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In recent years Lebanon has seen a rise in gender equality however divisions of power and stereotypes are still heavily present through-out the nation. There has been an improvement in equality for all genders including National Women's Day protests in 2021 to help advocate for womens rights and to help get rid of the patriarchy that still lingers through regions of the middle east which is felt currently within Lebanon. As well as the women's day protest the country has taken a stand against the high rates of domestic violence rates within the nation - attached is the death of domestic violence victim Zeina Kanjo who died from the actions of her partner in February 2021.

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In December 2020 Lebanon passed law that ensures further protection for women - specifically those who are victims of domestic violence.

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During the Monday legislative session, the Lebanese Parliament passed a modified law that further protects women and household members from domestic abuse.

The legislation was passed despite MP Ibrahim Mousawi's request to have it referred to the parliamentary joint committees.

Mousawi, who represents Hezbollah in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, was quoted by local media as saying that the modified law "gets into family issues that are governed by religious courts," noting that some of its terms may be subject to appeal by religious figures.

Lebanon has seen a significant increase in domestic violence cases since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak started earlier this year.

According to figures released by the Internal Security Forces, calls to its hotline related to domestic and gender-based violence have risen by more than 50% since March.

Several weeks ago, Human Rights Watch stated that Lebanese officials had failed to secure and guarantee the protection of women in the country against violence and discrimination.

Our team works tirelessly to ensure Lebanese people have a reliable alternative to the politically-backed media outlets with their heavily-funded and dangerous propaganda machines. We've been detained, faced nonstop cyber attacks, censorship, attempted kidnapping, physical intimidation, and frivolous lawsuits draining our resources. Financial support from our readers keeps us fighting on your behalf. If you are financially able, please consider supporting The961's work. Support The961. Make a contribution now.

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Lebanon Voted To Expand Domestic Violence Law, Only Hezbollah Voted Against

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During the Monday legislative session, the Lebanese Parliament passed a modified law that further protects women and household members from domestic abuse. The legislation was passed despite MP Ibrahim Mousawi's request to have it referred to the parliamentary joint committees.

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The death of domestic violence victim Zeina Kanjo.

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Ibrahim Ghazal, the man accused of killing his wife Zeina Kanjo earlier this week, has been charged with murder.

Beirut's Attorney General Judge Ziad Abou Haidar charged Ghazal with murder, a felony that could carry a death sentence, the legal representative of Zeina Kanjo, attorney Ashraf Musawi, announced on Thursday.

The file has been referred to investigative judge Charbel Abou Samra in preparation for issuing an arrest warrant in absentia, which will be followed by an international Interpol warrant.

Ghazal had fled Lebanon to Turkey after reportedly strangling his wife to death in their home in Ain El-Mraisseh, Beirut. The two had only been married for around 6 months, and Kanjo had filed for divorce shortly before her death.

Sky News Arabia reported that Ghazal is still in Istanbul and that the Lebanese community in Turkey had expressed their readiness to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit in the country in order to catch him.

In Lebanon, the case has sparked nationwide outrage and criticism of the country's laws that some said fail to protect women from domestic abuse.

Disturbingly, he continues to post pictures on Instagram with comments that he "misses her."

Other Instagram users are leaving comments asking him why he killed her.

He captions a post "you know that I miss you, you know that I'm not sleeping."

To which, user @alrida8 responds "if you loved her then why did you kill her, what a joke."

According to statistics revealed recently, domestic violence has recently soared by nearly 97% in Lebanon. In December, the Lebanese Parliament passed a law that expanded the legal protection of women and household members from abuse.

Our team works tirelessly to ensure Lebanese people have a reliable alternative to the politically-backed media outlets with their heavily-funded and dangerous propaganda machines. We've been detained, faced nonstop cyber attacks, censorship, attempted kidnapping, physical intimidation, and frivolous lawsuits draining our resources. Financial support from our readers keeps us fighting on your behalf. If you are financially able, please consider supporting The961's work. Support The961. Make a contribution now.

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Zeina Kanjo's Husband Was Just Charged With Murder, While Still Posting That He Misses Her

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Ibrahim Ghazal, the man accused of killing his wife Zeina Kanjo earlier this week, has been charged with murder. Beirut's Attorney General Judge Ziad Abou Haidar charged Ghazal with murder, a felony that could carry a death sentence, the legal representative of Zeina Kanjo, attorney Ashraf Musawi, announced on Thursday.

