KAFA Protest Against Domestic Violence – Pictures (By Ellen Francis)

KAFA Protest Against Domestic Violence – Pictures

So many times I have been disappointed by Lebanon, but today was certainly not one of them. Today, with thousands of beautiful people flooding the streets of Beirut demanding a domestic violence law, was spectacular. The protest organized by the NGO KAFA began at 2 pm at the National Musuem where there was a short play before the immense turnout took off on an hour-long march towards the Ministry of Justice. Crowds walked in solidarity behind the victims’ families chanting for justice, and took a moment of silence at the final destination to mourn the passing of the victims. Pictures below, and for previous information on the law, click here.

Lebanese women, fight for your rights ! (By Rania Khayat)

Lebanese women, fight for your rights 

She sat in the corner, her back against the wall, knees together, shaking, until she heard the door slammed shut. Breathing heavily and sobbing like a child, she dragged her seemingly heavy body across the room, in an attempt to reach the nightstand. The carpet will get stained, she kept thinking, how will I get the blood stains off before he returns home. Finally there, she reached for the mobile that was still on the nightstand, her wounds burning and stinging. She called her cousin to go pick up the kids from school, begging her with a shaky voice to keep them at her place for a few hours. She hung up before questions could be asked and called her next door neighbor. It took forever to reach the door, but she did and there was her neighbor, like countless times before, yet her eyes looked different this time. They were full of shock and fear. Then she heard her shouting, and a few more familiar faces gathered. Then all went dark.

This could very well be your little daughter, in a few years from now, and that’s one of the reasons why KAFA called for a march on the 8th.

KAFA’s protest against domestic abuse 8/3/2014(bs why KAFA called for a march on March the 8th.

Holding pictures of their victimized daughters, sisters and friends, women in black lead the way, with faces washed in tears. Young women taken early seemed to be present, reminding the crowd that this gathering was well worth their time. The streets got colored in red and grey ink on simple protest signs. Each lady, man and child present voiced the same main concerns: protecting women from verbal, physical and sexual abuse. From smiling faces happy to move for a cause, to shouts of oppressed women who lost it all, the streets of Beirut echoed a single thought: Give Lebanese women the right every Lebanese man has always had, that of being a citizen and an individual.

A New Feminist Wave in Lebanon or the Path to Democratization (By Pamela Chrabieh)

A New Feminist Wave in Lebanon or the Path to Democratization

The study of Feminist/Women’s movements not only contributes to our understanding of women’s experiences of political and social change, but also helps to bridge the gaps between local activism and feminist theory. Feminist claims and organizations in Lebanon and most Western Asian countries are not new, and credit for the growth of new Feminisms must go to its pioneers, the women who first came to see their inferior status in society and to understand that such inferiority was not a divinely ordained fate that they were obliged to accept.

I have recently published a book in Arabic on women’s status, experiences and situations in Ancient Western Asia (‘Womanhood in Western Asia, A Journey to the Past’, Beirut, Dar el Machreq, 2013), proving the long-existence of Patriarchal systems and mentality, but also, gender equality ‘spaces’ within ancient cultures and religions. Still, feminisms as social-political movements arose at the end of the nineteenth century, coinciding with that of the reformist movement. What those pioneering women achieved was not negligible, even if they focused on charitable work – except for Egypt with its Women’s Educational Society founded in 1881, and the Instructive Women’s Union in 1910, raising public awareness of women’s rights as a key objective. A second wave could be identified during the 1940s, a period marked by the resistance of Arab societies under imperialism, with most of the claims focusing on issues such as polygamy and women’s right to education. In Lebanon, the Lebanese Women’s Council came into being in 1943 and the Committee of Lebanese Women’s Rights in 1947.