BEIRUT: A round-table discussion on the rights of Arab women was held over the weekend to prepare for a national convention which is scheduled for next month in Beirut.
The discussion was organized by the Arab Women’s Forum (AISHA) and the European Women’s Initiative and included interventions from Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Palestinian women and lawyers.
It was the third round-table discussion in preparation for the “Violence against Women, Security and the Feminization of Peace” convention which is to be held in November.
Lawyer Nizar Saghiyeh discussed the need to form law-amending strategies in Lebanon, noting some Lebanese judges ruled in favor of mothers rather than fathers in custody cases.
“The judges’ interpretation of the law implemented the Lebanese Convention on Children’s Rights,” he said.
Judge John Qazzi also commented on the role of jurisdiction in implementing international treaties, especially in granting Lebanese women married to foreign men the right to pass on their nationalities to their children.
Qazzi ruled in favor of granting Samira Soueidan, a Lebanese woman married to an Egyptian, the right to pass on her nationality to her children. However, his verdict was successfully appealed.
Qazzi ruled in favor of granting Samira Soueidan, a Lebanese woman married to an Egyptian, the right to pass on her nationality to her children. However, his verdict was successfully appealed.
“Those who stood in the way of granting Samira Soueidan her right were women magistrates at the Court of Appeals,” he said.
Iraqi Sundos Abbas related the experiences of Iraqi women, saying they were depicted as criminals and gang members. “It’s a picture painted by Iraq’s new policies,” she said.
Abbas expressed regret over the rising number of widows, sexual-harassment cases, rape and mutaa marriages – temporary marriages – in Iraq, adding that the personal-status law was re-amended into a sectarian law.
Palestinian Amal Kharisha shared the experiences of Palestinian women and said the Israeli occupation of her country had made Palestinian women forget their rights in the light of more pressing priorities. –The Daily Star
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