Region: Middle East & North Africa
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Lebanese women in parties have capacities but face sexist attitudes
One of the key challenges in working with political parties on gender equality and women’s political participation is dealing with backlash from defensive male party members who feel that their power is threatened. In a recent townhall meeting held on 9 September 2017 with the West Bekaa Women’s Committee branch of the Lebanese Kataeb party, …
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A baseline study of women in Lebanese politics
Today, women in Lebanon are fighting for equal access to opportunities and rights without prejudice against their gender, their expectations and their careers. This fight requires attention for and analysis of the deep-rooted patriarchal structures that by their very nature exclude women. When Lebanese women decide to become politically active, they are faced with many…
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We mourn Bassel’s death and honour his courage
Syrian Hivos partner executed three years after his detention Last week, Bassel’s wife and closest family members announced his death was officially confirmed by the Assad regime. For me and his other friends this was extremely sad to hear, although after two years without any news about or from him, the chances he was still…
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2016 Hivos Global Annual Report
We are proud to present our 2016 global Annual Report (pdf). It describes what we achieved with our partners in 2016 through programmes and projects that aim to make our societies greener and more open. Citizen agency, government responsiveness, energy and health access For example, one of our largest programmes, Making All Voices Count, has…
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Detention of the ‘Istanbul Ten’ extended by seven days
The detention on remand of two trainers from Sweden and Germany hired by Hivos and eight human rights defenders, including Amnesty International’s director in Turkey, has been extended by seven days. The Istanbul Ten’, as they are now referred to in the media, are being held in a police prison in Istanbul, in five-person cells.…
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Every smart entrepreneur has a secret weapon
I made my way through the small alley that leads to their new office and workshop in Beirut. Clean white marble tiles, sparkling white walls and the smell of paint everywhere showed the place was clearly still under construction. When it’s up and running next month, it will be the third physical space of Atelier…
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The right to online anonymity
Human rights should be considered proportionally in any governmental policy related to the Internet in a way that will hopefully spur the private sector to follow. The Internet has become an essential platform for the exercise of free speech, especially in oppressive environments where freedom of expression, freedom of association, and/or freedom of assembly are…
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Women’s Political Participation as Novelty
Man to woman the evening of March 8: “Your day is over, time to go back to the kitchen”. *laughter* It’s easy to assume that this type of sexist humour just comes out of typical male cafés in Lebanon. But this joke was used by seasoned Lebanese television host Marcel Ghanem in a tweet to…
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Alliance2015 for Syria
Today, March 15 2017, marks the sixth year of the conflict in Syria. This conflict has resulted in the largest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time. The numbers are massive: almost 50% of the entire Syrian population are uprooted from their homes; five million have fled the country since 2011 and over six million…
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Women’s representation in the Lebanese media
Overcoming poor representation and gender stereotypes Hivos WE4L Lebanon Partner Maharat Foundation’s report following its gendered-based election media monitoring in the May 2016 Lebanese municipal elections shows how women political opinion-makers and leaders continue to be weakly represented in the Lebanese audio-visual media. During the launch of the report on 20 October 2016, a discussion…
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Legal victory for LGBT activists in Lebanon gives hope despite small step
On 26 January 2017, Lebanese LGBT activists celebrated a significant victory. For the fourth time in the past eight years, a Lebanese judge ruled that homosexuality was not illegal, applying a liberal interpretation of the Lebanese penal code. The abolition of the legal article in question, no. 534, which criminalizes sexual acts contradictory to the…
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New oases for collaboration: coworking in remote Tunisia
Co-authored with Ferdinand Francken, LEAD programme Coordinator, Ministry of Foreign Affairs The economic perspectives of young people in many developing countries are extremely poor, and unemployment rates staggering high. Even when jobs are available, there is often a mismatch between the skills young people can offer and those required by employers. In some of these countries,…