Florence Massena
Since the new year, several Lebanese rights groups have
been demanding that the government established by Prime Minister Saad
Hariri on Dec. 18 implement a quota of 30% of seats for women
in the May parliamentary elections. Women's rights organizations had
expressed dissatisfaction over the appointment of a man to head the new
Ministry for Women's Affairs, Jean Ogasapian.
Hariri's newly appointed government is
composed of 29 men and one woman, and a ministry for women's affairs
was implemented for the first time in Lebanon. Led by Ogasapian, a
parliamentarian from the Future Movement and consultant for private and
public institutions on social cohesion and women's empowerment, this
ministry will have the task of advocating for new laws and amendments
favorable to the advancement of women in Lebanese society.
