News

An Nahar newspaper published a report on a study carried out by the American University of Beirut focusing on the crisis within the nursing profession in Lebanon.  The research was conducted by the Faculty of Health Sciences and managed by Dr. Fadi Al-Jardali, in collaboration with Rafic Al-Hariri Nursing Faculty.
The research covered 69 hospitals and 1783 respondents, all of whom are nurses.  Of these, 67.5% indicated that they intend to change their work, whilst 37.5% noted that they plan to leave the country and 63.3% to leave the hospital where they are presently practicing.  30% of those intending to travel also plan on abandoning their profession.  According to the research, nurses are the least satisfied with their salaries and benefits as well as with their career opportunities and face challenges in balancing work and family life. Dissatisfaction appears to be the cause of nurses’ intention to leave their work.  Respondents noted that their work environment is not motivating, that harsh work conditions and inadequate organizational support constitute some of the main challenges that they face.  
For their part, the administrators of 76  hospitals, from the total of hospitals covered by the study, noted that the reason why nurses are considering leaving their jobs include low salaries and intensive working hours as well as marriage in the case of women nurses who tend to leave their profession to take care of their children.  Hospital administrators suggested adopting a number of strategies to deal with the crisis namely increasing salaries, setting up staff development programmes, introducing incentives and bonuses, and adopting flexible hours.

For more studies about nurses in Lebanon check the previous article published on WEEPortal on 13/12/2012 titled: 62% of nurses in Lebanon suffer from violence and verbal abuse
Source: Al-Nahar 8 May 2013

A Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) delegation composed of Mrs Saloua Karam, and the members: Yolanda Al-Rasi, Rene Al-Shater and Sonya Nahhas, visited yesterday the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tripoli and met with the General Secretary and Treasurer and the General Director of the union of chambers, Toufic Dabbousi,  The discussion revolved around the possibility of collaboration between the two organisations and with the BIAT business incubator located at the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Tripoli and North Lebanon as well as ways of benefiting from the initiatives of the Arab Urban Development Institute AUDI in the social and development field.
Dabbousi commended YWCA for its work in the areas of women training and the development of business skills which is being carried out within the framework of supporting young women economic opportunities and strengthening their participation in professional life.  He also reiterated his commitment to further networking and collaboration with various organisations and especially with the YWCA so as to contribute to the strengthening the skills of the youth population.

Source: Al-Diyar 8 May 2013

Al Akhbar newspaper published an article on the migration of Lebanese women graduates to Gulf countries in search for jobs and to improve their financial situation, stating that women graduates also migrate to avoid gender discrimination in wages.  According to Shoghik Kasparian, the research expert in social sciences and statistics, migration is not only a women-specific phenomenon but is rather related to broader societal trends and advances which have facilitated the process.  She further notes that when migration started decades ago, women had not yet started to fully enjoy their social and educational rights.  Since this has considerably changed to date with the advances made in women and girls’ education, women are now able to consider migrating to pursue work opportunities.
Kasparian distinguishes between three kinds of women migration.  The first type is the most predominant and accounts for 55% of women migrating to marry or to follow a spouse.  The second type is more of a temporary nature where women migrate to complete their studies mostly to European or Northern American countries.  The last is the longer term where women migrate looking for jobs and in order to improve their financial situation.  According to Kasparian, this type of migration involves newly graduating women who tend to leave mainly to Gulf countries pursuing work (27.7%), Northern America (13%) and Europe (49.8%). The two last figures include those who migrate to work as well as to pursue their education.

Source: Al-Akhbar 3 May 2013

Helem organised last Tuesday a sit-in to protest the closure of Ghost nightclub in Dekwaneh on the night of April 21st.  The nightclub which visitors include trans and homosexuals was raided by the municipal police who arrested 5 Syrians without warrants and without following any due procedure.  The municipal police further humiliated the 5 persons they arrested by forcing them to undress and taking pictures of them to establish their gender identities.  The unfortunate event also coincided with media statements by the head of the Dekwaneh municipality Antoine Shakhtoura who prided in being homophobic and noted that he took this action to “safeguard Dekwaneh as a symbol of resistance”.

Helem issued a statement noting that the detainees were subjected to public humiliation as well as verbal and physical abuse whilst in custody of the police station in Dekwaneh.  This, according to Helem, is in clear violation of international human rights convention in addition to the fact that the arrests were made without regard to due process thus consisting a clear breach of the law.  Helem indicated that the examination of the detainees was carried out on no firm legal basis.

It is to be noted that this is not the first time that the human rights of trans and homosexuals are violated in Lebanon following the infamous anal exams which were carried out last year.
Source: Al-Safir 2 May 2013

For more information on the violations of the trans and homosexuals' rights please check the news published on the WEEPortal on 1/9/2012, entitled: CSOs pressure succeeded in halting the “tests of shame”

UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) celebrated yesterday the graduation of the second batch of beneficiaries (2012 – 2013) from its programme seeking to support business pioneers as well as establish small and medium enterprises.  This programme is implemented in collaboration with the Arab Regional Center for Entrepreneurship & Investment Training - ARCEIT and is under the auspices of the Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon.

The graduation event was attended by the representative of the president of the Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon, Mr. Mohammed Shoucair, the Union’s General director, Mr. Toufic Dabbousi, the President of ARCEIT, Dr. Hashem Hussein, and the UNIDO ambassador Ms. Huda Janahi, and included key note address by Dabbousi and Hussein who applauded the graduates and the programme which has contributed to encouraging initiatives and attracting investments as well as building human resources and score consecutive successes in the business world.  As such, the programme has been able to benefit from existing skills and expertise as well as launch new incentives which will invigorate the economy and create new employment opportunities. The ceremony was concluded with the distribution of certificates to 550 women and men business pioneers from different parts of Lebanon.
Source: Al-Diyar 2 May 2013

Made at Home concluded last week the last sessions of its training cycle on homemade food in the area of Hasbaya- Marje3yoon.  This activity was implemented within the framework of its programme on women’s economic empowerment in rural areas while focusing on international standards of safety and quality as per the HACCP system.  The training cycle was implemented in six different parts of the country with funding from the American Embassy in Beirut.  
The last training cycle extended over three days and was organised at the Farah social organization in Hasbaya.  The event was concluded with a tasting ceremony attended by representatives of local organisations, social and political figures as well as municipal members.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 30 April 2013

For more information about these sessions please review the news published on the WEEPortal on the 16th of April and entitled: “Made at Home organises its fifth training cycle in Rashaya”

The women section of the Future movement – the Jouma, Sheft, and Sahel committee organised a seminar on health and nutrition for rural women in Akkaar.  The seminar was attended by members of the bureau of the committee as well as interested women members of the public.  Nutritionist Mariana Shalhoub explained the basic of health nutrition and emphasized the importance of women’s health as well prevention of diseases and obesity through appropriate nutrition.
Source: Al-Nahar, 29 April 2013