News

Afaaq Association organised last Wednesday a workshop on agricultural development in the area within the framework of its action aiming at supporting the agricultural sector in the Bekaa.  The event was organised at the municipality in collaboration with the Union of Municipalities of Jabal el Sheikh in Rashayya Qaza and was attended by Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abou Faour.
The President of Al Afaaq Ahmed Thabet highlighted the realities of agriculture in the region and offered ways to improve it.  He noted the key role of nongovernmental organisations in presenting plans to improve this sector, while stressing the critical role of local municipalities in supporting farmers and in making the best use of the resources available to municipalities and NGOs.  Thabet also focused on the need to draw local agricultural calendars as well as extending services to farmers.
Abou Faour gave a keynote address that focused on the importance of adopting a developmental vision, whilst emphasizing the important role that municipalities and municipal confederations can play in strengthening agricultural development.  The Minister also called for the setting up of agricultural processing projects that will benefit farmers and highlighted the importance of environmental preservations notably in Jabal el Sheikh (Mount Hermon) whilst hoping that the area will not be wiped out by constructions.  Finally, the Minister called for the setting up of an industrial zone as a safe area away from residential and agricultural areas.  He also criticized the impact of quarries and the systematic destructions that these are causing.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 15 November 2013

The Saida Commercial Bazaar was launched earlier this week as a permanent nonprofit showroom to benefit small business holders of the city.  This individual initiative was launched in collaboration with several civil society organizations and is located at the Northern entrance of the city.  The new market includes some 300 shops which were opened with local private business investments to allow them to promote the selling of traditional foods, handicrafts, cafes, restaurant services, etc.., with the aim of supporting small business holders and developing the skills and initiatives of young women and men.
Within this framework, the initiative Say no to Violence organized last Wednesday in collaboration with “The Right to Play” Association, and “Hurricane Association” an open development day which included the running of a number of activities such as training small business holders in how to market their products and moving from homemade goods to more professional productions as well as building young people capacities.
Source: Al-Diyar 15 November 2013

The Daily Start newspaper published a report last Tuesday 12th of November, on a training workshop organised by Tawlet restaurant which is affiliated to Souk el Tayeb and which targeted Syrian displaced women in order to help them in opening catering business in Syrian cuisine and as such enable them to secure some livelihood.  The workshop was organised in cooperation with Caritas and with financial support from UNHCR and aimed at providing training to women for preparing Syrian dishes and helping them market these dishes.
Some 20 women took part in this training which was held in the basement of one of Caritas premises in Sin el Fil.  The main incentive for the trainees is certainly to be able to secure some income but the project has also provided women with the opportunity to leave aside their troubles and miseries caused by the war in Syria while getting to know each other and learn new ways to prepare food dishes.
According to Jihan Chahla who is the responsible of projects at the Tawlet restaurant, the project seeks to help these women to take initiatives, create a trademark for their products and subsequently cater for social events such as weddings, etc…
Source: The Daily Star 12 November 2013

The Charitable Organisation for Social Awareness submitted ten years ago a proposed revision of the Druze family laws composed of 17 clauses of which three are to be given priority, namely regarding raising children’s custody age, giving mothers’ priority for child custody (in case she is found “fit and eligible” and if she remains unmarried) and safeguarding women’s inheritance rights from their fathers.  The president of the organization, May Wahhab Bou Hamdan explained the reason for prioritizing these clauses namely the persistence of Druze judges in refusing to raise children’s custody age (currently set at 7 years for boys and 12 years for girls) as they argue that when boys are raised by their fathers, they “become men” while the same judges have agreed to raise girls’ custody age to 13 years of age.  Bou Hamdan added that Druze Sheikh Akl Naeem Hassan has recently referred these clauses to the vote and hence the decision of the organization to pursue the dialogue with selected political leaders concerning the proposed amendment that will result in raising child custody age for boys to 12 years as boys need the same care and affection of their mothers as in the case of girls.  Bou Hamdan clarified that their actions are not directed against fathers and that they do not seek to prevent fathers from having custody of their children.
Bou Hamdan recalled that the organization submitted the full proposal for a reform of the Druze family law (dating back to 1948) back in 2002.  The suggested revisions were signed in April 2002 by former Minister of Justice Samir Jisr after he confirmed that it did not jeopardize public order or violate the Constitution or the current legal framework.  The organization had hoped that their petition would be referred to the Parliamentary Commission for Administration and Justice so that it can take its course to the General Assembly.  However, the unstable situation that has prevailed since then has delayed the process until now.
Source: Al-Nahar 13 November 2013

The International Domestic Workers' Network (IDWN), The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Human Rights Watch issued a joint report documenting the various forms of human rights violation of migrant domestic workers in the Middle East.  The report is entitled “Claiming Rights: Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform” and provides an assessment of progress made since the ratification of the “Domestic Workers Convention”.  The Convention seeks to protect the rights of domestic workers as for all other workers and has not been ratified by any Arab countries the majority of which still excludes migrant domestic workers from the provisions of its local labor laws.  The report noted that ME region is the site of the worst violations of the rights of migrant domestic workers and the reform process on that front is very slow with no serious results.
The report was released during the meeting of the leaders of the labor movements from more than 40 countries, and which was held last month in Montevideo in Uruguay in order to form a new international federation of domestic workers.
Source: Al-Safir 13 November 2013

