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 […]

Leta��s start by teaching our sons not to rape!

The articles we see surfacing the web about womena��s issues are increasing day by day. Writers, authors and bloggers are tackling a wide range of subjects; one of which is rape. Rape is the extreme case of sexual harassment. It is a violation of basic human rights. There have been numerous attempts by different societies […]

Arab Youth and Catharsis in Graffiti and Street Art

Rather than being limited to the cold dryness of documented imagery, like what is seen in the photographic media, the stunning art forms of graffiti and street art not only capture the truth of situations in any given environment, but also beautify the space and give it a unique fresh flavor, reflecting the energies of […]

La cause des droits des femmes au Liban : un état des lieux

  Mon article publié par l’Orient-le-Jour (Liban, 21-11-2013) À première vue, l’on peut affirmer qu’une partie des Libanaises jouissent d’une marge de liberté introuvable dans certains pays avoisinants, qu’elles peuvent conduire une voiture, enseigner dans des classes mixtes à l’école et à l’université, avoir accès aux soins de santé comme les hommes, boire un kir […]

Pity our Nation ? (II)

I published ‘Pity our Nation?’ in August 2013 and this is the second part… Yesterday’s suicide bombings resulted in one of the many massacres occurring in the land of what was once called ‘The Switzerland of the East’. Another physical and psychological wound… Another brick in the wall of hatred – the Lebanese Wall of Shame… Another […]

On Motherhood and Womanhood

Numerous are the times when I – and other women intellectuals and activists in Lebanon – am criticized for being a woman who ‘thinks’ (meaning challenges mainstream and traditional mindset and system) and ‘works’… ‘Why bother?’, ‘Women should only be sluts, housewives and mothers’, ‘Thinking gives bad ideas, like abandoning your husband and children’, ‘Working […]

Au royaume des aveugles, le borgne est roi…

Dans le cadre d’un projet de travail, j’ai été emmenée à passer quelques jours en Arabie Saoudite, a Dhahran pour être plus précise, la région la plus ouverte du pays. De l’Arabie Saoudite, je ne connaissais que les dates, le pétrole, le livre de Sultana et les racontars. Essentiellement, toutes mes connaissances qui y vivent/ont […]

Why Gender Equality is important? My opinion

Gender Discrimination has always been a rather pressing and important matter which has been discussed by many around the world but was never given the care and true value it deserved in the Middle East for example. While it is true that in some countries—mainly developed countries—women have become equal to men (and they fight […]

About Premarital Sex and Sexism! My opinion

Many debates have taken place recently, especially in the Middle East, and many articles have been talking about sex before marriage. But the thing is, despite what the majority’s opinion is, it always concerns women… Can women have any sexual relations before marriage? Or is it a death penalty in religions? What does God have […]

REPORT: Lebanon ranks 16 out of 22 as best Arab State for Women

a�?According to a Thomson Reuteurs poll for best Arab state for women, Lebanon ranked 16 out 22. The surprise is that the low ranking was due to legislation which is not favorable towards women in Lebanon.a�? A�If we recap the last few years, we realize how much we are stuck in our place. What happened […]