News

A new case of violence against women has recently come to the attention of the media recently namely young Tamara (21) who escaped death after being severely beaten and tortured by her husband. Tamara went to the Ouzai police station where she was examined by the legal doctor who issued a report detailing bruises all over her body after which she went to Al Zahra hospital where she was admitted to intensive care for 48 hours.  Tamara suffered bleeding, a broken nose and severe contusions.  The Attorney General in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Bou Alwan, issued an arrest warrant for the husband whilst Judge of urgent matters, Hasan Hamdan, issued a protection order for Tamara based on the new law 393 which was recently endorsed in Parliament. In a related vein, the Attorney General of Appeals, Samer Leisha3, charged Krystel’s husband with a crime of “causing suicide” according to article 535 of the penal code.  To be noted that Krystel’s husband was released two months ago and his file referred to the investigation judge in Mount Lebanon, Joseph Sfeir.

Furthermore, Al Akhbar newspaper reported the case of a woman who called the paper to talk about her predicament as she has been subjected to her husband’s violence and threats for more than three years.  The victim noted that she contacted Kafa who replied that it cannot help since it does not have the mandate to intervene and protect.  Kafa confirmed the matter when called by the newspaper.  Lawyer Nizar Saghieh stressed for his part that immediate intervention is needed and possible in this case and can be triggered by an organization or individual through notifying the relevant authorities.

Source: Al-Safir, Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar, Al-Akhbar, Al-Akhbar, 8, 9 and 10 June 2014

L’Orient le Jour published yesterday a report in which it shared the result of a study carried out in the Baabda women prisons and which highlights the conditions of women prisoners and their suffering.
According to the Dar Al Amal statistics for 2013, the total number of women incarcerated in the four women prisons in Lebanon (Zahleh, Tripoli, Baabda and Beirut) is around 627 women and that is excluding the number of migrant women workers who are incarcerated for months awaiting deportation.
According to the report, living conditions in all four prisons are not in accordance with international standards.  In Baabda for instance, a 20 square meter cells houses 20 prisoners.  Such room only has one window and poor lighting.  According to the report, there are no specific administrative policies that regulate the situation of women in prisons.  Rather, women prisoners with the longest tenure set the rules.
The report highlights special cases such as pregnant women who deliver in prisons and the fate of their children, those forced to live in insalubrious conditions, the incarceration of minors and adults together as well as “sorting” of inmates according to race rather than according to the type of their offense.
The newspaper spoke with a 42 year old inmate who said that sometimes, the room hosts 22 women and this situation has not changed despite the intervention of many organizations who tried to help.  She added that women are subjected to insults and humiliation all day long and are forced to work hard in sewing, cleaning, cooking, etc… in return for basic hygienic products which explains the poor sanitation conditions within the prison.   Finally, the report also highlights the social isolation of women prisoners as they are abandoned by their families.  According to the newspaper, this also may be partly due to the remote location of prisons which are not well distributed in the country.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 10 June 2014

As Safir newspaper published a report about the experience of women in Arab Saleem in sorting and recycling solid waste and selling these to several factories in Lebanon via the Earth Call association which was created by the women in 1998 and which is involved in various other environmental initiatives.
The President of the association, Zaynab Mkalled, notes that the project started with sorting solid wastes and separating plastics, metals and glass.  The activity involved children who were given a symbolic stipend for their work in addition to the women of Arab Saleem who were sorting their wastes as part of their housework.  Mkalled notes that the project then developed and the organization acquired premises and six warehouses to store sorted waste with the support of the Italian government which also helped the, acquire a large electrical generator which is sufficient to operate the large equipment they also bought and go through a number of training workshop on packaging recycle waste.  The group acquired another generator to operate a machine to process plastic material via the German embassy.  The Municipality of Arab Saleem also provided assistance to the group thus underlying the importance of collaborating and coordinating with the state and with the Ministry of Environment as experience shows that the problem of waste cannot be solved unless in collaboration with civil society and with relevant Ministries.
Hamda Haydar, an activist in the organization notes that their aspiration is to implement a project to treat organic waste.  She added that the success of their project is a reflection of the success of their organization which mobilized the community around the importance of the environment and the fact that the problem of waste can only be resolved through on-site sorting.
Source: Al-Safir 10 June 2014

Al Mawared Bank launched its initiative to support young entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprise holders so that they can access financial and banking resources.  This initiative is implemented within the framework of the Bank’s commitment to encourage innovation amongst the youth and limit the current brain drain as well as strengthen trust in the Lebanese economy as per the Central Bank memorandum number 331. This initiative also involves supporting a number of investment funds, projects and educational institutions targeting young people.   As a first step, the Bank has provided financial support to Alt City, which represents a social project that seeks to expand access to resources for innovators.  It will provide spaces for meeting and exchange via training workshops, exhibitions and other activities. Al Mawared bank also sponsored last Saturday at the Beirut Digital City an event entitled DevAppLBHackathon within which teams of participants worked for 12 continuous hours on designing a new APPS.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 10 June 2014

