News

The Fransabank group received the women economic and social empowerment award from the First Prototocol Company which specializes in economy and society issues.  The award was announced and handed to the Framsabank director of Marketing Ms. Dania Kassar by the Minister of Economy and Trade Mr. Nicolas Nahhas during a reception which was organized jointly with the Lebanon Central Bank.
Fransabank earned this award in recognition of its “success loan” project providing small and medium sized credit to women and which is implemented jointly with the National Commission for Lebanese Women and which seeks to support Lebanese women wishing to set up or expand their business.  The initiative functions according to the micro-credit lending mechanisms via Fransabank or Kafalat public institution.
Source: Al-Nahar 31 December 2012

The Safadi Foundation completed yesterday a workshop on the production of accessories which was implemented at the Foundation’s Academy for Women in Tripoli.  This workshop is part of the Foundation’s project entitled “the generation of tomorrow’s leaders” and which is implemented by US Mercy Corps and Safadi Foundation in the areas of Suwayka and Beddaoui in Tripoli.  The project aims at providing young women and men from poor neighborhoods with opportunities for improving their skills.  Fifteen young women from Dahr Al-Mgharr and its surrounding took part in this workshop which is part of a series of workshops that the Academy intends to implement in order to build women’s technical skills in various vocational fields.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Safir 28 December 2012

As Safir reporter Carole Kerbage, published a critical article on the impact of micro-credits on women while reviewing the relationship between clients with micro-finance institutions and the latter with their staff.  The report looks at the situation of a number of women clients of micro-finance who do not have any form of rights or entitlements or collaterals and who had no choice but to resort to micro-credits to improve their financial situation.  According to the report, women who took on micro-credits have had to borrow money from their family members or from other micro-finance institutions so that they are able to pay their debts.  In addition, and according to the author, borrowers now tend to take on micro-credits from several institutions that apparently do not coordinate amongst each other and do not share information.  The same report alludes to the growing trend of using micro-credits to pay essential household bills such as school fees and utilities as well as essential health services.  Such stories are not often cited in the reports of lending institutions which focus solely on “success stories” that emphasis a repayment rate of 99% often cited by these institutions.  Such indicators are used by lending institutions as indicators of success in combating poverty.
The author notes that such micro credit scheme claim to use flexible and minimal collaterals but in reality have not succeeded in reconciling their concerns about financial benefit and with their combating poverty agenda.  Belated repayment by clients is due, according to micro-credit institutions, essentially to personal circumstances thus ignoring more structural causes related to the context and situation of the informal sector and its overall vulnerability.  Within the same framework, the report indicates that micro-credit system is based on the practice of immediate repayment which does not favor productive projects that require a longer time frame to mature and expand in addition to a penalty system which is quite stringent in dealing with poor clients who default on their payments.  The latter includes court cases where borrowers have to pay for legal fees incurred by the micro-credit institutions.  Such penalties are applied even in cases of natural disasters and armed conflicts.  The report also indicates that micro-credit institutions normally do not offer services which allow the clients to improve their management and production skills and capacities.
With regards to the relation of staff members with micro-credit institutions, the report indicates that the latter use a system of monthly incentives whereby staff need to reach a monthly target of clients otherwise they risk losing their jobs.  As such, staff members become obsessed with securing clients regardless of the possibilities for success.  In addition, the report notes that some of micro-finance institutions are in fact registered as NGOs which makes them eligible to attract grants whereas others are duly registered as profit making outfits and those aiming to attract investors. The article concludes that in both cases profit is the main driving force.

