote, the parliament of Greece yesterday elected judge Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou (63) as president of the republic to become the first woman in the history of the nation to assume this honorary post. A majority of 261 lawmakers in the 300-member parliament voted in favor of Sakellaropoulou, formerly the head of the Council of State, after being named by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (https://bit.ly/3aDAKJg). Recalling, that the conservative PM presented Sakellaropoulou as the candidate for unity and progress. He chose her because she is far from the traditional partisan divisions in this Mediterranean country. Following her nomination on January 15, Sakellaropoulou, who is not affiliated with any political party, won a wide consensus. Mitsotakis said at the time, “It is time for Greece to open up to the future,” adding, the Greek society still sustains discrimination against women. “But this will have to change top-down from now on,” he said. (Al Akhbar, January 23, 2020)

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Restrictions on foreign labor inside Beirut airport

23-1-2020

The minister of labor issued a statement on Tuesday informing the services companies operating at Beirut International Airport to hire Lebanese only. The statement explained that the ministry plans to not renew work permits for foreign laborers after receiving many requests from Lebanese wishing to be employed by similar companies. The latter pledged to start relying on domestic labor immediately and up to the largest number they can accommodate. The ministry’s statement comes in the framework of its tackling the current economic and living crisis within a plan to create more jobs for the Lebanese. It also comes after a swift tour by the ministry’s inspectors to some services firms in the airport to examine the work conditions and ensure that foreigners have legal papers. Former labor minister, Kamil Abul Sleiman, reminded involved institutions and companies to comply with the ministry’s instructions, advising them to boost social solidarity by giving priority in jobs to the Lebanese. (Al Diyar, January 23, 2020)

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Monitoring the plight of MWDWs in Lebanon continues: new suicide case in Mseitbeh, Beirut

22-1-2020

 An Ethiopian migrant domestic worker attempted suicide by hanging herself from her employer’s house at Abraj Beirut located in Salim Salam neighborhood, Beirut, the National News Agency (NNA) reported today. Security forces arrived at the scene and the body of the victim was transferred to Al Zahraa Hospital. L’Orient Le Jour daily briefly reported the news aired on local media, pointing out that official sources indicated that the worker has started work at her employer, a woman in her fifties living alone in the 6th floor in one of the buildings in the compound, only one day before the accident. She didn’t have any supporting documents since she was already working in the country which could not help in identifying her. The newspaper wrote that the labor minister released a statement on the incident requesting wider investigation to this effect to be able to take necessary measures if the employer proves to have any direct or indirect connection to the death and hence, be placed on the ministry’s blacklist. According to our website monitoring similar cases, nine MWDWs have died last year, noting that the above is the first to be recorded this year. (NNA, L’Orient Le Jour, January 22, 2020)
 

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Beirut ranks 184 out of 440 global cities for cost of living

22-1-2020

The 2020 Cost of Living Index produced by global database, Numbeo, ranked Beirut as 184th among 440 global cities, and 3rd among 24 Arab cities covered by the study published in Byblos Bank Weekly Monitor. The Lebanese capital, according to the above index, is the most expensive among 108 cities in the upper middle income countries included in the survey. The cost of living index measures the prices of consumer goods (relative consumer price index which covers the prices of groceries, restaurants, transportation and public facilities), in addition to the rent indicator, noting that both are benchmarked against New York City. The study has placed Beirut 168th globally, 7th among Arab countries and in 5th place among cities in upper middle income countries in the rent index. Globally, renting an apartment in Beirut is more expensive than in Bangkok, Linz in Austria and Malmo in Sweden. (More on the following link: https://bit.ly/2RxZYQA). (An Nahar, January 22, 2020)

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A new 20-minister government formed with 6 women ministers, including first Arab woman defense minister

22-1-2020

Breaking a 3-month deadlock, a new government was formed yesterday with an unprecedented presence of 6 women ministers out of 20, including one for defense, a first in Lebanon and the Arab world, recalling that the previous government had 4 women out of 30 ministers. The six women ministers in the 2020 Cabinet are: defense: Zeina Akar Adra, also chosen as deputy prime minister; justice: Marie Claude Najm; displaced: Ghada Shreim; labor: Lamya Yammin Dweihi; information: Manal Abdel Samad and sports and youth: Varteh Ohanian. Below is a brief synopsis of them: Akar, is close to the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), holds a degree in social sciences- marketing from AUB, runs Information International, publisher of a monthly journal. Najm, is also close to FPM, BA in law, MA in private law, PhD in international private law, heads the Faculty of Law and Political Science at USJ and the Center of Legal Studies and Research for the Arab World. Shreim, FPM, PhD in French literature, director of the Faculty of Arts at Lebanese University (LU)- Zahleh Branch and a feminist activist. Yammin, Marada Movement, master’s in architecture from LU, consultant architect and university professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture, LU. Abdel Samad, Lebanese Democratic Party, PhD in law from Sorbonne University, lecturer at USJ, former head of the Department of Legislation and Tax Policies, VAT Directorate, ministry of finance. Ohanian, Tashnak Party, project management at Haigazian University, social work activist. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, January 22, 2020)

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Doctor molesting female patient fined with L.L 15 million

