Women Supporting Each Other In Lebanon

Inequities in laws continue to be a problem for women in Lebanon, and complicating matters is the country’s multi-faceted confessional system that provides 18 different sets of regulations for marriage, divorce, inheritance and nationality rights. Meeting these challenges takes coordinated efforts among women in Lebanon, and at the invitation of Amal Haddad, President of the Beirut Bar Association, the Arab Women's Leadership Institute (AWLI) helped them take a step forward. 

With the help of AWLI Vice-Chair Myriam Aucar, the Institute and the Association hosted an training session at which 23 women lawyers and civil society activists attended.  Aucar, who is also a member of the Commission on Women’s Affairs with the Bar Association, used the training to remind the participants of their responsibility to each other. 

“Women who reach leadership positions in Lebanon have to remember to support other women,” said Aucar.  “They must continue to push for equal opportunities, mentor other women, and give others a chance to prove their capabilities.” 

During the training participants heard from a panel of experts which included Bar Association members Iqbal Doughan (Commission on Family Affairs) and Alia Berti Zein (Commission on Education and Patrimony), along with Fadi Karam (Secretary General for the National Commission for Lebanese Women) and AWLI member Dunia Khoury (founder of the Women’s Association of Deir el Ahmar-Wada).

“What I enjoyed about the training was the opportunity to hear from some of the veteran women who’ve been doing this a while,” said Bouchra Doueihi, a recent university graduate from Tripoli.  “As attorneys, we don’t get the chance to hear from those implement and have to work with the policies often, so this was a new opportunity.” 

On the second day of training, the participants developed 30-second messages they will use to advocate for and increase awareness of the inequities they learned about this weekend.  They also vowed to continue to work with and support each other as women going forward.