News

The The International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) launched its project to support primary health care and prenatal care to pregnant displaced Syrian women at risk.  The project targets 150 women of whom 80% are Syrian and 20% are Lebanese.  The project is funded by the OHCR and was launched from the premises of the Saint Paul Medical Centre.  The director of Saint Paul Medical Centre, Dr. Youssef al-Rashkidi, noted that women targeted by the project are essentially pregnant Syrian displaced women who are at health risk during and after pregnancy who will receive all medical tests which will be carried out by specialized doctors.  The director of the programme Linda Chaker Berbari outlined the project details and introduced the project team.  The project which will be implemented within the premises of Saint Paul Medical Centre will provide a walk in clinic for pregnant women for whom medical files will be established cover the pre natal period and until delivery.  The project will also contract a number of local hospitals to admit women beneficiaries during the project duration which will end in September 2013.
Source: Al-Nahar 4 June 2013

The head of the Criminal Court in south Lebanon, Judge Roula Jadayel, issued on the 23d of May a verdict sentencing M.D. (41 years old) to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of abusing and beating his wife A.B. (18 years old) to death on 3 November 2009.  The abuser was also sentenced to pay damages to the victim's family amounting to LB 100 million.
The court case was initiated following the complaint lodged by the victim's parents accusing their former son in law of killing their daughter in their residency in Mozambique.  The court ruled that the cause of death was severe physical abuse and torture by her husband.  The accused had run from Mozambique and failed from accompanying his wife's body to Lebanon.  He then returned discretely to Lebanon but was arrested at the Beirut airport after the complaint was lodged.  The accused was held in custody for 20 months and was then released from custody.  He used this opportunity to flee from Lebanon and the verdict was made in absentia!
Source: Al-Akhbar 4 June 2013

BLC bank organised a series of workshops and seminars in various villages and towns throughout the country to introduce professionals, artisans, farmers, creators and working women to its competitive financing scheme targeting small enterprises.
The first round of workshops was entitled "The fundamentals of marketing and promoting home made food products" and included the villages of  Adloun (2 May), Baraka (4 May), Bednayel (9 May).  The second round covered Temnin al-Fawqa (11 May), Zghorta (14 May), Becharreh and Jdaydet al Metn (18 May), and Kesserouan district including: Hrajel, Faraya, and Meyrouba (25 May), and was entitled "The olive tree and its usefulness and ways to support it".
The holding of these workshop reflect the Bank's commitment to the development of the national economy through supporting small enterprises and creating new employment opportunities as well as supporting the possibility of accessing financial products by all community segments.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 3 June 2013
For more information about BLC bank activities please review the previous news published on the WEEPortal on 17/4/2013, and entitled: BLC bank organizes seminars on support to small businesses

The PRODES (Promotion et Development Social) association organised a national conference entitled "new local tourism initiatives to create employment opportunities for women" in order to introduce the project which entails support to local tourism, the hotel sector and small businesses.  The Conference also addressed the importance of professionalism in the tourist industry and the central role that women can play in this sector.
The Conference which was funded by the European Union was attended by some 250 participants from civil society organisations, municipalities, tourism companies and universities.  The event included an exhibition of tourism related products which involved 30 exhibitors.  The President of the Tourist guide Syndicate, Haytham Fawaz, reiterated the importance of sustainable development as key to tourism and local industry and noted that openness to others provides opportunities for production. For his part, the head of private education for the ministry of education, Imad al-Ashkar emphasized the importance of preserving the local rural identity through the development of professionalism in managing small businesses particularly those run by women in rural areas.
By the end of the conference, participants outlined the key elements of the action plan which included, determining a stipend for tourist guides, defining standards for recruitment, regulating the work of guides and encouraging continuous communication amongst them.
Source: L’Orient Le Jour

For more information about PRODES activities, please review the previous news published in the WEEPortal on 23/05/2013; Promoting women’s economic opportunities through strengthening rural tourism in Lebanon

Eating disorders are more common amongst young women than young men.  Some 1% of total young women suffer from anorexia whilst the percentage of young men is much smaller.  These vulnerable women are most likely to be amongst those obsessed with body image, physical activity and are less interested in sexual life. Young women suffering from anorexia also suffer from several related complications namely low bone denisty and hip fractures.
These findings were presented during the joint annual psychiatry conference which was held last week at the Order of Physicians and extended over two days.  The conference discussed ways to diagnose eating disorders namely anorexia and bulimia and their impact on women.  The event was organised after the integration of the fifth annual Francophone Days of Science at the University of Saint Joseph and fourth annual psychiatry conference at the Lebanese University.  The panels included contributions from psychotherapists from the Lebanese University and Saint Joseph University in addition to physicians from France.
Source: Al-Safir 3 June 2013