Al Akhbar published a report to follow up on the case of Eva focusing on the legal aspects of the case whilst raising a number of questions on the ways in which law enforcement have responded to queries regarding how the matter is proceeding.  For the past three weeks, and since the matter was unraveled, the response from law enforcement and various mandated stakeholders was to “let justice take its course”.  However, the author of the article, Rajana Hamyeh, wonders how justice will take its course when the alleged kidnappers and rapists are running free with complete disregard to the law.  She also asks whether the matter will now slip into oblivion after a court order has been issued to return Eva to her parents or whether a tribal scenario will now unfold again.
The report condemns the fact that the accused have yet to be apprehended despite the heinous nature of their crime and the fact that their whereabouts are known and they do not shy away from appearing on the media.  Hamyeh notes that mediators appear to have come back on the scene especially those who have “brought back the young girls to her family” with one of them calling the young girl’s father just a few days ago advising him to return the girl to her former and forced spouse to “protect her honor”.  The mediator informed the father that the former forced husband is willing to have a big wedding, to provide his forced child bride with an apartment, and with a bride price of 100 million LBP and a dowry of 50 million LBP.
Hamyeh concludes her article by noting that the case of Eva is not an issue of "protecting" the girl’s honor but the legal pursuit of perpetrators, criminals, instigators and mediators and their bringing them to justice on charges of kidnapping, rape, encouraging and legalizing these crimes.
Source: Al-Akhbar 12 November 2013

The General Director of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoE), Fady Yarak, pointed out to the growing setback in the enrolment of girls in sciences at the University level, versus an increase in the enrolment of girls in law, economics and administration.  Yarak, who was speaking to the 37th UNESCO Conference convened in Paris, highlighted the fact that limited opportunities for decent work were the key reason for the marginalization of girls in the Arab region especially in relation to their career opportunities.
Yara’s speech included a presentation of the Ministry’s plan for reform and for supporting girls’ education, and took place in a round table discussion organised during the conference on strengthening education for women and girls for gender equality.  Yarak spoke of the realities in Lebanon with emphasis on the initiatives of his Ministry which is closely working in collaboration with UNESCO and the various challenges it faces.  He added that the Ministry is striving to develop new curricula which will emphasize gender equality, sustainable development and citizenship.  Yarak also spoke of vocational training and education, and of the awareness raising campaign currently in preparation, and which targets families and especially girls in school age while seeking to raise awareness on various existing work opportunities and options in vocational training.
Finally, Yarak described the current situation of public schools in Lebanon, within the context of the Syrian crisis, pointing to the difficulties in absorbing the increasing numbers of refugee children especially girls.  He concluded by hoping that the crisis will soon be overcome, so that the Ministry will have the conditions necessary to reform and to improve education particularly in what concerns girls education.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 12 November 2013

As Safir published news report on the Homemade Mouneh exhibition which was organised last Monday 11th of November, by Al-Nahda Women’s Association in Amioon, Kura.  The report highlights the experiences and concerns of some of the women who are participating in this event and who come from Akkar, Duma, Zgortha and Byblos to market their homemade products.  Sahar Nasr Al-Diri emphasised the importance of marketing homemade products and, as such, providing work opportunities for women so that they can financially support their families.  She suggested the setting up of a marketing cooperative in Kura which would assist in the marketing of products made by women who only work from home.  Warde Shathbek noted for her part that she depends on exhibitions such as this one so that she can secure additional income for her family.  She shared her concern with the competition in her village as she used to provide homemade sweets to a local pastry shop however, once her products became popular, the shop owner learned the recipes and started doing these himself without resorting to her services.  Nouha and Nahla Saadeh noted that although the sales of homemade food did not secure all the needs of their families, however it considerably helps in supporting their livelihoods. Nuha Barakat commended the diversity of products in the exhibition and the quality and said that the event provides a space for social gathering and exchange of experiences.
The president of Al-Nahda Women’s Association in Kura, Aafa Shammas, said that she is aiming to set up a permanent showroom in Kura which is an area reputed for its traditional homemade food.  Shammas told As Safir that what encourages visitors to come to the exhibition is their appreciation of the homemade products and willingness to support to the organization and women producers.  She added that working women no longer have time to do homemade food and Mouneh and hence resort to purchasing products made by other women.
Source: Al-Safir 12 November 2013

Resonance Lebanon, in collaboration with Safadi Foundation, organised a musical and dance performance entitled “women with broken wings”.  The event was held last weekend at the theater hall of the Safadi Cultural Centre in Tripoli with the participation of international pianist Elizabeth Sombart accompanied by Dr. Mallika Sarabhai, an Indian dancer and a TV producer.  The performance included 12 acts each representing a different form of violence suffered by women in silence from the day they are born to the day they die.  The performance is a contribution by both artists to change reality through art.
The cultural evening also particularly highlighted the realities in women prisons across the world in an attempt to reflect the conditions and struggles of women as mothers, prisoners, victims of violence and rape.
Source: Al-Nahar 12 November 2013

On the occasion of the coming to terms of the 2012-2013 school year, Haya Bina organized, earlier this week, within the framework of its extracurricular activities for teachers and students a cultural tour in the Shoof area to provide the opportunity for students from Sowwaneh and Burj Rahhal (south), Meshmesh, Aydamoun, and Mashta Hammoud (North), Kfar7heem (Shouf), Burj Al-Barajneh and Ain Al-Remmaneh (Beirut) to meet each other.  The day-tour started in Kfar7heem with a visit to the cultural exhibition organised by the Lebanese House Establishment for the Environment (LHEE) followed by a visit to the Shoof cedars natural reserve located in the Barook Mountain where the group planted a symbolic cedar tree in the name of the English for Women Programme.  The group then visited the reserve and engaged in cultural activities animated by trainer Mohammed al Amin.  It is to be reminded that this programme targets some 35 localities across Lebanon and is funded by the American Embassy in Beirut.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar 12 November 2013