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Further news coverage of Zeinab Kanjo.

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Beauty queen is "suffered" to death by her husband: Model Zina Kanjo is the Lebanon beauty queen

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National Women's Day protests  that occurred in Beirut - these helped celebrate the achievement of women nationally and globally. As well as celebrating the life of Zeina Kanjo and honouring her name and bringing light to domestic violence within the country.

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Scores of women participated in a march in Beirut on Monday to protest for various human rights issues in Lebanon.

From speaking loud against gender inequality to calling out the Kafala system, these women raised their voices in the streets chanting different slogans.

Though the majority of the women were Lebanese of different religious backgrounds, some of the women were also of different nationalities. And they were not alone but joined by dozens of men who protested in support of the same causes.

They organized this march on International Women's Day, a day that recognizes and commemorates the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women around the world.

Their presence on this day signifies their undying fight to push for what's right and to give a voice to those who cannot speak up.

For instance, just last month, a young Lebanese bride, Zeina Kanjo, was killed by her husband.

She was strangled in her own home just days after filing for divorce. Her killer, her husband, has yet not been brought to justice and is still on the run.

Lebanese women will not stop standing in the face of corruption and striving for what's right, for a better country, for safety and security. Women, after all, are the backbone of society.

For the women in Lebanon, the quote, "They tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds," applies perfectly.

There is still much to do for Lebanon to claim its place among the well-developed countries of the 21st century, and that could only be when it enacts and honors the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

And when it comes to its women, Lebanon has been massively failing and not by ignorance but in full knowledge.

Women's rights, gender equality, fair laws in family courts, mother's right to the custody of their kids, women's protection from femicide and domestic violence, and legally acknowledging Lebanese mothers' rights to pass their citizenship to their children.

Until then, women's march will continue in Lebanon, and not only on International Women's Day.

Our team works tirelessly to ensure Lebanese people have a reliable alternative to the politically-backed media outlets with their heavily-funded and dangerous propaganda machines. We've been detained, faced nonstop cyber attacks, censorship, attempted kidnapping, physical intimidation, and frivolous lawsuits draining our resources. Financial support from our readers keeps us fighting on your behalf. If you are financially able, please consider supporting The961's work. Support The961. Make a contribution now.

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Lebanese Women Take To Beirut's Streets To Protest Injustice & Inequality

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Scores of women participated in a march in Beirut on Monday to protest for various human rights issues in Lebanon. From speaking loud against gender inequality to calling out the Kafala system, these women raised their voices in the streets chanting different slogans.

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The World Report for 2021 highlights the inequality that women still face in Lebanon and the dangers that many young women face still to this day.

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In 2020, Lebanon endured multiple crises, including a massive explosion in Beirut's port, an economic collapse, rising political instability, and the Covid-19 global pandemic, all of which endangered residents' basic rights. The Lebanese political class failed to adequately address any of these crises, some of which were of their own making.

The Lebanese Pound has lost 80 percent of its value since October 2019, eroding people's ability to access basic goods, including food, shelter, and healthcare. The Covid-19 pandemic compounded poverty and economic hardship.

The economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic severely affected the medical sector, endangering the ability of hospitals to provide life-saving care. Electricity blackouts became widespread, lasting up to 22 hours per day in the summer.

On August 4, a massive blast in Beirut's seaport devastated the city killing almost 200 people, injuring more than 6,000, and leaving 300,000 people without shelter. Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government resigned shortly thereafter. Saad Hariri was nominated to be the country's prime minister on October 22, nearly one year after he resigned from the post amid popular protests.

Lebanese security forces, including army personnel, internal security forces, and the parliament police, have used excessive force on several occasions against demonstrators, especially following the country's October 17, 2019 uprising-often with impunity. Lebanese authorities continued to investigate and prosecute individuals for peaceful speech and refer civilians to military courts.

Women and children still face discrimination under the religion-based personal status laws, and child marriage and marital rape remain legal. Unlike men, Lebanese women cannot pass their citizenship to their children and foreign spouses.

There are approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, of whom about 78 percent lack legal status, an increase from the previous year. The situation of migrant domestic workers, who are subject to the restrictive kafala (sponsorship) system and are excluded from labor law protections, has worsened amid the economic crisis and Covid-19 pandemic.

