News

The Arab Women Gathering started its series of seminars entitled: “Media: sensation or impact”.  The first event in the series was organised at the Notre Dame University in Loueizeh and was opened with a keynote address by the president of the higher commission of the Gathering Ms. Carmen Zoughaib.  Zoughaib clarified the objectives of the event describing it as a call against the current situation in the media which she described as being inappropriate and immoral.  She raised the question as to whether the media serves the community or the other way around noting that viewers follow drama, entertainment and advertising which seem to seek to corrupt society.  She promised that by the end of the seminar, a committee will be formed to follow up its recommendations and to liaise with decision makers in the Ministries of Education and Information.  She stressed that improving the situation of the media begins at the level of educational institutions and universities.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 20 June 2013

MP Bahiya Hariri honored Ms. Zahia Osseiran (born 1917), a pioneer of the association of women’s renaissance in Saida.  The event coincided with the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the association which was founded in 1933.  The event was held at Ms. Hariri’s residence in Majdelyoon.  The honoree was granted by the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development a Lebanese flag scarf and a special medal of distinction for continuous contributions and in recognition of her social and human giving
The event started with a documentary tracing the life and work of the honoree followed by a keynote address by the head of the Saida Municipal Council, Eng. Mohammad Saoudi who pointed out to the achievements of Ms. Osseiran in the fields of women’s rights.  He also talked about the renaissance of women in the thirties and the challenges they encountered.  The honoree then spoke and extended her thanks and noted that what she did was only her duty to her country.
Source: Al-Nahar 18 June 2013

Migrant women domestic workers who took part in a meeting organised at the premises of the National Union of Workers and Employees Syndicates in Lebanon, submitted demands to their respective countries, Lebanon as a host country, employment agencies and employers aiming at ensuring decent work environment, protection for their children, the safeguarding of their welfare, social and economic rights.  The MWDW also demanded safety from violence, neglect and exploitation and the adoption by Lebanon of the ILO convention of standards for decent work for domestic workers (number 189 dated 16 June 2011), which they commemorated.  They also addressed the Lebanese State asking it to improve the living conditions of detention centers, to ensure that deportation procedures are implemented whilst safeguarding the dignity of the workers, in addition to monitoring the conditions of sick migrant workers in hospitals.  Finally, the MWDW called for the reform of the current legal framework to allow workers to sue individuals who abuse them physically and sexually, in addition to the right of their children to free schooling and health care in Lebanon, and the halting of all forms of racial discrimination especially in accessing touristic venues.
Source: Al-Diyar, Al-Mustaqbal 18 June 2013

MOSA concluded last week a programme to raise awareness of health and social workers, belonging to those NGOs benefiting from contractual agreements with the Ministry, on issues related to women’s human rights.  The programme culminated in the graduation of 25 health workers which were chosen according to specific criteria.  These followed eight in-depth and specialised awareness raising workshops on women’s human rights.  The graduates form now a core reference group for all those NGO. In total some 120 health and social workers have benefited from this programme since its launch, all of whom are active in rural and civil society organisations.  The implementation of this programme was made possible with funding from UNFPA aiming at strengthening social and development work, building women’s skills and raising their awareness to facilitate their participation in decision making.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 17 June 2013

As Safir newspaper published a report in the struggles of Palestinian women and men in Ain el Helweh in order to secure decent work in the context of stringent Lebanese Labour Law which makes it difficult for Palestinians to find work outside their refugee camp.  The report includes stories of women who have fought to secure the livelihoods of their families and good education of their children in schools and universities.  A case in point is that of Fatmeh who is mother of 4 girls and one boy.  Fatmeh is the sole breadwinner as her husband is ill and unable to work.  She learned to be a seamstress in 1984 and was sewing clothes at home.  With the increasing demands of her family, sewing from home was no longer sufficient.  As such, she thought of starting a project which would meet the needs of her family.  She was able to borrow USD 1500 from a lending programme funded by the EU, bought sewing machines and rented a small shop in Ain el Helweh.  She now considers herself to be quite a success as her clients come from outside the camp to order wedding dresses.
Source: Al-Safir 17 June 2013

General Security has taken some steps towards regulating the migrant workers department through issuing a multi lingual booklet including information on the rights of migrant workers in Lebanon as well as the series of hotline numbers to be used in cases of emergency including abuse.  The booklet is being distributed to migrant workers residing in Lebanon as well as to new comers through the Beirut International Airport.  In addition, the waiting rooms allocated to migrant workers have been spruced up and have become clean and equipped with seats and air conditioning.  General Security is working on ensuring that waiting time does not exceed 10 minutes.
Source: Al-Diyar 13 June 2013

The SMART centre for communication organised last week a political debate which is the first in a series of debates it is planning to carry out in the different regions amongst women candidates.  This event was carried out in Byblos and brought together two candidates Josephine Zougheib and Nehmat Badereddine.
According to the project director, Silva Akl, the SMART Centre is seeking through its projects and training events to engage women in politics through building their capacity and that of their campaigning teams as well as changing stereotypes of women in Lebanon and the Arab world.  She also added that the project entitled Women Advocates for Women's Votes seeks to visibilise women as politicians as well as prepare electors to practice accountability vis-à-vis elected candidates.  Akl described the various stages of the project and noted that it has so far trained 41 women in various topics which will enable them to run successful political campaigns.
Source: Al-Nahar 17 June 2013

A delegation representing the Association of Lebanese Business Women headed by Ms. Leila Karameh visited the new Prime Minister Tammam Salam and his wife Lama Salam in their family home in Mossaytbeh last week.  The Delegation called on the new Prime Minister to ensure that women are appointed in his new Cabinet urging him to speed the process of forming his government for the sake of Lebanon and the Lebanese people.  The Delegation also stressed the need to give special consideration to Tripoli and North Lebanon in view of the worsening conditions of this area.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Safir 16 June 2013

The Lebanese League for Women’s Rights announced during a press conference held last week at the UNESCO Palace the results of the elections of its new executive and which now consists of Azza el-horr Mroue as the president, Amal SAfadai as the Vice President and Media Coordinator, and Linda Matar as the Foreign Affairs Coordinator.  The League also revealed the recommendations of its eighteenth congress which was convened earlier this month under the slogan “together we can work towards change”.  The League reiterated its intention to pursue its struggle to achieve full citizenship without discrimination between women and men through mainstreaming gender in general policies.  The League emphasised that it will continue to work on the reform of the penal code and the nationality law as well as adopting a civil family law and a law to protect women from domestic violence.  The League also stressed the importance of pooling efforts and adopting the women’s quota as a temporary measure to ensure women’s dignity as well as work towards a civil and non confessional state.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 15 June 2013

DOT-Lebanon organised in partnership with the Akkar Network for Development the graduation of 136 trainees from its project entitled mobilising local communities by means of technology and innovation in North Lebanon (ACTION) which is being financed by the American Embassy in Beirut.  The celebration was organised at Minyara municipality with the participation of a number of municipal heads and representatives from the educational and social sectors.  The celebration included the viewing of a documentary on the project and on its various implementation phases followed by the distribution of certificates to the trainees whose ages ranged between 15 to 25 years and drawn from the villages of Berqayel, Akroum, Koubayyat, and Wadi Khaled.  The project aimed at empowering young people and women in the area of Akkar, through providing them with skills, experience in IT, leadership and entrepreneurship so that they can integrate public life and create new opportunities to contribute to local community development through the set up of small projects.  During the next phase of the project, the graduate trainees will implement small projects in collaboration with selected municipalities.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 14 June 2013