The Department of Agricultural and Scientific Research inaugurated last week its new agricultural labs to protect vegetation as well as to produce “natural enemies” in Tell Amara in the Bekaa under the auspices of the Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb, and with the participation of 400 farmers who received from the department some 100000 insects that are considered “natural enemies”.  The Chair of the department, DG Michel Iphram, insisted in his keynote address on the role of his Department is providing agricultural extension.  He added that the department has laboratories to prevent diseases which use European standards to test all edible products.
The Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb highlighted the important role played by the department in supporting the agricultural sector as well as in using knowledge to support farmers and improve their production.  He noted that the natural enemies’ laboratory is amongst the most modern labs available to combat agricultural pests and to use “natural enemies” to prevent diseases that attack fruit bearing trees.  This is likely to reduce the usage of chemical pesticides thus improving the quality of products and their competitiveness.  He hoped that the services of both vegetation protection as well as natural enemies’ laboratories will extend to include the farmers in all of Lebanon.  Chehayeb also addressed the farmers and noted that the Ministry will be by their side to help them in their problems.  He also noted that Ministers and MPs from the Beqaa are working hard to secure an endorsement of the financial compensation for farmers who have suffered as a result of latest cold and frost.  He added that the Ministry has compiled a comprehensive report which was submitted to the cabinet.  The report includes statistics about the magnitude of this catastrophe.  He noted that this matter is contingent to the availability of financial resources and will be decided by the cabinet.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al-Safir 9 June 2014

The ILO issued last Tuesday a report in social protection entitled “Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice”, in which it notes that 70% of the world’s population do not have adequate social protection whereas only 27% of the world population enjoy a comprehensive social security.   ILO Deputy Director-General, Sandra Polaski, noted that the issue of social protection has become more important in the absence of economic stability, and given the slow growth and increasing inequality.  She also added that this is a matter that the international community needs to give due consideration in the post-2015 development agenda.  She also added that many high income countries have started to decrease their social protection schemes especially in the European Union.
With regards to Lebanon, the report notes that 6 out of 8 categories are all covered by the NSSF albeit in a limited way with regards to legal coverage.  The report explains that the category of “sickness” is covered in kind by the NSSF whereas the category of “maternity”, “old-age”, "employment injury”, “disability”, “survival”, and “family compensation” are all covered by one programme according to the national laws in force.  The report affirms that the country has no legislation or programmes to support unemployment.
To access the executive summary of the report report, please click on the following link: World Social Protection Report 2014/15: Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 9 June 2014

Smart Centre for media and advocacy launched last week the second phase of its “She Leads” programme which targets women from various parts of Lebanon and seeks to train them to become decision makers as well as more effective at the political, social and economic levels. The workshop series started in the North with the participation of 70 women drawn amongst civil society activists, housewives as well as representatives of Smart partners.
The Smart Centre director, Randa Yassir, spoke in her intervention about the stereotypical image of women leaders in the media.  She noted that the purpose of the programme is to encourage women to reflect images as leaders as well as empower them with communication and negotiation skills in addition to develop their political, economic and social skills.
The director of training and research at Smart centre, Dr. Mamoun Torbey shared the results of a study conducted by Smart centre which indicates that the media does not reflect the true image of pioneer and political Lebanese women.  This was followed by interventions from partner organizations praising the importance of the programme and hoping for a continuous collaboration with Smart in the framework of future projects.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 9 June 2014

Credit Bank exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding with Proparco for a loan amount of USD 20 million, and extending over seven years, for the purpose of strengthening the capacity of Credit Bank to provide loans to small and medium enterprises.  The MoU was signed on 9 May 2014 at the headquarters of Credit Bank in Beirut.
To be noted that the small and medium enterprises sector in Lebanon is now considered to be key for the overall economic growth in the country as it contributes to creating new employment opportunities for the youth even though this banking sector is challenged in terms of financing especially at the long term.  
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 9 June 2014

The Korean UNIFIL contingent in Tyre organized last week a ceremony to celebrate the 34 women graduates who have successfully completed the sewing course in Tyre.  Graduates received their certificates and the event was concluded by an exhibition showcasing their work to UNIFEL troops and to visitors who were able to purchase many of the products.
The Korean contingent had started organizing sewing courses for women in its vicinity since 2012 and for the purpose of creating work opportunities for women and helping them generate income.  Each course extends over one trimester (12 weeks) and, thus far, 350 women have benefited from this intervention and have learned to sew clothes and accessories and were initiated to various marketing approaches.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 9 June 2014

The Minister of Public Health, Wa2el Abu Fa3oor, convened two days ago a large meeting at the Ministry and which included the Minister of Industry Hussein Hajj Hassan, in addition to key stakeholders in the industrial sector.  Abu Fa3oor noted that the aim of this meeting is to organize joint work between the two Ministries and identify a coordination mechanism to support the industrial sector.  Abu Fa3oor added that there is no conflict in the mandates of both Ministries but rather a complementarity of responsibilities and a desire to coordinate so as to have productive results.  Abu Fa3oor announced that a meeting will be held in the coming few days to identify a joint mechanism which would allow them to support the industrial sector through ensuring all that is needed to safeguard the health of Lebanese citizens.
Hajj Hassan noted for his part the urgent need for a plan of action that would address the concerns of the Lebanese industries especially in term of licensing, industrial certification, and export licenses.  He noted that an agreement was reach to create a committee to include the Ministry of Industry DG as well as a team from the Ministry of Public Health and representatives of the pharmaceutical sector to address issues relate to water usage in the industry, mainstreaming the registration of medicines in public social security and private insurances , the issue of ensuring fair terms of trade in pharmaceutical industries and other issues concerning Lebanon and its foreign trade partners so as to improve the opportunities of Lebanese pharmaceutical companies to export.
Source: Al-Diyar 6 June 2014