Beirut Port Explosion

On August 4, a huge explosion at the Beirut seaport devastated the city. The explosion impacted Lebanon's food supply, as Lebanon imports 85 percent of its food, and the port previously handled around 70 percent of the country's imports. The explosion affected 163 public and private schools and rendered half of Beirut's healthcare centers nonfunctional.

President Michel Aoun and then-Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the explosion was caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in a warehouse in the Beirut port for over six years without appropriate safety precautions. The circumstances that led to the detonation of the material are not yet clear. Media reports claimed that many high-level officials were aware of the existence of the ammonium nitrate but failed to act.

President Aoun has promised a transparent investigation into the causes of the explosion. However, rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have raised serious concerns about the credibility and independence of the investigation. Human Rights Watch, other civil society organizations, and victims groups have called for an international and independent investigation into the blast.

Financial and Economic Crisis

Lebanon's economy has long depended on a regular in-flow of US dollars, and the Central Bank has pegged the Lebanese pound to the US dollar at an official exchange rate of 1,507.5 Lebanese pounds since 1997. Over the last 10 years, as economic growth slowed and remittances from the Lebanese diaspora have decreased, the quantity of dollars in circulation has declined. An increasing lack of confidence in the stability of the Lebanese pound in 2019 and concerns about the stability of the banking sector led depositors to withdraw from dollar accounts, making dollars increasingly scarce and causing the unofficial exchange rate to hit 8,000 Lebanese pounds in September.

In November 2019, months before the threat of Covid-19 became apparent, the World Bank predicted that the portion of Lebanon's population below the poverty line would rise from 30 to 50 percent in 2020. Some Lebanese economists estimate that this figure has drastically increased.

As the Lebanese pound depreciates, the price of basic goods, most of which are imported, is rapidly increasing, eroding people's ability to afford food, shelter, and healthcare. The Covid-19 pandemic compounded the poverty and economic hardship many faced, and disproportionately affected marginalized groups, including low-income families, people with disabilities, migrants, refugees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people. The government did not develop a timely, robust, or coordinated plan to help.

The financial crisis has thrown Lebanon's healthcare sector into crisis. Hospitals are struggling to provide patients with urgent and necessary life-saving medical care due to the government's failure to provide private and public hospitals with the funds it owes them. In addition, a dollar shortage has restricted the import of vital medical equipment and led banks to curtail credit lines. Medical supplies, including gloves and masks, are scarce, compromising Lebanon's ability to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

In May, the Lebanese government began formal negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss a plan to rescue the economy and request around US$10 billion dollars in aid. However, the negotiations stalled when politicians failed to agree on the size of the country's financial losses.

Freedom of Assembly and Expression

Anti-government protests, which began on October 17, 2019, against the political establishment's corruption and incompetence, continued in 2020.

Security forces-including the army, anti-riot police, and parliamentary police-used excessive and at times lethal force against mostly peaceful protesters. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) unjustifiably used excessive force against protesters in Tripoli on April 27, killing one protester and injuring scores more.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Beirut on August 8 to express their outrage over the Beirut blast and demand accountability. Security forces fired live ammunition, metal pellets, and kinetic impact projectiles such as rubber balls, including at health workers, and police deployed excessive quantities of tear gas, including at first aid stations. Several teargas cartridges were fired directly at protesters, striking some in the head and neck. Security forces also threw stones at protesters and beat them: 728 people were injured.

Attacks on free speech escalated in the wake of the October 17, 2019, nationwide protests, and authorities continued to use Lebanon's criminal defamation laws to detain and charge individuals for speech critical of government officials, especially in relation to corruption allegations. Fourteen local and international organizations, including Human Rights Watch, announced on July 13 the formation of a " Coalition to Defend Freedom of Expression " to oppose the Lebanese authorities' attempts to stifle free speech in the country.

Environment and Health

Despite the passage of a solid waste management law in 2018 banning the open burning of waste, municipalities still engage in the practice, posing health risks to nearby residents, especially children and older persons.

The two major landfills servicing Beirut are set to reach capacity this year, but the government has not put in place a plan to tackle the looming trash crisis.

