February 2021 Updates
Our celebrations for International Women’s Day began in early February!
We started the month with an online workshop with Cherine Kurdi , a mentor, leader, and executive coach. Her new book “Do What Lights You Up” has just come out, where she calls on young women to do what they love and pursue their dreams unapologetically! The online workshop, “Goal-Setting for Women Leaders”, gathered 270 people in an inspiring and engaging conversation where she asked the participants to think about triggering and challenging questions about feelings, relationships, self-care, inner criticism, and insecurities - check out the recorded session on YouTube! Every Wednesday, Cherine Kurdi will have an online conversation on Clubhouse with our own Executive Director Dr. Lina Abirafeh as part of Woman Wonder! Make sure to join us.
We also held an online opening ceremony of the Laure Moghaizel Regional Training organized in partnership and collaboration with the Arab Institute for Human Rights, funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. The training sessions will be given to 120 amazing young female activists from the Arab region to advance women’s rights in times of conflict and promote an advanced feminist human rights discourse. This training was named after the late feminist leader and pioneer Laure Moghaizel. To know more about her work and life, check out this article Laure Moghaizel: a Spring Of Bounty And Giving published in our bi-annual journal Al-Raida. The full recording of the opening ceremony is available on our YouTube channel.
The AiW also took part in global conversations revolving around gender-based violence, women’s rights, and gender stereotypes. The discussions highlighted the importance of creating feminist, intersectional, and inclusive agendas to defy stereotypes. We highlighted the importance of including women in economy, peace building, and public spaces. Research has shown that there is no chance in the world for peace, prosperity, and progress if women are left behind. Inclusion of women in any aspect of public life is beneficial not only to women but to families, to the economy, to the country, to the world. By including women, peace lasts longer; it is better and has a stronger foundation. We were also part of the online campaign called a crime #اسمها_جريمة led by Fe-Male and Sharika Wa Laken, highlighting the increasing number of femicides in Lebanon.
Make sure to follow us on FB, Twitter, and Instagram, to know more about our weekly ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) segment- available in English and Arabic- that covers the most important gender justice issues from the Arab region every week. In February, some of the highlights included Gaza’s Supreme Judicial Council reinforcing male guardians to restrict women’s travel, and three family members involved in the “honor” killing of the young Palestinian woman Israa Ghareeb in 2019 have been released on bail. But there was some good news! Saudi activist, Loujain Al-Hathloul, was released after nearly 3 years in prison in Saudi Arabia. However, this “release” does not imply being “free” – her freedom is conditional and she runs the risk of further imprisonment if she does not “behave” or “conform”. No one can rest as long as women’s rights activists are threatened and remain behind bars.
Stay tuned for March!
The AiW Team
