Brussels, 11/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 10 April, several candidates for the June 2013 parliamentary elections and members from the Women in front association called on the European Union and the European Parliament to support them in developing the representation of women in Lebanese political and social life. “There are many things to change. We need you”, said the candidate, author, journalist, teacher and human rights campaigner, Roula Douglas, in an interview with EUROPE at the end of her meeting with MEPs, highlighting numerous discriminatory laws in her country - such as that on the transfer of nationality - and underlining that the law is different according to one's religious tradition.
Encouraging women to stand as candidates in elections. In the view of the co-founder of Women in front, Joelle Abou Farhat Rizkallah, it is necessary to set quotas for women, to eliminate discrimination against them, and to demonstrate the role that women can play in the economic development of Lebanon. “There can be a participation of women in the parties which can reach 59% but we don't see women in decision-making positions. There is a gap between what women want and can do, and the law which is very far from what women represent”, said the other co-founder, Nada Saleh Anid, whose association makes women in the parties aware that they should not only do fund raising, or social or humanitarian work.
Although women represent 53% of the Lebanese population and have been able to stand in elections since 1953, they only hold 4 out of 128 seats in the parliament - in other words one of the weakest rates in the world (3.1%, according to the international interparliamentary organisation the 133rd country out of 139). This is no better in the municipalities where women are between 2 and 12%. “Never has a single woman managed to become a member of parliament, and the problem is not because women are not capable but because the law, the Lebanese structure, the mentality and the political parties do not allow them” to fill this function, said Abou Farhat Rizkallah. And the situation is becoming worse. “It is now for two elections that the number of women has gone down. They no longer make the effort because they are sure they will lose”, warned Saleh Anid.
In order to motivate women, Women in front has launched a campaign of six television spots to encourage women's participation in the political and public life, to show them that public affairs concerns them, so that they can stand for elections and vote for the men or women who “represent them and work for their rights”. Women in front also works with the media, where women are badly represented. “In the public thinking, if a woman is not an expert, she is incapable of representing her community”, said Saleh Anid. Women in front has therefore published a directory of 150 women who are experts in different domains, and this has been made available to the media.
Make aid to Lebanon conditional on respecting rights. Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid (EPP, France) pointed out that the European Parliament does not want to interfere in domestic Lebanese policy but emphasised that the EP upholds values and respect for human rights, equal rights and gender equality. She argued that, “even if there is no direct involvement, we can encourage and make aid to the country conditional on respect for a number of rights and values that we support. It is in this area that we can exert pressure on these countries. We can help them towards democratic transition but in exchange they must respect the values of the EU”. She added that her party could provide candidates with training and confidence in themselves: “We are prepared to go to Lebanon and physically support candidates and demonstrate that support, including in our bilateral relations with Lebanon”.
On 10 April, Lebanese candidates met EPP MEPs to share experiences and points of view, before attending the Union for the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly on 11-12 April. (CG/trans.fl)