Since the 2015 trash crisis, during which garbage built up on the streets of Beirut, the government has been relying on stopgap measures and temporary fixes that do not solve Lebanon's underlying waste management problems, incurring huge environmental and public health costs.

Women's Rights

Women continue to face discrimination under 15 distinct religion-based personal status laws. Discrimination includes inequality in access to divorce, child custody, and inheritance and property rights. Unlike men, Lebanese women also cannot pass on their nationality to foreign husbands and children.

Lebanon has no minimum age for marriage, and some religious courts allow girls younger than 15 to marry. In 2017, Lebanon's parliament repealed article 522, which had allowed rapists to escape prosecution by marrying the victim, but left a loophole regarding offenses relating to sex with children aged 15-17 and sex with virgin girls with promises of marriage. Marital rape is still not criminalized.

Women's rights groups reported a significant increase in the number of calls about domestic violence during Covid-19 lockdown restrictions compared to the previous year.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

LGBT people participated prominently in the nationwide protests that began on October 17, 2019. By taking their struggle to the streets, through chants, graffiti, and public discussions, LGBT people have moved demands of their rights from the margins to mainstream discourse.

However, article 534 of the penal code punishes "any sexual intercourse contrary to the order of nature" with up to one year in prison. Transgender women in Lebanon face systemic violence and discrimination in accessing basic services, including employment, health care, and housing. The economic crisis, compounded by Covid-19 lockdown measures, disproportionately affected LGBT people.

Education

More than half of school-age refugee children are out of school.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the transition to remote learning has exacerbated inequalities and increased the risk that some children, particularly the most vulnerable, will not come back once schools reopen. The government's distance learning strategy was not implemented consistently in "second shift" classes, attended by Syrian children, leaving the majority " completely out of learning," a group of international humanitarian organizations reported in June.

Children with disabilities are often denied admission to schools and for those who manage to enroll, most schools do not take reasonable steps to provide them with a quality education. Lebanon's Covid-19 response has overlooked children with disabilities, who cannot access remote education on an equal basis with others.

Migrant Workers

An estimated 250,000 migrant domestic workers, primarily from Ethiopia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, are excluded from Lebanon's labor law protections, and their status in the country is regulated by the restrictive kafala (sponsorship) system, which ties migrant workers' legal residency to their employer.

Human Rights Watch and many other organizations have documented for years how the kafala system gives employers excessive control over workers' lives, leading to an array of abuses, including non-payment of wages, forced confinement, excessive working hours, and verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. During the economic crisis, many employers abandoned their workers, without pay or return flight tickets home, in front of consulates and embassies, and workers reported facing discrimination in receiving aid after the Beirut blast.

On September 4, the Labor Ministry adopted a new standard unified contract for migrant domestic workers that allows workers to terminate their contract without the consent of their employer, and provides key labor guarantees already afforded to other workers such as a 48-hour work week, a weekly rest day, overtime pay, sick pay, annual leave, and the national minimum wage, with some permissible deductions for housing and food. If implemented, the contract could improve the lives of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. However, the contract does not include provisions to allow workers to join and form unions, and the authorities have yet to roll out oversight and enforcement mechanisms or extend labor law protections to domestic workers.

Refugees

Nearly one million Syrian refugees are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon. Lebanon's residency policy for refugees makes it difficult for Syrians to maintain legal status, heightening risks of exploitation and abuse and restricting refugees' access to work, education, and healthcare. Seventy-eight percent of Syrians in Lebanon now lack legal residency and risk detention and deportation for unlawful presence in the country.

At least 21 Lebanese municipalities introduced discriminatory restrictions on Syrian refugees that do not apply to Lebanese residents as part of their efforts to combat Covid-19.

According to the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, there are approximately 174,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, where they continue to face restrictions, including on their right to work and own property. In addition, approximately 30,000 Palestinians from Syria have sought refuge in Lebanon.

Legacy of Past Conflicts and Wars

An estimated 17,000 Lebanese were kidnapped or "disappeared" during the 1975-1990 civil war. On November 12, 2018, parliament passed a landmark law creating an independent national commission to investigate the fate of the disappeared, and in June, the cabinet approved the members of the commission.

In August, judges at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon convicted a member of Hezbollah for his role in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a 2005 car bomb. The court acquitted the three other defendants in the case.

