Lebanon ranks 110th out of 146 countries in terms of women’s political representation, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2022 ” Gender Gap Report” and despite the many Law propositions for a woman quota to be introduced in the parliament and in municipal elections. Only 8 women currently sit in Lebanon’s Parliament following the latest parliamentary elections that took place in 2022.
When Lebanese women first gained the right to vote in the 1953 elections, it was considered a pioneering step in the Arab region of Lebanon, although often widely perceived like a mere inheritance from the men in their families. A variety of obstacles have prevented and still prevent women from taking a more active official role in Lebanon’s politics.
In this first episode of SheTalks, our host, journalist and activist Lynn Tehini welcomes two extraordinary women to tackle this burning topic. Dr Halima Al-Kaakour, Lebanese parliamentarian, human rights and political activist, and Joelle Abu Farhat, head of the organisation Fifty-fifty (an implementing partner of the UNDP-LEAP project funded by the EU), discuss in much detail the challenges that complicate women’s political participation and representation in Lebanon’s politics. The EU encourages the adoption of temporary special measures to support women’s participation and representation in both parliamentary and municipal elections. It is one of the recommendations of the EU Election Observation Mission to Lebanon in 2022: “Adopt temporary special measures to increase women’s representation in the Parliament.” (https://www.undp.org/lebanon/projects…)
At the regional level, the EU promotes gender equality in Southern Mediterranean countries to ensure peace, democracy and human rights in the region through EU supported programmes and intitiatives.
Here are some of them:
https://euromedrights.org/
https://efi-ife.org/
https://www.euromedwomen.foundation/