News

The Lebanese Association for Permanent Civil Peace (LAPCP) continued, in collaboration with Diakonia, the implementation of the second part of its programme on women’s participation in decision making at the local level namely through the organization of a seminar yesterday at the Tyre cultural forum with the participation of some 40 women. The coordinator of the project, Rabih Qays, presented the objectives and stages of the project and insisted on the importance to reach practical achievements which would change people’s behavior in their daily life and highlight the culture of peace.  For his part, Antoine Messara gave a lecture on ways for strengthening Lebanese heritage through advocating for women as human.  He attempted to answer three key questions: why empowerment? Why women? And why Tyre?
The event concluded by a series of recommendations put forward by women and revolving on protection of women’s rights and on the role of women in strengthening the culture of rights and civil peace.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 29 May 2014

Social Najat association organized in Iqlim al Kharroub a discussion seminar entitled “I am a woman and I have rights”.  The event was organized yesterday at the Shim cultural club with the attendance of Muna Farshookh (spouse of MP Mohammad Hajjar), the President of the association, Samar Shubeir Othman, and representatives of local clubs and NGOs, in addition to women from Shim and Iqlim al Kharroun.  The general secretary of the Lebanese Coalition for Protection of Families, Dr. Fatmeh Shaaban, noted in her interventions that any form of violence is not acceptable and can be stopped with prevention, namely sound education and successful family relations or through imposing penalties.  The head of the coalition, Maha Fatha, noted that there is less violence is our countries than in Westerne countries (?) adding that the local mode of education which reposes on haram and shame is the basis to decrease violence.  She insisted that the aim of her group is to protect women without affecting the unity of the family.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 29 May 2014

As Safir newspaper published a report about the banking sector in Lebanon and highlighted the situation of its employees in 2013 whilst looking at some of the criteria of this sector.  According to the report, this sector employed 23136 persons in 2013 with an increase of 499 employees over the previous year.  The report notes that the employees of the banking sector are usually young people holders of university degrees and of high qualifications and with women representing 45.9% of the total labor force in 2013.  This percentage of women in banking is increasing and is higher than the average of women participation in all economic sectors in Lebanon which does not exceed 25%.
With regards to other demographics, the % of single people continues to diminish as it has decreased from 39.5% in 2012 to 39.2% in 2013 (which can be broken down to 49.9% of single women and 50.1 % of single men).  The percentage of married women is 43.4% of the total married pool which equals 60.8%.
With regards to the age pyramid, there are more young men than young women except in the less than 25 age category where women represent 57.7% of total work force which means that women constitute the majority of newcomers into the banking sector.  The gender gap increases with age in favor of men, since the distribution of gender according to age shows that around 64% of women are below 40 years old, exceeding the percentage of men in that age category (53%).
When the variables of gender, age and educational level are compared, then, the number of women with university degrees is slightly more than men as 81% of women working in banks are university degree holders whilst those who have reached baccalaureate level form less than 5% of total which is the similar figure for men in “laborers” positions.
Source: Al-Safir 28 May 2014

Safadi Foundation organized last Wednesday a seminar on the techniques of hydroponic agriculture.  The event was held at the Safadi agriculture centre in Deir Dulum (Akkar) and was attended by around 20 farmers and agronomists from different areas in Akkar.  The director general of Safadi, Riad Alamuddine, noted that the seminar was implemented within the framework of the Foundations’ development policy especially within the agriculture sector in order to secure the sustainability of project after the completion of their funding.  To be noted that the hydroponic agriculture project is a part of another wider project called “Da2em” which is funded by USAID.
Agronomist Bassam al Khoury presented for his part an introduction to the concept of hydroponic agriculture and the reasons why it is expanding throughout the world.  He spoke of the positive aspects of this technique notably in terms of saving 50% of the water requirement as well as overcoming problems related to soil, decreasing the pollution of ground water and saving in the usage of fertilizers and rationalizing the use of land.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 24 May 2014