Key International Actors

Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia maintain a strong influence on Lebanese politics through local allies.

Tensions between Hezbollah and Israel remain high. The Israeli military said it thwarted a Hezbollah raid at the border on July 27, but Hezbollah denied carrying out an operation. Israel violated Lebanese airspace frequently.

Lebanon and Israel began talks over their disputed maritime border on October 14.

The international community has given Lebanon extensive, albeit insufficient, support to help it cope with the Syrian refugee crisis and to bolster security amid spillover violence.

Thirty-six countries pledged €253 million (around $300 million) for emergency support to Lebanon after the explosion during a donor conference co-led by France and the United Nations on August 9. A second conference was planned for November. French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing Lebanese leaders to implement reforms.

Lebanese armed forces and police receive assistance from a range of international donors, including the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, France, and Saudi Arabia.

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World Report 2021: Rights Trends in Lebanon

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In 2020, Lebanon endured multiple crises, including a massive explosion in Beirut's port, an economic collapse, rising political instability, and the Covid-19 global pandemic, all of which endangered residents' basic rights. The Lebanese political class failed to adequately address any of these crises, some of which were of their own making.

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Murdering women: A look at Lebanon's surge in gender-based violence

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Information on the work of the UN Women in Lebanon and how they are striving to fight for equality for women in the middle east - recognising the inconsistencies and addressing them with their work force.

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Lebanon enjoys one of the most vibrant feminist movements in the Arab region. The right of Lebanese women to vote was recognized in 1952, and since then Lebanese women have made great strides in advancing the women´s empowerment agenda. Lebanon's ratification of the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997 catalyzed a greater awareness of women's rights within Lebanese society, followed by the establishment in 1998 of the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), which is affiliated with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Today, primary school enrolments of girls and boys are equal and 83 per cent of Lebanese women are literate.

However, a number of legal, institutional and social hurdles to women's full enjoyment of their rights remain in place. Lebanon has maintained reservations on the CEDAW Article 9(2), regarding nationality; several subparagraphs of Article 16(1), related to personal status laws; and Article 29(1), on the settlement of disputes on the interpretation of Convention to the International Court of Justice. In Lebanon, the labour force participation rate for women aged 15 years and above is 29 per cent compared to 72 per cent for men.

Moreover, Lebanon is going through an unprecedented political and economic crisis, compounded by multiple shocks that hit the country throughout 2019 and 2020 - the October 2019 uprising, the onset of COVID-19 in February 2020 and most recently the August 2020 Beirut Explosion.

The economic crisis, which has manifested itself in currency depreciation, shortages and inflation, has been deepened by continued sectarian impasse, creating a reinforcing cycle of political and economic crisis. ESCWA estimates that more than 55% of the country's population is now trapped in poverty and struggling for bare necessities, i.e., almost double last year's rate which was 28%. Extreme poverty has registered a threefold increase from 8% in 2019 to 23% in 2020. GDP is expected to fall by at least 13.8% in 2020, and UN Women had estimated in June that women's employment in Lebanon was set to fall by 14-19% as a result of current economic contraction rates. These numbers will deepen as a result of the August blast.

This comes on top of - and has been exacerbated by - an almost decade long protracted Syrian refugee crisis, which has overstretched governmental services and the country's infrastructure, and increased competition for employment in marginalized communities.

This multifaceted crisis is happening within a context of deep and structural gender inequalities. Lebanon has one of the highest overall gender gaps in the world (ranking 145 out of 153 countries in the World Economic Forum Gender Gap report 2020), and amongst the lowest global rates of women's labor market participation, hovering at 29% for women and 76% for men. Prevalence rates for spousal violence are around 25% and women make up only 4.6% of the Parliament. Within the refugee community, refugee women are the most food insecure, and significantly more likely to note have legal residence or access to adequate shelter.

To fully achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, more efforts are required to address the country's systemic gender issues.

Since 2012, UN Women has been supporting Lebanon through the global grant-making mechanism, the Fund for Gender Equality (FGE). With an on-the-ground presence beginning in 2017, UN Women Lebanon has expanded its intervention and currently works in the areas of Women's Economic Empowerment; Women's Political Participation; Women, Peace and Security; and Men and Women for Gender Equality, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through its interventions, UN Women aims to fully engage women in political institutions and processes and to provide them with means to access decent work and income security. It also seeks to guarantee women's participation in decision-making, at the household and community levels, and in peace and security commitments, so that women may participate equally in the socio-economic development of Lebanon. UN Women also engages men and boys in addressing negative stereotypes and inequalities.

