|
BEIRUT: On the occasion of International
Women’s Day Thursday, First Lady Wafaa Sleiman said that Lebanese women are
still far from assuming a tangible role in politics, a step which would
help to achieve peace.
“Women in my country are still far from
being actual partners in decision-making in politics,” Sleiman said.
“Despite the fact that Lebanon was the
first Arab country allowing women to vote and run for elections in 1952 ...
their presence in decision-making is still limited, whether in successive
Cabinets, Parliament or administrative appointments,” said Sleiman, who
heads the National Commission for Lebanese Women.
Sleiman’s remarks came during a ceremony
in Tyre to honor women participating in the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon
and the launching of the National Campaign for Supporting Women in Decision
and Peacemaking.
Sleiman said that women’s limited role in
politics was behind the commission’s decision to launch the national
campaign.
The other main inspiration, Sleiman added,
was to enhance women’s role in achieving long-lasting peace, which would
result from their enhanced role in political life.
“The woman who raises [children] on the
values and principles of tolerance and cooperation should not be deprived
from taking part in making these moral principles a trend in politics,” she
added.
“There is no peace without enhancing
women’s presence in decision-making, and we cannot have a strong presence
without having socio-economic and legal conditions improved.”
The first lady praised the role of women
in UNIFIL, saying they played an important role in peacekeeping.
During the ceremony, the National Commission
for Lebanese Women handed out awards to 17 women peacekeepers from UNIFIL,
among other members of the force.
For her part, Randa Berri, the wife of
Speaker Nabih Berri and the deputy head of the National Commission for
Lebanese Women, said that women have a “a national and humanitarian duty”
in state and society.
She said that women peacekeepers in
Lebanon have participated in projects of sustained development and
sacrificed their lives while on duty.
Also Thursday, former Prime Minister Saad
Hariri saluted Lebanese and Arab women, Syrians in particular.
“On International Women’s Day, I salute
all Lebanese and Arab women, and particularly women of the Syrian
Revolution in their heroic struggle,” Hariri said on Twitter.
The head of the Future Movement said that
the “the Arab Spring has put Arab women in the forefront and of revolutions
for dignity and freedom. Every day deserves to be Arab Women’s day.”
Elsewhere in Lebanon, women’s rights
associations marked the day by calling for an enhanced role in politics.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment