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 […]

My 10 points to the Lebanese Political ‘Intelligentsia’: This is the Time to wear you Gender Equality Hat!

1-      Lebanon is not “one of the best places for a woman to be” – in fact, it is “one of the worst”. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2013, Lebanon’s rank is 123 out of 136 countries. Discrimination against women and girls – including gender-based violence, domestic violence, economic (in the labor market, women […]

De l'impensable au pensable

Le Liban est un pays diversifié, mais le Québec l’est encore plus, du moins en ce qui concerne les diversités religieuse et ethnique, des croyances et des pratiques. C’est à Montréal que je rencontrais pour la première fois des féministes de toutes tendances et approches : juives, musulmanes, hindoues, bouddhistes, bahaïes, vodouisantes, sorcières, agnostiques, athées, etc. ; […]

Learning from the Past, Understanding the Present, Fighting for a better Future

The incomplete yet revealing journey to the past of Western Asia with a particular focus on womanhood made me realize the importance of pursuing the investigative process of the past at all levels, including the not so obvious ones, the unthought and unthinkable, in order to build constructive memories thus histories and identities. Most Western […]

Womanhood in Ancient Western Asia (Middle East): why is it important to study the past?

This is an excerpt of my book’s introduction ‘Womanhood in Western Asia: a Journey to the Past’, recently published in Arabic by Dar el-Machreq, Beirut, Lebanon. Book signing: December 13, 2013, 7 p.m., International Arab Book Fair (Biel, Beirut), Librairie Orientale stand. [hr] “In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it […]

Looking for Love ladies? Love yourselves first…

“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit” (Khalil Gibran) Women in the Arab world are usually rushed into arranged marriage, forbidden to love and be loved; or soaked in the culture of prince charming who will rescue the princess and live with her happily ever after, only to wake up from […]

Pour la cause des droits des femmes au Liban: quelle révolution des mentalités?

Je publie ci-dessous un résumé d’une partie de mon intervention à la Table-Ronde organisée par Women in Front le samedi 9 novembre 2013 au Salon Francophone du Livre de Beyrouth: “La cause des droits des femmes: avancées et obstacles – France, Maghreb, Liban”. La partie des acquis et non-acquis, ainsi que celle des obstacles, seront […]

Feminism and ad-Dajjal (the Anti-Christ)!

A quite shocking theory by Islamic scholar Imran Nazar Hosein concerning the relation between feminism and ad-Dajjal (the Anti-Christ)!! For those who are not familiar with Ad-Dajjal:  an evil figure in Islamic eschatology. He is to appear pretending to be the Messiah at a time before the Day of Judgment, comparable to the figures of […]

All-Men Societies? The End of Humanity…

Will there be a sex war in the upcoming years of the 21st century? Has it already started? When parents are able to choose the sex of their child using in vitro fertilization (IVF) and artificial insemination (AI), and world statistics show that boys are preferred, especially in conservative and highly patriarchal societies – such […]

We Fear the Unknown, and Prefer to Keep it Locked up!

This is Lebanon. Here, we have degrees of citizenship. Its factors are skin color, nationality, gender, sexuality, age and profession. We dona��t consider foreign workers to be human. We treat them inhumanely; we overwork them, we exhaust them, we dona��t give them the space every human being needs, we expect the very best of them […]