October 2015 Update
October opened new doors for us at the Institute. We are excited to be working in close collaboration with the Intersectional Feminist Club at LAU. This group takes a holistic approach to addressing inequalities by examining poverty, race, class, migration, conflict - with a gender lens. This dynamic group advocates for gender equality and engages anyone with an interest in addressing social issues. We invite you to get to know them by checking their Facebook page.
This month we also launched a new training session for our Basic Living Skills Program (BLSP). This latest round of BLSP training is done in partnership with UNFPA and is focused on building the skills of social workers to better assist displaced Syrian women and also Lebanese women in the communities that host them - this is critical! We’ve been working on BLSP for 30 years (!) - and we know it is making an impact! One participant said: “This workshop was one of the most important workshops I have ever participated in. It was really inspiring and increased my passion towards my work”. Powerful feedback! Check out our Facebook page for more.
Myriam, our dynamic Assistant Director, was invited to Cairo this month to represent the Institute at an event to address the social and economic conditions of women in conflict in the Arab region. This is relevant to us all because of the conflicts that surround us, and our need to understand and examine the effects of these insecurities on our own lives.
This month, our Food 4 Thought speaker was As-Safir journalist and activist Ms. Saada Allaw. She led a discussion that examined Lebanon’s current political situation - public protests, civil disobedience, and garbage! - through a gendered lens. Ms. Allaw began by asking students what they know about the history of women’s activism in Lebanon. Could the garbage crisis protests have been the first time women were on the streets?! Of course not, students responded.
Ms. Allaw captured attention with old photos of women’s civil disobedience and the major milestones they achieved through public protest. Examples include women’s right to vote, right to benefit from the social security system, maternity leave, and so on. The most recent accomplishment is the April 2014 bill on “The Protection of Women and Family Members Against Domestic Violence. While this is a success for women’s activism, it also reveals the shortcomings because the bill was accepted with amendments that distorted the essence of the draft law.
I ended the month in Qatar at the conference of the Young Arab Women Leaders as part of their Voice of the Future series. This series is organized by the Arab International Women’s Forum, led by Haifa Al Kaylani, our very own AiW Board member!
The conference brought together young women leaders from 20 countries to address women in business, entrepreneurship, quotas, work-life balance, and other challenging topics. We talked about the great strides that women in the Arab world have made in terms of education. Did you know that more women than men are receiving degrees in the Arab world?! Amazing accomplishment!
I shared a brief history of LAU - a testimony to women’s empowerment whose legacy lives on in AiW! And we talked about how we need to do more to support young women in leadership - not necessarily in occupying positions of power, but cultivating traits and characteristics like passion, commitment, resilience that serve us throughout our lives.
Stay tuned for more action and activism next month!
Lina