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Lebanon enjoys one of the most vibrant feminist movements in the Arab region. The right of Lebanese women to vote was recognized in 1952, and since then Lebanese women have made great strides in advancing the women´s empowerment agenda. Lebanon's ratification of the Convention for the Elimination of

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COVID-19 and it's affect on refugee women

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COVID-19 and it's affect on refugee women

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Refugee and displaced women are at a greater risk of experiencing SGBV throughout their lifetime and the pandemic has heightened this vulnerability. Syrian refugee women report domestic violence, gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence as a common issue, and insist that incidents are increasing because of the restrictions on movement and the quarantine imposed by the pandemic.

A significant number of women from the Syrian refugee community further state that incidents of GBV are generally not reported, and that a very limited percentage of women from these communities have access to the services and support they need. Access to prevention, response services, mental health support and community support is additionally difficult for women and girls with physical and mental disabilities, who constitute an estimated 21.4% of female Syrian refugees in Lebanon according to UN Women.

A study from 2020 published in BMC Women's Health highlights that sexual exploitation, trafficking and abuse remains a major concern for Syrian refugee women and girls, and that even local and international aid workers are potential perpetrators. On another note, the reliance on "survival sex" is a prevalent practice amongst Syrian refugee transwomen due to severe legal, social and economic discrimination against them. As the majority of women in the refugee community survive on daily wages, odd jobs and on a non-stable income, Covid-19 has only added to their physical and mental insecurity.

The consequences of Covid-19 on Syrian refugee women carry profound psychological impacts and constraints on their mental health. Exposure to exploitation and being isolated with perpetrators in close quarters is known to result in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies. These mental health constraints consequently pose important social implications across the family and the community, and can lead to discrimination, unwanted pregnancies, stigmatisation, ostracism, and in many instances death threats from the community and family.

Plan International also reports that women and girls from Syrian refugee communities in Lebanon have been left struggling for food and basic necessities such as sanitary pads, as the Covid-19 pandemic unravels in the country amid economic constraints. Plan International additionally found that Syrian refugee girls reported they do not have access to menstrual supplies or hygiene pads, nor can their families afford them amid lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions.

Refugees in Lebanon and the Covid-19 vaccine

Debates about refugees' access to incoming doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have brought about an entirely new debate in the areas of state responsibility, burden sharing and the role of international organisations and UN agencies in Lebanon. The division of Palestinian refugees and Syrian refugees between the mandates of both UNRWA and UNHCR respectively poses additional needs for inquiry into the shared responsibilities of these two agencies.

As Lebanon continues to grapple through a political stagnation, an economic crisis, a post-Beirut blast reconstruction era, a prolonged humanitarian crisis as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, one can only assume that the intersectional and layered human rights violations of refugee women are not high up on the list of the government's priorities.

It is pivotal to address the underlying causes of human rights inequalities if a successful and comprehensive Covid-19 response plan is to be set in motion - and ultimately succeed in ticking one object off Lebanon's long list of challenges as they embark on 2021. Empowering women in conflict settings not only assists with the economic empowerment of their households, but further challenges the social and cultural constructions that place them there.

A comprehensive approach must entail the mobilisation of community-based organisations to provide legal, social, protection, and health services along with governmental bodies. Lobbying international funding agencies to provide urgent, targeted and needs-based financial support that take the complexities and intersections of being a refugee woman in times of financial crisis and a pandemic into account are necessary as well as Lebanon continues to power through another difficult year.
This blog was written with the support of a European Research Council (ERC) grant under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 786494). The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author(s) only, and do not necessarily reflect LSE's or those of the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Image credit: UNHCR/ACNUR Américas (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

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feminist international law of peace and security

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Refugee women in Lebanon hit the hardest by Covid-19

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Refugee and displaced women are at a greater risk of experiencing SGBV throughout their lifetime and the pandemic has heightened this vulnerability. Syrian refugee women report domestic violence, gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence as a common issue, and insist that incidents are increasing because of the restrictions on movement and the quarantine imposed by the pandemic.