The Lebanese Women Council organised last week a training workshop on communication and negotiation skills in its premises located in Beirut.  The training workshop was attended by more than twenty young women and men and was organised within the framework of the building capacities in the field of social work through using positive and constructive conflict resolution approaches.  Trainers included Stacey Schamber and Jean-Paul Cham who used exercises as well as analytical and conceptual tools to understand the dynamics of conflict resolution.
Source: Al-Safir 3 June 2013

L’Orient Le Jour news paper conducted an interview with two Lebanese women entrepreneurs – Hind Hobeika and Talin Assi who presented an overview of their journeys in the field of business which lifted them to high ranking positions in world markets.
Hind Hobeika is a mechanical engineer, an alumna of the American University of Beirut. She designed ‘Instabeat’, a small device that is added to the goggles used by swimmers to register their pulse during swimming with the aim of improving their performance. Hobeika thanked the reality TV show of Qatar Institute ‘Stars of Sciences’ that assisted her in developing her prototype. Hind was the only woman who reached the finals of TV contest thus occupying the third position and gaining an award of USD 100 thousand.  To continue her journey, Hind launched a fundraiser on Indiegogo which is an international website that supports innovations in business and economics through which she was able to raise USD 60 thousand.
As for Talin Assi, she is one of the pioneering women entrepreneurs who launched the concept of e-commerce in Lebanon. In 2003, Talin designed the website ‘Mosaic Marble’ with a capital of USD 1000. The website which is an e-store to sell mosaic, is available now in 13 languages and employs 10 persons and 48 craftsmen/women, and has succeeded in generating USD 205 millions in funds. Talin declared during the interview that her ambition remains to reach the second place worldwide in mosaic production.

Source: L’Orient Le Jour 30 May 2013)

The employment office at Notre Dame University – Louaize organised yesterday its annual Job Fair 2013 with the participation of more than 30 companies from the commerce, tourism, and banking sectors.  In his opening speech the president of the University, Father Walid Moussa, indicated that there is a need to extend efforts in order to overcome three obstacles that the Lebanese, and especially the youth, face namely: ignorance, immigration and despair.

Source: Al-Nahar 31 May 2013

The Modern University for Business and Science (MUBS) organised yesterday its 2013 job fair at the university campus in Hamra with the participation of around 40 companies including banks, advertising agencies, food industries, restaurants, media, education, tourism, travel and ICT.  The Fair was heavily visited by students and graduates from all of MUBS campuses including: Damour, Aley, Baakline, and Hamra.  Visitors perused brochures and information material and completed employment questionnaire with the hope of finding jobs following graduation.

Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar  31 May 2013

The ‘Coalition for Women of 2013 Parliament’ that includes more than 150 woman organisations indicated in a statement issued by the coalition, that the total number of candidates after the closing of nominations to the forthcoming parliamentary has reached 706 nominations of which 43 are women. The statement of the collation added that despite the fact that the above-mentioned number does not reflect the aspirations of the woman organisations nevertheless it clearly reaffirm the determination of women to actively participate in political life especially in decision-making positions, particularly if compared to the total number during the 2009 elections when only 12 women applied.
A quick review of the names of the candidates indicates the following distribution per district: 9 candidates in Beirut-3 district, 5 women in Tripoli and Zahleh, 4 in Baabda and Kesrwan, 3 in Beirut-1 district, two woman candidates in each of West Beqaa, Rashaya and Matn, and one in each of Koorah, Bsharreh, Akkar, Baalbeck-Hermel, Nabatieh, Jezzin, Saida, Shoof and Beirut-2 district.
In the same vein, the parliament organized in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) a dialogue session entitled, ‘The role of parliament in strengthening Lebanese women’s participation in political parties, parliamentary elections, and decision-making processes’. The objective of the session was to involve various stakeholders in discussions on the topic and to record their views and suggestions in preparation for a study that will put forward practical recommendations on how the parliament can strengthen women’s participation.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Dyiar 30 May 2013