News

Cardiac health tests for women were conducted over two days at the Beirut City Center in collaboration with the Bellevue University Medical Center, as part of a campaign entitled ‘Go Red for Women’ that was carried out by Majed Al Futaym Real Estate Companies. Accordingly, tests related to cardiovascular disease were performed for hundreds of women and included testing for blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. Furthermore, and as part of the campaign, women were provided with consultation on fitness, and other preventive measures.
Dr. Ghassan Kiwan, Chief of Cardiology and Director of the American Heart Association training center at Bellevue Medical Center, emphasised the importance of the campaign, particularly so since statistics indicate that the rate of mortality from stroke and cardiovascular diseases is three times higher for women than for men and that more than two thirds of women who died from a heart attack had no knowledge of contracting the illness.
Source: Al Mustaqbal 18 July 2013)

The Lebanese Women’s Council convened a press conference yesterday in its headquarters conference to condemn the recent terrorist explosions, to warn against civil strife and to review the situation of women in this context. During the press conference, the president of the Council Jamal Hermez Gabril warned against those who aim to revive civil strife and conflict among the Lebanese. Furthermore, Gabril pointed out to the twofold suffering of women from violence; on one level, women directly suffer from armed violence but also from domestic violence too. She referred to the recent case of Rula Yaa3cub who died after intense beating perpetrated by her husband, pointing out that there are thousands of other women who are victims of violence and remain unknown. She demanded that Parliament adopts the draft law for the protection of women from domestic violence while directly addressing members of Parliament by saying: “You are not just incapable of protecting women from domestic violence, you are also accomplices.” In conclusion, Gabril announced that 7th of July, the day of Yaa3cub’s murder, will from now on be commemorated as a national day for women victims of domestic violence.
In the same vain, MP 3atef Majdalani denounced the murder of Rula Yaa3cub, stating in a communiqué that this type of crime is not the first and would not be the last as long as no legislation is adopted to protect women , and hold accountable and punish perpetrators.

Source: Al-Nahar, Al Mustaqbal 16 July 2013

Maaruf Saad Cultural and Social Foundation concluded last week a training course in early childhood education, implemented in partnership with the Arab Resource Collective, and aiming at developing the educational capacity of mothers of children enrolled in the Foundations preschools and from the local community.
The six-month-long course was conducted in Al Mada Center for Learning, Development and Partnership which is affiliated with Maarouf Saad Foundation and located in Saida. Some 25 sessions were organised revolving around the following topics: physical, mental, emotional and social development of the child, the right of the child to play, positive and negative disciplining methods, effective listening, conflict resolution, balanced and healthy nutrition, preventing accidents at home, and effective communication with the child.
At the end the graduation celebration held for the occasion, all participants received a certification which hopefully will boost their chances of finding a work opportunity.

Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Safir, 13 July 2013

The eleventh annual report on Arab NGOs was launched yesterday at Amel main office in Mussaytbeh in the presence of representatives of various NGOs and media people. The annual report is the outcome of collaboration between the Executive Director of the Arab NGO Network, Dr. Amani Qandil, who supervised its production and Amel International Association which prepared the Lebanon’s section entitled ‘Role of Civil Society Organizations in Addressing Risks Faced by Families in Lebanon : Empowerment for the purpose of Fortification’ under the supervision of Drs. Kamel Mohanna and Mustafa Hijazi.
Hijazi and Mohanna noted that the study the country developed around a central pole and against a background of marginalization of wide sectors of the population and huge risks faced by middle and popular class families. The social situation is largely characterized by family dysfunction that has a clear negative effect on women (more than on men) and thus affecting the health and development of the entire family. The study also indicated that the proportion of NGOs focusing their services on the family, women, youth and children represent 100 percent (i.e. all of the surveyed NGOs), those focusing on elderly (40%), on persons with disability (50%), on divorced women and widows (50%) while all associations (100 percent) provided health services and preventive programs.
In conclusion, Dr. Mohanna pointed out to the main risks faced by society from the NGO perspective namely: drug addiction (90%), exclusion of of women from public participation (30%), unemployment and livelihood problems (100%), youth unemployment (60%), security (80%), sectarian polarization (90%), housing of families and youth (70%).
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 12 July 2013

Hayya Bina organised a training workshop targeting teachers as part of its English for Women programme.  The workshop was supervised by expert Mohammed al Amine and was held in Debbyeh (Shoof).  Women participants also took part in a number activities related to conflict resolution and as a part of a session entitled women’s participation in peace-making run by Justine Abi Saad.  This workshop was organised within the framework of the continuous training of teachers engaged in its US-funded English for Women programme which the organisations is implementing in 35 different localities of  Lebanon.
Source: Al-Nahar 10 July 2013

The President of the Traders’ Association of North Lebanon, Assad Hariri, discussed yesterday, with the Governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, a new project aiming to set up an incubator for non-educated youth of Tripoli.  This new project arises amidst deteriorating economic developments in Tripoli and within the context of attempts to strengthen economic activities.  The role of the incubator is to train youth and assist them in entering the job market.  A special fund will be crated for the purpose with funding support from the Central and World Banks.  The Governor of the Central Bank indicated his support and promised to work towards overcoming any barrier that such a project would face especially since it carries the potential of mitigating violence that is prevalent amongst many of the youth in Tripoli and to transform them into active and productive elements of society.

Source: Al-Diyar 10 July 2013

The Collective for Research and Training on Development – Action and the Women Learning Partnership, organized an interactive seminar with Mr. Saul Ortega, the head of the delegation of Venezuelan Parliamentarians visiting Lebanon with the participation of Venezuelan Ambassador to Lebanon, Ms. Suad Karam.  The seminar sought to share the Venezuelan experience in drafting the Constitution and ensuring that the constitution is explicit in its upholding and protection of Gender Equality and social justice.  The key idea was to draw lessons and inspirations to feed into current processes of constitutional reforms in the Arab region.
The event was organized at the Social Sciences Campus of the Saint Joseph University and brought together a diverse group of some 60 participants from Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan,  Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen who shared their own experiences in constitutional reforms.
To be noted that the seminar was held within the framework of the WLP Global Training of Trainers workshop which was held from 3 to 7 July and focused on developing leadership skills as well as promoting women’s political participation.  The workshop highlighted the importance of adopting civil constitutions which guarantee equal rights to women and men, as well as to minorities while fully embracing human rights and freedom of belief.  The drawing of such constitutions ought to include the setting of transparent, accountable and efficient institutional mechanisms for implementation.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour 9 July 2013