News

The Women and Children Parliamentary Commission held a session during which it reviewed local laws that are discriminatory against women and compared these with the provisions of international convention with emphasis on the arguments accompanying each.  The Commission also reviewed a compendium of discriminatory Lebanese law and decided to start developing law proposals to address discrimination in the letter of the law and submit these for approval by the Assembly so that the latter can review and adopt these suggested reforms.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 30 October 2013
 

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just announced a ban on the travel of Ethiopian domestic workers comparing this mass migration to human trafficking, in what is the second of such bans.  The spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dina Mufti, noted that this type of migration is facilitated by traders involved in human trafficking and is distorting the image of Ethiopia.  The Minister did not specify the period of the ban but promised that all illegal agencies will be closed, noting that these agencies deceive Ethiopian workers and organizes their travel illegally and under harsh working conditions.  He declared that this is affecting young women and men and is leading to serious economic and social problems in the country.
To be noted that the Ethiopian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs estimated that 200000 women left the country in 2012 to seek work opportunities mostly in the Middle East, whilst the ILO declared that most women were victims of physical abuse and racism in addition to working in difficult conditions with low pay.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour

The president of the Arab Internationa Women Forum (AIWF) Haifaa AL-Fahom Kilani highlighted the progress in the role and condition of Arab women in the job market over the past decade which, according to her, is as a result of the struggle of women and the political will at the highest official levels (!?). Kilani also noted that there was increased investment in the education of girls in most Arab countries as well as more opening for women in the Arab job market despite differences amongst Arab countries.
Kilani was speaking in an interview with the Al Hayat newspaper conducted during the annual conference of the “The role of women in business leadership, from the partnership to the overall growth” which was held last week in Berlin and was entitled “women’s role in leading businesses: from partnership to comprehensive development”.  Kilani asked Arab governments to enact laws  that will ensure gender equality in employment and pay and highlighted the need to benefit from the German experience especially with regards to women’s position in the job markets as studies by the global business monitor indicate that there are three times more men than women who set up corportations in Arab countries whereas this difference does not exceed 30% in Germany.
The conference also discussed the challenges facing Arab and German women in leadership positions and the needed incentives as well as ways for strengthening economic growth and innovation, scientific and cultural cooperation between Germany and the Arab world.  
Source: Al-Hayat 28 October 2013

Within the framework of the project entitled “Strengthening human rights policies and practices in prisons for women in Lebanon”, implemented in collaboration with Diakonia, Dar el Amal and Caritas-Lebanon Migrants Centre, the Rassemblement Democratique des Femmes Libanaises )RDFL(, organised last week a seminar at the municipality in Jounieh on the reform of policies and practices related to human rights within women’s prisons in Lebanon and so as to reach gender equality in family laws, penal code and social security.
The coordinator of the project, Manar Zeiater, presented during her intervention at the seminar, an overview of the situation of women as well as the issues faced within women’s prisons.  She highlighted the main recommendations regarding the needed reforms of laws and policies and which emerged as a result of the studies and reports prepared by the project partners, namely the need to take into consideration the specific health needs of women in prisons, their right to comprehensive medical checkups upon entering the prison, to reproductive, sexual and preventive health care as well as providing special needs for women namely safe nutrition in adequate quantities with due attention to pregnant and lactating mothers and women with special needs, in addition to giving due consideration to women’s personal hygiene.  Zeiater also outlined the various ways to boost women’s participation in campaign to protect them from violence and to improving conditions in prisons so that prisons meet international standards of human rights and also clarified the various mechanisms to secure the rights of women prisoners and to respecting the rights of detainees.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 27 October 2013

Young Eva, 13 years, was abducted in lieu of a debt that her father was not able to repay to his creditors.  Eva is known to have been detained by her captors for more than 11 days, and then forcibly wedded, but nobody has any information about her current situation, as the state seems to have thrown this matter into the hands of clans and have failed to pursue the abductors.
Lawyer Bushra Khalil, now in charge of the case since October 26th, has now filed a case of abduction and rape to the district attorney.  She expects new developments within the coming 24 hours including an arrest of the abductors.
Source: AL-Akhbar 26 & 28 October 2013

The Daily Star published a report about Sabira Itani, the only fisherwoman in Beirut who challenged the stereotype of defeated widows and provided a role model of the hidden capabilities of women.  Sabira left school to help her father with his farm in Dalia area of Beirut after the death of her mother.  She is engaged in fishing for the past 12 years after the death of her spouse when she held a fishing net weighing 8 kilograms and threw it in the water to feed her three children.
Sabira was born in 1962 in a family of eight children.  She went very briefly to school and left it in 1975 after the death of her mother and so as to help her father and work with embroidery.  She raised poultry and sold milk until she married in 1979 to a fisherman whom she loved and helped in his work and learned the secrets of the trade from him.  Her husband died in a boat collision and the perpetrator of the accident was never identified.  After that, Sabira took hold of the net and started working and taught the trade to her sons and tought them until they decided not to go to university.
Sabira practices a trade generally reserved for men but is accompanied by her brother every day she goes to fish or prepare for fishing at 2:00 am.  When she works during the day, she works alone and drives her car to Zahrani to sell her fish to shops and to private clients.  Her daughter runs the household.  She has little relations with her women neighbor as she is different from them since she has challenged taboos as a result of economic hardship which required her to be economically independent.  She also smokes in public after smoking privately for years.  As such, Sabira became a role model for women so as they are inspired to release their inner capabilities.
The fisherfolk of the area remember the tragic death of Sabira's husband and the disaster that hit the family and talk proudly about this strong woman who was able to land on her feet after the accident that changed her life.  She not only worked with the fisherfolk in the harbor but she also helps them in marketing their harvest in her car in Zahrani,as her presence constitutes an addition to theirs and wash aside the traditional stereotype of the lone woman amongst the community of men.  She herself thinks highly of them and confirms that they never made her feel as an intruder or a competitor or that she does not deserve to be amongst them.
Source: The Daily Star 24 October 2013

