Date: Feb 12, 2019 Source: The Daily Star Women assume bigger role in politics Ghinwa Obeid| The Daily Star BEIRUT: With a record four women entering Lebanon’s Cabinet, all eyes are on these barrier breakers - and on what is next for women in Lebanese politics. While there was hope that women would be better represented in the new government compared with the last one, which had only one female minister, few anticipated that this many women would be appointed - and to such powerful portfolios. In a first for Lebanon and the Arab world, the Interior Ministry - one of the four so-called sovereign ministries in Lebanon - was handed to the Future Movement’s Raya El Hassan. Hassan previously broke the glass ceiling at another sovereign ministry, finance, in 2009. The Energy Ministry, which is not a sovereign ministry but deals with controversial and important files, is now led by Nada Boustani. Boustani had been an adviser at the ministry since 2010. Violette Safadi was named minister of state for the economic empowerment of women and youth, while May Chidiac became the new minister of state for administrative development. Chidiac told The Daily Star that the office she now holds is a “heavy duty” portfolio that notably requires coordination with other ministries. Chidiac, however, said she was ready to face the coming challenges. The Lebanese Forces minister said that among the many controversial issues that may be debated in Cabinet, she hoped that developmental and economic issues would take precedence. Chidiac said that she has existing, positive relationships with the other female ministers and that this will facilitate cooperation among them in the government. For years, women’s rights groups have been mobilizing on the ground for better representation of women in politics. Lobbyists have also been pushing political parties to appoint women to other significant decision-making posts that could eventually lead to women having a bigger role in Lebanon’s political life. The European Union and the United Nations have been working in parallel with local actors to make the case for quotas and urge Lebanon to improve gender equality in the political class. Rita Chemaly, a lecturer at the political science institute at Saint Joseph University, said that she was very optimistic about the new Cabinet lineup, and that the women were all well suited for the positions they were given. “I am so pleased, but of course the battle does not stop here and needs to continue,” Chemaly told The Daily Star. “The battle now is to set a minimum of four [female] ministers. ... Next time there should be more than four.” “Whether [politicians] made their decision [to appoint more women in Cabinet] because they were truly convinced about it or not is something I am not sure about, but we exerted pressure and this pressure led somewhere,” Chemaly said. “If there weren’t this number of women [in Cabinet], the world would have turned upside down,” she said. She pointed to the last-minute name change to the office that Safadi now holds as a sign that political leaders are open to responding to concerns over how women are represented in society. Safadi was initially named the “minister of state for social and economic rehabilitation for youth and women,” sparking outrage in particular over the word “rehabilitation,” which many perceived as demeaning. Prime Minister Saad Hariri quickly agreed to changing the name, which Chemaly said showed that “mistakes are no longer tolerated.” “We will continue to lobby political parties, MPs, ministers and heads of blocs - we want competent women to be appointed everywhere,” she said. Chemaly said that now activists needed to set their sights on the upcoming parliamentary elections, slated for 2022. A significant number of women ran in the 2018 parliamentary elections, paving the way to having six female MPs compared with the four in the previous Parliament. Caroline Succar Slaiby, vice president of the Lebanese Women’s Democratic Gathering, said that the increased representation of women in the new Cabinet lineup was a direct reflection of the mobilization in the lead-up to and aftermath of the parliamentary elections. “It is the first [time] where we actually feel that a government takes into consideration gender in Lebanon,” Slaiby said, though she lamented the underwhelming results of the May elections in terms of the representation of women. “Lebanon still falls short in many other aspects,” Slaiby said, echoing Chemaly’s vision going forward: “We need to think ahead for the upcoming parliamentary elections and municipal elections,” also scheduled for 2022. She praised the decision to choose Hassan as interior minister as a small step in the right direction. Having Hassan head the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for preparing for elections, could be positive for women being better represented in Parliament and at the municipal level going forward, Slaiby said. Like Chemaly, Slaiby couldn’t pin down whether politicians chose to have four female ministers as a result of pressure from activists or because of their sincere conviction on the matter. “There is pressure,” she said. “There are women in political parties who have their positions ... and have demands and have been pushing forward with these demands.” Nevertheless, Slaiby noted, “the struggle continues.”