Pursuant to the news published on May 19th about the arbitrary detention of Senegalese domestic workers and which caused an uproar amongst the Senegalese community in Lebanon. The Coalition of Senegalese Nationals issued a statement saying that the community has only the right to express itself vis-à-vis the practices of law enforcement.  The statement refutes all allegations by the police and which were published on WEEPortal on this subject (refer to the following link: “Four Senegalese domestic workers beaten and humiliated as a result of the prevailing sponsorship system”, calling on Lebanese officials to reconsider the issue of the Senegalese domestic workers who were subjected to violence and humiliation and who are still under arrest despite the attempts of their employers to secure their release.  The statement concludes by saying: “At least let us work in peace while you focus on capturing real criminals and their likes”.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 24 May 2014

According to last Saturday’s issue of Al Akhbar, the ILO has organized a workshop including a number of academics and trade unionists from Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Yemen and Oman for the purpose of understanding the realities of trade union representation as well as consider the possibility of creating an independent trade movement in the region given the political complexities and the aftermath of the Arab revolts and the fact that only 10% of the labor force is actually represented in trade unions.  During the workshop, AUB professor Vijay Prashad spoke of new mechanisms to reach workers and convince them to join trade unions namely not accessing workers in their place of work but in their homes as well as recognizing the presence of marginalized communities of worker and challenging organization barriers between workers and unions and regional networking and exchange of experiences amongst trade unions.
For his part, Ghassan Dibeh of AUB spoke about the new categories of workers that are difficult to study.  He noted that global economic transformation and globalization sought to convince peoples that these trends are inevitable but failed to produce any changes in the structure of the trade movements but rather dismantled the working class and eroded earlier gains.  Dibeh added that the new slogans of trade unions should be the inclusion of marginalized labor.
Finally and according to the newspaper, the workshop mainly focused on the trade union representation of migrant workers and domestic workers since there are some 25 million domestic workers who are considered to be outside the labor forces with only shy attempts taking place in the region to include them in trade unions.
Source: Al-Akhbar 24 May 2014

Many parts of Lebanon celebrated yesterday the 14th anniversary of Liberation day which falls on 25 May 2000 and witnessed the withdrawal of the Israeli army from most parts of South Lebanon.  This victory could not have been possible without the martyrdom and sacrifices of many women and men.  In commemoration of this national occasion, As Safir published last Saturday the names of the women martyrs who died for this cause including Hamida Mustapha al Taher (Syrian national) who joined the Arab Socialist Baath party in 1983 and died in South Lebanon on 26/11/1986, Françoise Kesteman (French) and member of the PLO who died on 23/9/1984, and Zaher Abu Assaf, Syrian national and member of the Syrian Social National Party, who died in early November 1986.
The newspaper also listed the names and details of Lebanese women from the National Lebanese Resistance Movement and who gave their lives in resistance to Israeli occupation, namely:

1. Yassar Ahmed Mroueh: Born in Zrarieh-South of Lebanon, in 1965, she joined the Communist Party and was the first martyr of the Lebanese National Resistance Front, after she died in May 1984 during an operation near Tyre.
2. Sana'a Youssef Mehaidli: Born in Anquon in 1968, she joined the Syrian Social National Party, she died on the 9th of April 1985 during a big operation on the Bater-Jezzin route when she blew herself next to an Israeli convoy.
3. Lola Elias Abboud: Born in Qaroon in 1966, the daughter of the Journalist Elias Abboud joined the Communist Party and died in a heroic operation on April 21st 1985 in Qaroon.
4. Wafa2 Noureddine: Born in Nabatieh in 1962, she joined the Communist Party in 1981 and the Lebanese National Resistance Front on the 9th of May 1985. She was a mother of one child before she died on 9/5/1985 during an operation at the Abu Qam7a crossroad, near Hasbayya.
5. Ebtisam Farid Harb: Born in the town of Ghareefeh – Shouf in 1957, she joined the Syrian Social National Party, and died on 9/7/1985 during a heroic operation on the Hamra-Bayyada-Naqoura bridge.
6. Mariam Kahyreddine: Born in Douress Baalbek in 1966, joined the Syrian Social National Party, as well as the Lebanese National Resistance Front, and died on 11/9/1985 in an operation at the Israeli militant commander headquarter in Hasbayya.
7. Norma Badaoui Abi Hassan: Born in Qebbeh – Tripoli, in 1959, joined the Lebanese National Resistance Front on 1985, and died in Dahr el Ramleh operation in the South of Lebanon.
8. Yusra Ismaeil: Born in Eastern Zawtar, joined the Lebanese National Resistance Front and died in late 1989 in a heroic battle in Wadi al 7ujair.
9. In3am Hamzeh: Born in 3beih in 1962, joined the Lebanese National Resistance Front, and died along with 2 of her comrades; Hussein Daher and Hussein Hujjeili, at the foothills of Mount Hermon in November 1990.

