The Youth Association for the Blind (YAB) took part in the Second International Conference for Blind Women which was organized by the World Blind Union in Melbourne/Australia which brought together blind women from 69 countries of the North and South.YAB's representative, Ms. Rola Damah, was elected as a member of the women commission and is to date the only women from the Arab world.
For information, contact yab@cyberia.net.lb

More abject news are regularly reported in the Lebanese media on various acts of rape and sexual abuse of children (7 cases during the period under review). In addition to the mild sentences faced by the perpetrators, the quasi absence of interest or concern of NGOs involved in women and children's rights as well as gender violence raises questions as to the existence of any serious efforts to combat the growing trend of violence against women and children.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between UN-ESCWA and the National Broadcasting Network, a private Lebanese television channel, stipulating the preparation and production of 13 to 14 TV documentaries on the situation of women in the Arab world within the framework of a national media campaign spearheaded by UN-ESCWA. The documentaries will address issues including the education and training of women, women and health, violence against women, women in conflict situation, the role of women in the economy and in decision making, national machineries for the advancement of women, women rights as human rights, women and the media, and gender equality in the family. The first of these documentaries will focus on the role of UN-ESCWA on promoting the advancement of Arab women and is expected to be broadcasted on the 8th of March to coincide with the International Women's Day.

The Unifem Post-Beijing Project Phase II organised in collaboration with the National Commission for Lebanese Women and the NGOs Post Beijing Follow-up Committee a three days training on Strategic Planning. The training targeted 45 gender focal points from the public and NGOs sectors and aimed at equipping participants with basic planning skills as well as pave the way for collaboration between the 2 sectors in mainstreaming gender in policies and programmes.
For information, contact unifempb@inco.com.lb

Occupied Palestine/Machreq

Hundred of Israeli women have demonstrated in front of the Israeli Ministry of defense in an attempt to prompt awareness vis-à-vis the growing crimes which domestic crimes which have claimed the lives of sixteen women in 2000. The most recent and hideous crime was perpetrated against a pregnant women who was slaughtered by her husband in the presence of her two young children. Violence and crimes against women have mobilized the public and the women movements with Israeli president stating that he will not look at any plea for pardon for men found guilty of such crimes.

Syria/Machreq

The Chamber of Commerce in Syria has just announced the creation of the Committee of Business Women. The Committee aims at mobilisation all women involved in businesses in Syria, reinforcing in-country, regional and international links and providing opportunities for capacity building and acquiring new skills in marketing, ICT and laws governing commerce and businesses. It is to be noted that a Committee of Women Industrialists had already been created in Syria last year and now group some 250 women members. The Committee of Women Industrialist has just completed a Strategic Planning Workshop organized by the ILO Bureau for Arab States and now intends to embark on a long-term planning process.
Following an earlier workshop targeting gender focal points within the publica sector, UNIFEM (post-Beijing Programme Phase II) and the General Union of Syrian Women conducted their second gender orientation workshop this time targeting NGOs involved in post-Beijing efforts and programmes. The workshop was opened by Baria al Kudsi, Minister of Social Affairs, who reiterated the importance of women and men's full involvement and participation in social and human development.
Newly elected President Bashar Assad revoked a decision banning girls from wearing the Islamic scarf on school campuses. This decision had been in force since the early eighties following the clashes which were stirred up by the Muslim Brotherhood. Assad's move was positively received as a step towards further liberalization of the country. 
 

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