News

As Safir published a new report on the situation of women prisoners in Lebanon which coincided with the holding of the workshop entitled “Reinforcing the role of media to endorse the policies and the practices of human rights in women prisons in Lebanon” and which was organised by Diakonia last week in its offices in Ras el Nabeh.  The event was organised within the framework of the “Reinforcing policies and the practices of human rights in women prisons in Lebanon” project which is implemented by The Rassemblement Democratique des Femmes Libanaise (RDFL), Dar el Amal, Caritas Lebanon – Migrant centre and Diakonia.
The newspaper report focused on the field and legal realities which were discussed at the said workshop while noting the gap in the law which regulates prison (1949) which does not comply with any international standards of human rights in prison.  The report also noted that according to international standards, prisons should play the role of administering punishment, rehabilitation and protection of the rights of women in Lebanon.  According to Diakonia, this is not the case of women prisons in Lebanon where migrant prisoners suffer from gross violations such as additional exclusion, and absence of any separation between women who are detailed and those who are actually convicted.  Furthermore prisons do not differentiate between civil and penal crimes, and women who are detained are not allowed to contact their families, while cases of physical and sexual violence are not recorded.  Women' privacy is not respected and their cases are often discussed publicly. They do not benefit from any training and are not able to learn new skills or do any work for pay.  In addition, there are no libraries and no spaces for training or physical exercises.
The report includes stories of three women prisoners who reveal cases of oppression of women by women.  One narrative says that the prisoner has forgotten about oppression by men on the streets as she has to deal with oppression by fellow women prisons. Another woman talks about working for all the other women who may give her some money or cigarettes in return or may not.  One migrant woman prisoner shares her story of life in prison where other prisoners call her the "black woman" and force her to move the garbage.  She complains about being called back and being forced to do all the work and is denied food or clothes from fellow Ethiopians.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Safir 5 November 2013

After the laying of its foundation, 7 months ago, the Regie tobacco factory in Bikfaya was opened yesterday following the completion of refurbishment and construction work, in a ceremony organised under the auspices of the Minister of Finance, Mohammed Safadi, with the presence of the President of the Regie, Nassif Saklawi and MP Sami Gemayel.
The factory which was designed by a pioneer Greek company according international standards was achieved at a total cost of USD 3.5 million, provided by the Regie, including some USD 400,000 donated by the Ginseng Tobacco International (GTI). The factory is expected to contribute to local the development of the local community, by creating around 300 new seasonal job opportunities among the youth population during at least 4 months every year.
It is important to note the significant contribution of the Regie to public finance and the national economy, with direct income reaching USD 366 million until last September, in addition to its important role in supporting tobacco farmers through purchasing their harvest at subsidized prices, and thus generating an overall net revenue of USD 577 million.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Safir, Al-Diyar 6 November 2013

The Collective for Research and Training on Development - Action convened last week a consultative meeting to launch its new regional initiative entitled "Supporting and connecting rural women's traditional know how within the Mediterranean Sea Basin through the promotion of fair products to enhance their economic and social future and to participate towards the achievement of a harmonious development for a good neighborhood in the region"and which implementation begun in Lebanon, Palestine and Spain on November 2012, and is expected to stretch until the end of 2015.
The Consultation meeting was held at the YWCA centre in Ain Mreisseh and was attended by representative of 8 organisations active in women's economic empowerment fields and working with both Lebanese and Palestinian communities .  The meeting begun with an overview of the regional project which is funded by the European Union, followed up by the sharing of the key results of the assessment review that was completed to inform implementation.  The meeting concluded with a discussion of the dispositions of participants to engage in the implementation of various components of the project.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal 2 November 2013

Justice without Frontiers organised last Saturday in collaboration with I live Art an activity entitled "together to have justice for women".  The event included the painting of graffiti on women's right to access justice and how important this is to secure family stability. Justice without Frontier also invited residents of the area to partake in this event which included self expression through painting and writing to discuss their vision on how they visualise women's rights and the importance of women's access to justice.
This activity was part of the project campaign for empowering women to access justice. A project the organisation is implementing in partnership with Oxfam GB and with funding from SIDA (Sweden), and aiming at providing legal literacy for women, and free legal counseling to women victims of violence who face problems with the law.  The project also seeks to develop partnerships with local community and religious leaders, political parties and NGOs in order to develop common strategies that will ensure women's access to justice.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, The Daily Star 4 November 2013

Within the framework of creating new work opportunities for Lebanese youth, the Youth and Sports Parliamentary Committee, headed by MP Simon Abi Ramia, held yesterday a new meeting to study the report recently prepared by the Ministry of Labor in collaboration with the World Bank, regarding the launching of the Youth First Job project.
The proposed project will aim to train some 2400 young man and woman, under the supervision of the National Employment Office, who will subsequently be hired by private enterprises. According to the project the Lebanese government will provide an incentive to these enterprises by covering their contributions to the social security fund for a period of 2 years, according to the following ratios: 100% during the first year, two thirds during the first half of the second year and one third during the last. In addition, the Lebanese government is expected to pump LBP 10 billions during 5 years, while the WB provides USD 1.2 million in funding for managing of the project.
Following the meeting, Abi Ramia commented the project, pointing out that although it will not resolve the overall unemployment issue in Lebanon, it should be considered a prototype project that will ease the problem. He added by saying that 22 different queries were raised by the participating parliamentarians regarding the project, to which the Ministry of Labor will be responding in time for the next meeting.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Nahar 31 October 2013

Lebanese media covered in great details yesterday the release of young Eva from her abductors while she appeared on New TV talk show programme “Lil Nasher” with talk show host Tony Khalifeh.  Law enforcement secured the release of young Eva following the intervention of middle people after she spent 16 days in captivity during which she was forcibly married to the son of her captor.  She was interrogated at the police station in Ouzai with the presence of a representative of the office of protection of minors and is due to be subsequently delivered to the care of a social centre after the legalization of her divorce by the Jaafari Mufti Ahmad Kabalan.  Meanwhile, the police is still looking for her abductors.
According to Al Akhbar newspaper, the case of Eva is expected to remain open as long as her abductor, her rapist and whoever signed her marriage are still free.  According to Al Akhbar, the operation that led to the release of Eva included a raid on several locations where the girl was believed to be held captive in addition to using other forms of investigation including the use of mediators who promised to bring young Eva back.  The legal authorities subsequently ordered that the young girl be kept in a safe place which is suitable for minors until her captors are brought to justice.
Eva’s family lawyer Bushra al Khalil outlined the harm done by the New TV programme Al Nasher which not only cast a stereotype on the young woman by presenting her as a model happy housewife but the programme also presented a positive image of her abductor whom the TV showed as saying that “Eva has now become like my daughter”.  According to the lawyer, the NTV programme tried to shift the parameters of this case which had severe consequences on the little girl by resorting to cheap sensationalist methods.  The TV programme further added insult to injury by presenting the opinion of the Muslim clergy Hasan Chahin who indicated that this forced marriage to a minor is legal if the union is consensual and if the girl is well treated especially that she is more than 9 years of age, and, therefore, fit to marriage according to the clergy!
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Akhbar, Al-Nahar, Al-Safir 30 October 2013