Indigenous People’s Celebration in Canada. Photo courtesy of Chrystal Tabobandung

By Randa El Ozeir
TORONTO, Sep 2 2025 (IPS)

If European colonialism had never happened in Canada, matriarchy would still have been strong in Indigenous culture. Matriarchy was the backbone of society’s structure and line of dominance in Turtle Island (North America) before the arrival of Westerners.

In practice, Indigenous women in Canada have been victims of violence and discrimination. In theory, they were supposed, along with children, to enjoy full protection, as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) states in article 22.

“Traditional knowledge would be whole and complete. Our languages, ceremonies, governance systems, planet health, communities, cosmologies, land practices, water preservation, and harvesting practices would be alive and well,” says Anishinaabe Ancestral Knowledge Keeper Kim Wheatley, “Head/Leader of the Fireflower,” the Spirit name she carries.

The female role and influence in traditional Native American culture were powerful and pivotal. Wheatley cites how women’s main duty, “like all community members, was to live in harmony with creation, a life of committed purpose and passion based on the gifts they arrived with from the spirit world. Women were hunters, foragers, medicine folks, healers, educators, leaders, artists, fishers, ceremonialists, singers, dancers, artists, and governance holders—really the societal glue on how to provide for the greater good. They were the ones who made the big long-term decisions for the communities they were responsible for.”

Anishinaabe Ancestral Knowledge Keeper Kim Wheatley.

The story of Indigenous women in Canada is considerably incompatible with what Disney World tried to twist and distort in its popular animation “Pocahontas.” Chrystal Tabobandung, Founder of RAISE Indigenous cultural awareness and competence training with Ojibwe roots, sees the “hatred of white women towards us, as if we were less. We have been kicked out of our homes. We are suffering today and being sexualized by men and social media. Historically, white women envied us because of the roles we held in our communities and our traditional ways.”

This is where the impact of colonialism has come in, right from earlier contact, and changed over time. Women in Europe were not to be seen, not to be heard. They were in the background, and they were very resentful at the fact that, here, Indigenous women had a voice, a seat at the table to make decisions regarding safety, child rearing, politics, and even where to camp.”

Socio-Economic Inequality

The effect of the forced Western social and business model has shattered too many Indigenous communities, and the shift to a Western male-dominant lifestyle has altered the whole picture.

Wheatley believes that over the last 150 years, “The foundation of species became a risk. The destruction of lands and waters through endless resource extraction, racism, misogyny, the vulgarity of political decision-making on women’s bodies, the ever-rising violence against women and girls, and the list goes on and on. We see a dramatic disparity in the socio-economic realities. Our People have vast, complex political systems, governance structures, balanced leadership models, extraordinary, vibrant trade practices, endless creativity, and intimate relationships to lands and waters. Deep moral teachings that contribute to the greater good based on long-standing visioning practices.”

While women can and do run for leadership roles, the colonial system does not support traditional governance and practices. The Indian Act is still law in Canada and is one of the recognized leading racist legal documents in the world. This Act oversees how and what a First Nation community can do within reserve confines and what happens when you leave.”

Chrystal Tabobandung, Founder of RAISE Indigenous cultural awareness.

The differences among Indigenous women vary according to their distinct nations. In Canada, there are over 630 recognized First Nations communities.

“Our nations’ women do things differently based on nation-to-nation teachings that are tied to tradition and culture as opposed to roles,” explains Tabobandung. “There are so many divergent oppressive systems that disconnect them.

They do not necessarily work together, but regarding huge social issues, like murdered and missing Indigenous women and sex trafficking, they do come together. They are active in marches and rallies. They stand up against injustices and reconnect with their tradition and their culture. The more voices that are coming out, the more people feel courageous, strong, and able to come forth with their personal experiences.”

How does lack of access to safe drinking water affect Indigenous women? According to Wheatley, “The water crisis in First Nations communities is under-recognized as a continuous assault on a basic human right. Women who live off-reserve have greater opportunities for employment, housing, and other socio-economic possibilities that simply are not available on many reserves for a wide variety of reasons. Educational facilities are far more accessible, along with social services that are integral to supporting families.”

“The proximity of travel to/from work, social gatherings, support spaces, cultural activities, educational options, and greater social interactions are much more accessible in urban areas,” continues Wheatley. “This contributes to a greater sense of well-being. In small towns, racism may not support greater opportunities, but in cities with larger populations, the odds increase in a woman’s favor.”