Source: Al-Safir 27 December 2012

Once more, the National Commission for Lebanese Women called for increasing women’s representation in Parliament to at least 30% as part of the discussions of the new electoral law shortly due to restart.  The NCLW regretted the absence of a clear legal text which ensures that women are adequately represented in all discussions related to law petitions and elections.  The NCLW also reminded decision makers that the 1995 Beijing Platform of Action has endorsed a request for a minimum representation of 30% for women in overall parliamentary seats. The women commission also called on policy makers to include women organizations in all current consultations and discussions related to the electoral laws.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 27 December 2012

The Feker Hayat Foundation in Minyeh (Tripoli) organized a workshop for women focusing on the importance for rural women to advocate for their political rights and to seek representation at the Parliamentary and Municipal levels.  The workshop was organized within the framework of the organisation’s current programme funded by MEPI and which includes a series of such events as detailed in the opening address given by Ms. Rima Mobayed the head of the organisations’ women committee.  For more information about the organisation’s earlier activities, please check "The National Commission for Lebanese Women calls for women quota in the forthcoming legislative elections", 7/12/2012 and "“Al Fikr wal Hayat” and women’s empowerment in Minyeh with MEPI funding", 5/9/2012.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 27 December 2012
 

A training workshop targeting Syrian women displaced was concluded at the Municipality of Teirdebba in Tyre.  The workshop was organized within the framework of the project entitled “Integration of Syrian Displaced Women and Strengthening their Economic Capacities” and implemented by Shield Lebanese Association with funding from the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation.  The project aims to facilitate the social integration of Syrian women displaced and help them secure their livelihoods through income generating activities. It also seeks to break the barrier of isolation, facilitate mobility and help Syrian displaced women acquire new skills.

Source: Al-Akhbar 24 December 2012

UNDP project director in the Bekaa, Walid Atallah, attended a celebration to mark the granting of equipment to the Nejmet el Sobh women cooperative in Mhaidsseh and that is within the framework of the UNDP “Live Lebanon” initiative implemented in collaboration with the Bank of Beirut and Arab Countries as well as the Friends of Lebanon association in Monaco. Live Lebanon was launched in 2009 in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and seeks to create links between Lebanese people in Lebanon and outside in addition to encouraging the private sector to contribute to combating poverty and creating new employment opportunities in rural areas.
Source: Al-Nahar 24 December 2012

A new public library was opened within the premises of the Lebanese Organisation for Studies and Training (LOST) in Al Ayn (Baalbek) under the auspices of the Dutch Ambassador.  The new library is part of the association’s “Women’s Rights Academy” project which is implemented with funding from the Dutch Embassy and which seeks to raise women’s awareness and help them become more active within their communities and within the overall development process.

Source: Al-Safir 20 December 2012

INSAN association organized, in collaboration with the La Sagesse University, its annual conference on the occasion of the International Day for the Protection of Migrant Worker, at the La Sagesse Campus.  The Conference discussed the rights of migrant workers and the gaps in the Lebanese laws especially in relation to regulation and protection from abuse.  The director of INSAN, Charles Nasrallah, emphasized the need to seriously investigate all cases of migrant workers who die in Lebanon and to reform the law so that they can be better protected.  The seminar also discussed the reasons why there is a legal failure in protection and the role of general security forces.  Conclusions drawn were related to the need for legal reform as well as better coordination with NGOs, countries of origin, their relevant embassies and employment agencies.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 20 December 2012

The Ministry of Social Affairs launched yesterday its new programme entitled “literacy is freedom” in collaboration with the UNESCO regional bureau for Arab states and the Italian Embassy.  The launch occurred during a public event and began with an address by the director of the national literacy programme Ms. Nehmat Geagea who outlined the programme’s planned activities.  The director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for the Arab States, Dr. Hamad Seif ben Hammami, noted that current literacy programme remain conventional and only teach the alphabet using methods that often lead to a fallback to illiteracy estimated at 30%.  This he noted is a huge waste of resources.
Legal counselor Antoun Zakhia who represented the Minister of Social Affairs, Mr. Wael Abou Faour, indicated that combating women’s illiteracy requires specific efforts notably focusing on rural areas thus the importance of supporting this new initiative especially since illiteracy is one of the main causes of gender inequality as well as a cause of urban-rural disparities.  Zakhia emphasized the importance of partnership between state institutions, international and local organisations and so as to ensure the full and active participation of local communities in implementing literacy programmes and in drawing national plans and mechanisms for implementation.
Source: Al-Nahar 18 December 2012