22-1-2020

The Criminal Court of Beirut headed by Judge Tarek Bitar ruled yesterday against anesthesiologist, N.B for sexually harassing his woman patient H.A after an appendectomy in June 2017 in one of the capital’s hospitals. In the details, after the surgery, the patient was transferred to a room close to the operating room awaiting the anesthesiologist to turn off the drugs and wait for her to wake up and be moved to a regular room. While in recovery, the defendant attempted to molest her thinking she was still under anesthesia, only to be surprised that the patient has awakened and started screaming. This alerted the doctors and nurses on duty to check what is happening. As a result of preliminary investigation and testimonies of witnesses, the Court decided to indict the defendant according to Article 508 of the Penal Code, sentencing him to 3-year hard labor then reducing the term based on Article 253 and replacing it with a stay of execution according to Article 169. He was also fined to cover for damages award worth of LB 15 million. 9Al Diyar, January 22, 2020)
 

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Wider curbs on US citizenship for children of foreigners

21-1-2020

Citing Sputnik Arabic, Al Diyar daily reported that the White House is planning to tighten visa requirements for foreigners who come to the United States to have children and automatically obtain the American citizenship. According to Sputnik, the expectations come after US President Donald Trump confirmation last August that his administration is seriously weighing repealing the birth right nationality law granting unconditional and unrestricted birthright citizenship, which he described as ‘funny’. On the subject, American political scientist, Mikhail Senilnikov-Uarishk stressed that in order to completely abolish the said law, the US will have to change the constitution, which is difficult and impossible in the current US political status quo. He proposed tightening procedures for obtaining entry visas by not issuing visas to pregnant woman, issuing visas selectively or raising the prices of medical care for childbirth for non-US citizens. Should this be applied, America will be able to choose its citizens in the future, Senilnikov-Uarishk said, concluding, that it is not economically feasible for the US to grant citizenship to any child born on its soil, and it needs new prospects for development. (Al Diyar, January 21, 2020)

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Google celebrates first Egyptian woman lawyer, Mufida Abdel Rahman

21-1-2020

Google celebrated on January 20 the anniversary of woman Egyptian lawyer, Mufida Abdel Rahman, born on January 20, 1914, by displaying her photo on its logo. According to the largest search engine on the internet, Mufida was the first woman to practice law in Egypt and one of the first cohort of graduates (1939) from the School of Law, Fuad Al Awal University (currently Cairo University). She is the first married woman to enroll in the university and the first mother to graduate from it. Mufida is considered the first woman lawyer to plead before Egypt’s Court of Cassation and has earned her fame after the first case she took up, which was the case of ‘unintentional murder’. After winning the case and the acquittal of her client, Mufida, a mother of 9, started her own law firm. Aside from law, she became a member of Parliament and remained so for 17 years. A vigorous parliamentary and social activist, Mufida was the only woman involved in the committee for the amendment of personal status law in the sixties of the past century. She participated in the historic struggle to support Egyptian women to win the right of voting in 1956. She was dubbed as the ‘Ideal working mother’ for her successful career where she pleaded in over 400 court cases, and in recognition of her social, parliamentary and family feats. She died in 2002 at the age of 88. (An Nahar, January 21, 2020)

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Lebanese Nura Raad wins French award for doctorate on women & law

21-1-2020

Lebanese University (LU) graduate, Dr. Nura Raad, won on January 16, 2020, the Prize for the Best Thesis in Comparative Law from the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the French Aix-Marseille University. Raad received the award for her thesis dissertation she presented on January 1, 2018 entitled, ‘The situation of women in the comparative French-Lebanese Penal Code’ which she wrote under the joint supervision of Professors Leila Saadeh from the Higher Institute of Doctorate in Law and Political Science, LU, and Sylvie Cimamonti, of the Doctoral School in Legal and Political Science, Aix-Marseille. Raad earned a degree in law from the School of Law and Political Sciences, LU-French Section and took her master’s in criminal law and comparative legal studies from France. She also holds a certificate of attendance from the Center for Studies and Research in International Law, The Hague Academy on the topic, ‘The International Struggle for Women’s Rights’. She participated in workshops related to the situation of migrant women with the European Network of Migrant Women (ENOMW) in Greece. (NNA, January 21, 2020)

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Lebanon ranks 145 out of 153 countries in global gender gap index

20-1-2020

Lebanon ranked 145 out of 153 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index released at the end of 2019 by the World Economic Forum in Davos down from 140 at the end of 2018. The index, which measures various dimensions of the gap, has shown that Lebanon, despite a slight progress in terms of political empowerment, remained in the 149th place globally. The country was not recognized as distinct from other Arab states which generally continued to be the lowest in the said index. Iraq and Yemen came last globally. On the subject, An Nahar newspaper wrote, what is remarkable in the global gender index is that some Arab countries came ahead of Lebanon in gender equality, namely, the UAE (120), Kuwait (122) and Tunisia (124). This confirms that the gender-based aspects the Lebanese society reflects are not real, An Nahar said, adding, Lebanon will need some 100 years to bridge the gap, while the Arab world needs 150 years.  (An Nahar, January 18, 2020)
 

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