Reconciliation and Preserving People’s Culture

In her opinion, Wheatley sees that the Truth and Reconciliation Report was a gift to Canadians, challenging their comfort in historic amnesia and continued ignorance of cultural genocide committed by the highest leadership in this country.

“Anytime we have a voice from ‘our people’ to say how we need to look at restitution and restoration of our sovereignty, it is the right path. We do not need to be told how to heal… We need to tell the country how to support our healing. This is what the report does beautifully. It is as comprehensive as the country can digest at this time and yet… few of the ‘calls to action’ have been addressed meaningfully to date.”

Ten years have passed, yet not much has changed, Wheatley adds.

“This country has continuously operated under the fallacy of the Doctrine of Discovery and theft of land that was never theirs to take.”

The Western Eurocentric perspective has been imposed even on terminology and on what an Indigenous person uses. Tabobandung says, “Only in the past couple of generations have we empowered our children to have voices and ask questions. I grew up in a smaller town where colonialism impacted us, but we were still able to carry down our teachings and our stories. People who have been removed from their culture or have become disconnected in any way wouldn’t know these teachings.”

In British Columbia, Indigenous people are knowledgeable about their culture.

“They really project the importance of their Indigenous women,” says Wheatley. “If there is any movement for any Indigenous or Aboriginal rights to change in the court system, it will take place in precedence in British Columbia and will set that precedent for all other nations across Canada.”

Is There a Way Out?

Wheatley believes the solution between the government and Indigenous people has not been prioritized. “

Hence, Third World conditions exist as a norm in many [Indigenous] communities. To reconcile the crimes of the past in Canada, the perpetrators need to take responsibility, but that continues to be a threat to colonial intrusion and imposition on lands that are rightfully ours!”

Everyone takes Reconciliation differently.

Tabobandung heard different voices; some people are more extreme than others. On the ground, the fait accompli is that Indigenous people, Westerners, and other immigrants are practically sharing their lives on Turtle Island.

Tabobandung finds herself in the middle

“You have this Western business, social, and political model, and your model. How would you balance this? Many First Nations people have had this difficulty, especially those who come from Northern rural, remote communities. You have to know who you are and have deep roots. It is really hard to make that transition, especially in the Western Eurocentric system, where they want to get rid of us; they want to integrate us into the Westernized society so that we don’t exist anymore. Some get to a point where they find peace and balance.”

“I am Anishinaabe. I am Ojibwe. I refuse to acknowledge myself as Indigenous, First Nation, or Aboriginal,” says Tabobandung. “Our people are older than the terminologies the federal government imposed upon us. I walk softly and gently upon the earth. Culture has saved me, knowing that I am First Peoples to this land, in this territory, and knowing that a system is trying to annihilate my people, and knowing that I am still here thriving and surviving.”

This is what motivates her.

“It is why I walk with my head held high. It is why I educate myself as much as I can on anything. I paint indigenous paintings and do indigenous art to pass that knowledge down.”

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Damage of airstrikes on Beirut Southern area in the October escalation. Credit: UNICEF/ Dar al Mussawir - Ramzi Haidar

By Randa El Ozeir
TORONTO / BEIRUT , Dec 17 2024 (IPS)

Sixty-four days of unrelenting war machine by Israel against Lebanon put my entire beliefs and ethos to a painful test: my sincerity in promoting social justice, human rights, integrity, patriotism, spirituality and, philosophically speaking, universal human values of love, peace and non-violence.

Undergoing collective injustice, large-scale explosions targeting electronic portable devices, sophisticated weaponry attacks that disregard your homeland sovereignty and war crimes gives you the right to be angry. Intentional and malicious infringement entitles you to fight and militantly defend yourself and your country. Wouldn’t you have the right to avenge based on “eye-for-an-eye” response?

The answer is never straightforward, single dimensional or conclusive. A risk of cognitive dissonance is inevitable. An inner turmoil might emerge. How can we justify ourselves as anti-war and pro-peace while rooting for the “victory” of our assaulted homeland?

Killing in the battlefield is expected and commonly accepted. Since the dawn of human history, soldiers and fighters have been carrying out their duties towards their countries/nations when involved in power struggle, turf war, and land protection against invasion and amputation.