Source: Al-Safir, Al-Diyar 26 May 2014

The European Union Delegation in Lebanon organized last week a seminar on Gender-Based Violence at the Haigazian University.  The seminar addressed some aspects related the law to protect women and their families from domestic violence and which was endorsed by government last April, notably how to benefit from the positive aspects of this law and until the needed revisions are put in place.
Judge Ghanem who had taken part in the work of the parliamentary Commission which studied this law acknowledged in his intervention that the confessional system is the cause of the gaps in this law.  According to Ghanem, one has to recognize however the positive aspects of this law.  According to MP Ghassan Mokhaiber, member of the same Parliamentary Commission, efforts should be extended now to explain this law to women and facilitate access to its benefits.  Mokhaiber’s explanation of the issue of marital rape was refuted by members of the audience as Mokhaiber had noted that confirming marital sex as a right came in the form of a civil and not a religious text and was intended to tell men that even if this is a right, it cannot be claimed using violent means. The representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), added that both organizations will be issuing a statement explaining their position vis-à-vis this law.
The director of Kafa, Zoya Ruhana, noted for her part that this new law poses new challenges to women namely in terms of seeking help as it does not give the district attorney a mandate to issue protection memoranda as this was left to the discretion of the investigating judge, criminal court judge, or the urgent matters Judge.  Ruhana noted that the “Coalition” will not accept a law that does not recognize women’s need for protection from gender based violence and, as women, we cannot accept a legislation that condones marital rape under the guise of marital rights.

Source: Al-Safir 26 May 2014

According to an opinion poll implemented by ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller about the views of Arab youth, 72% of the Lebanese expressed their concern with regards to the rising unemployment in Lebanon compared to 22% who indicated that they are not worried about this and 6% noting that they had no comment. According to the same study, 88% of the Lebanese also expressed their concern regarding the rising cost of living in Lebanon and 78% stating that the government should subsidize the cost of electricity and transportation. It is to be noted that the poll covered some 3500 individual interviews with young women and men with ages ranging between 18 to 24 years and covered Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Jordan, Palestine, Qatar, KSA, Tunisia and Yemen.
Within the same vein, L’Orient-le-Jour published last Friday an article on an ILO study which indicated that unemployment amongst the youth reached 23% in 2010 but have now soared to 33% after the political and security breakdown, and this according to the current Minister of Labor.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 26 May 2014

Alpha Orascom celebrated the international Girls’ ICT day for the second year running.  This celebration recorded the participation of 25 students in secondary level from various schools in Lebanon. The event aimed to support women and girls’ engagement in the ICT sector and to provide them with opportunities to familiarize with the various challenges offered by the ICT sector.
The event included a tour of Alpha’s technology section in addition to discussions with women directors and staff in the company which provided visiting students with an opportunity to engage with the Alpha women staff and to benefit from their experiences and expertise as well as ask questions about day to day work at the company.  The event was concluded with a competition amongst the students to create Apps so as to test their creative capacities. It is to be noted that this initiative is part of the company’s commitment to strengthen women’s participation in ICT and seeks to contribute to encouraging girls seeking to enter college to choose specializations related to the ICT sector.  To be noted that 40% of Alpha’s employees are women and 21% hold technology related jobs.

Source: Al-Diyar 23 May 2014