An Nahar newspaper published a profile report on the Aleya Ibn Al-Insan which was set up in 2005 by the former spiritual guide of prisons in Lebanon, Father Marwan Ghanem.  The centre which seeks to treat and rehabilitate victims of substance abuse, has now allocated a new section for women.  So far, the centre has received 13 young women three of whom have completed their rehabilitation and reintegrated society.  Aleya Ibn Al-Insan is the second of such centre targeting women with care and rehabilitation similarly after that of Um al Noor.  Rehabilitation programmes are diverse and included spiritual guidance, psychotherapy (both individual and group therapy conducted with specialised social worker), personal assessments, and family visits in order to improve family relations as well as family follow ups.  In addition, the centre sets up social groups and organises awareness raising lectures and various cultural activities such as reading of literature and spiritual books and attending ICT training.  Language training is also provided in addition to theater and music sessions.  The period of the therapy will extend over a minimum of one year which once completed is followed by psychotherapy, spiritual guidance and social support.  To be noted that the daily needs of the centre and its patients are secured with external funding in addition to donations and auto generated income from various fundraising activities.
Source: Al-Nahar 23 October 2013

Insan organised yesterday an event at the Faculty of Law at the Sagesse University during which it launched a booklet on the conditions of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon in 2012-2013.  The production of the booklet was funded by the Open Society Foundation in collaboration wit the Sagesse University, within the framework of Insan's programme on justice for migrant workers and their families in Lebanon, and in an attempt to strengthen legal protection for migrant women workers in Lebanon.
The director of the project, Lala Arabian, presented the content of the booklet which addresses several legal problems facing migrant women domestic workers, and resulting from the sponsorship system, such as difficulty in filing complaints and accessing justice, entering Lebanon and acquiring residence, as well as examples of racist practices vis-a-vis migrant women in Lebanon.  Furthermore, the booklet presents the achievements of various civil society organisations working on migrant workers' issues including Insan.  
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal 24 October 2013
You can access the booklet which is only available in Arabic via the following link.

http://www.charlesayoub.com/more/203478

BLC issued a statement yesterday indicating that it has appointed Ms. Tania Musallem, assistant general director, to represent the BLC at the Board of Trustees of the International Banking Federation for Women. Musallem who is the creator of the “We Initiative” will serve a three year mandate at the Federation. Musallem had joined the bank in 2008, has more than 17 years of banking experience, and holds a Masters degree in finance and communication from the ESSEC University in France and a Business Administration degree from the American University in Beirut.
The bank statement notes that the Federation was set up in 2000 to serve as an international network of pioneer finance organisations concerned in supporting women's capacities worldwide while focusing on business women who head small and medium enterprises.  The Federation currently consists of 34 organisations working in more than 135 countries to build creative programmes and provide women with opportunities to reach markets, capital, education and training.  The Federation builds the capacities of its members to serve their women clients and to raise women’s awareness of their vital economic roles as investors, consumers and business owners.
The BLC statement also notes that the bank became a member of the Federation in 2011, and was the first from the Middle East, because of its efforts in promoting women's economic empowerment and after launching the “We Initiative” which has become a well known platform for women as it allows them to learn, communicate and share experience with a view towards encouraging them to develop their businesses and meet their personal and financial goals.  The bank has also contributed to the preparation of a guidebook that the Federation has launched, for the sole usage of its members, and which provides a checklist of needed steps to set up a women economic empowerment initiative.  
Source: Al-Diyar 23 October 2013

As Safir published an article  about the Lothan Youth Achievement Center (LoYAC), an organisation which seeks to provide opportunities for young students who wish to upgrade their individual skills so as to increase their chances of entering the job market.  The report notes that LoYAC was set up Kuwait in 2002 by a number of Kuwaiti women to support the youth and challenge stereotypes.  It then opened a branch in Jordan in 2008 and in Lebanon in 2009.  LoYAC seeks to build a safety net to support Arab youth through providing them with opportunities for self-improvement though training before graduation from university and encouraging them to engage in voluntary work so as to create new and young cadres for the future.
LoYAC also encourage young people from various Arab countries to apply under simple conditions namely having a minimum of 17 years, residing in Lebanon, commitment to completing the set programme and capacity to interact with other young people of different cultural backgrounds.  The article presents a number of examples of various young people of different Arab nationalities (Lebanese, Iraqi, Sudanese and others) who benefited from various training workshops offered by the association to help them improve their skills before entering the job market. Onsite job training is facilitated by a network of Lebanese and international organisations who have partnership agreements with LoYAC.  Finally, LoYAC will be organising, next Saturday, a public event to celebrate 31 young people currently enrolled in its programme and in recognition of their participation.
Source: Al-Safir 23 October 2013