But murdering unarmed civilians and children is never justified under any given pretext, especially after humanity declared leaving back dark ages and medieval barbaric practices.

A Broken Moral Compass

Our today’s world is facing an ethical impasse that threatens our very unity and human cooperation. An entity like The United Nations is facing difficult existential questions. A universal broken moral compass brought a deep feeling of dislodged certainties, disappointment and helplessness.

In the midst of the war on Lebanon – some might argue it was simply an extension of the then ongoing armed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel that erupted on 8 October 2023 – I faced though emotions while trying to balance personal, ideals and peaceful views of the world and a dormant Lebanese identity overshadowed by a Canadian identity that carries its own problem whenever indigenous voices come out to remind us of colonial legacy.

Creation of Israel, as a colonial state, is a fresh memory due to continual war crimes against indigenous people, Palestinians in this case. What still unfolds in Gaza is no exception in practice, although it is exceeding by far anything the modern world has seen after World War II (WWII).

“The Israeli occupation is a moral crime, one that has been all but covered by the West”, writes the American author, journalist and activist, Ta-Nehisi Coates, in his recent book “The Message”.

Complexities of extreme alliances, divisions and political allegiance shifts across the Middle East throughout its long history are undeniable, and the region earned a reputation of uncertainty, volatility and animosity.

Our homeland lays on the intersection of being the absolute, tangible reality of our existence’s centre and symbolizing the aspiration and the transcendent ideation of belonging.

Hollow Words Facing Mass Destruction

During the last blood-shed and destructive offensive of Israel against Lebanon, patriotism took hold of my daily life. I adopted a tunnel vision, focused solely on that nightmarish crisis.

An incessant wave of agonising waiting and deep sadness engulfed my reality to the point of living an almost out-of-body experience. Words became hollow, fell short of describing the heart’s turmoil with the mass destruction and conceited attitude of the assaulting country.

Every waking hour was dedicated to following the news, hysterically checking on my family there, as assumingly was the Lebanese Diaspora’s state.

Patriotism could feel magnified when we are abroad. As much as I longed to be fully included in the situation, I was not there to live the real fear of the direct physical danger, the Israeli’s digital rights violations and the misleading and inadequate warnings for civilians.

Lebanese people know inside-out what war means. We recognize its ugly face. We lived through many episodes, dating back to 1860. We witnessed colonial, civil, proxy and resistance wars.

Resistance in Lebanon opposing Zionism and West imperialism has been deeply ingrained in the country’s core story with different names and players depending on the political and military circumstances. Hezbollah appeared as a resistance and military movement during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 that killed 14,000 Lebanese and Palestinians, stayed the course throughout the 18-year Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon that sustained significant human wounds – including the Qana Massacre in April 1996-, liberated the occupied land in 2000 and emerged triumphant from 2006 Israeli war.

Retracing the ascent of Hezbollah, its affiliation with Iran, the dominant role it has been playing on the Lebanese political stage and its regional size is beyond my scope of expertise. Fighting for the ousted Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad was its dramatic moral fall. However, it would be unfair to completely strip this party of its essential component, the national resistance.

Although I have never been ideologically close to Hezbollah, I was inundated with a poignant sorrow when Hassan Nasrallah, the party’s third secretary general, was assassinated in one of the heaviest Israeli airstrikes. He was loosely likened to Che Guevara in many Arab minds and embodied activism and identification with social justice. His assassination brought back vividly my adolescence and early adulthood opinions and political leanings.

Remnants of sectarian divisions and clashes surface at each unstable occasion, proving how religion impacts politics and making the country vulnerable to an imminent internal conflict. Not this time! Different Lebanese parties and religious sects endeavored to protect civil peace and defeated plan(s) to drive a wedge between the country’s components. Occasionally, as a journalist, it felt frustrating to see some national media outlets’ approach in adopting repeatedly implicit and explicit impure key messages.

Geography is destiny. Lebanon, the 10452 km2, will always have a border with Israel. We are very optimistic the 27-November-2004 ceasefire agreement, that ended a 13-months conflict, will hold in the face of the frequent Israeli violations until the UN Security Council resolution 1701 gets fully re-implemented.

Randa El Ozeir, is a Canadian-Lebanese journalist who writes on health issues, women’s rights and social justice.

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Amber Morley, a City Councillor in Toronto, Canada, talking to Randa El Ozeir on violence against women. Credit: IPS

By Randa El Ozeir
TORONTO, Nov 25 2024 (IPS)

Despite the 1,583 legislative measures in 193 countries around the world, violence against women has not been eradicated or even abated.

Every year on November 25, the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women designated by the UN General Assembly (UNGA). This year’s theme is UNiTE Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls! #No Excuse (Nov 25-Dec 10)—an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates International Human Rights Day.

According to the UN Women data, “an estimated 736 million women—almost one in three—have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life.”

IPS met with Amber Morley, a City Councillor in Toronto, where gender-based violence and intimate-partner violence were declared epidemics last year. Morley finds that such topics are no longer taboo to be swept under the rug or to be kept in the closet.

“Whether it is through willful ignorance or shame and stigma, we haven’t historically been holding real space to have real conversations about the impact of these harmful behaviors. Now, we find ourselves in a moment where we are having the conversation and finally holding space to listen to survivors and victims and to create more supportive structures in our society that allow people to work through those intergenerational traumas and challenges.”

A Universal Burden

It is a widespread plight that does not discriminate across cultures, ethnic backgrounds, languages, or geography. Chances are you might have come across a victim in your family, among your relatives, friends, co-workers, or strangers. Two-thirds (65%) of people in Canada know a woman who has experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.

It is a convoluted, deep-rooted issue that is present not only in the Global South but in the developed world too.

“Unfortunately, I was someone who has been exposed to intimate partner violence in my own family. I know that is true for both of my parents who had these experiences as young people,” says Morley. “That leaves a mark and really gives us things to consider and contemplate as we grow in our own journey, our own adulthood and relationships.”

In previous times, this matter was barely discussed openly, particularly among victims. Things have changed. “We have a chance, at least, to start to address the behavior and try to hopefully raise awareness amongst the wider society,” Morley says. “When you see people being held accountable, it gives confidence to victims to heal and overcome as opposed to perpetuate these cycles.”

The Role of Police and a Clear Shifting

First responders, including police, play an instrumental role in addressing gender-based violence and domestic abuse through special training to support survivors of this type of violence. As a community leader and the mayor’s designate on the Toronto Police Services Board, Morley understands this fact all very well.

“We have a number of different divisions, departments, and agencies that work in support of our mandate and our goals. Toronto police are really good partners with the City of Toronto when it comes to our safety principles. They have victim services, and they track the numbers of reports coming in through mapping and intentional analysis.”

Morley also recognizes that despite the staggering announced rates of intimate partner violence, a lot goes unreported. As much as she appreciates the Canadian constitution, the democratic principles, rights, and freedoms, she views these systems as fragile, requiring “good leadership, accountability, and diverse perspectives to continue to evolve in a good way and be reflective and responsive of the real needs that people are having.”

“We have seen recently in Canadian media that abusers, serial abusers in some cases, are finally having their day in court many years later. Victims are finally able to come forward. And there is an environment of support and believing them. We are shifting into a better space within our institutions and our agencies and holding people accountable. Moving away from this ‘boys will be boys’ idea that I think has been really harmful over the years.”

Awareness and Schooling

Knowing and doing are two separate things. Nevertheless, spreading cognizance in individuals at a young age could act like a buffer against aggression and violence when mental health is not factored in.

Morley believes in “educating our young boys and girls about what it is to be able to regulate your emotions and regulate ourselves as people when we are triggered or upset. At least in my experience, seeing what it looks like when folks don’t have the tools to regulate themselves or work through challenging situations, that is when violence escalates. How can we better focus on educating children to be empowered, to treat themselves kindly, and hopefully, to treat others that way? I think it really does come down to these foundational things.”

Economy Losses Too

Myriad impacts have been exhaustively studied and researched about violence against women, including the economic detrimental damages.

Morley mentions that Canadian employers, for example, lose 77.9 million Canadian dollars annually (about USD55,3 m) due to the direct and indirect impacts of domestic violence. Among the solutions, she proposes the first step to be having more protective milieus in place for victims of domestic violence and removing some of the embarrassment to disclosure and reporting. “That is where we all should be really focusing our attention and bringing in the employers and folks to be part of that conversation to determine how we can all contribute to a more safe and supportive environment for individuals who are being victimized.”

Choice of words could move the needle in a desired direction, influencing the problem and reframing the solution’s angles. Morley invites us to rethink data as community wellness indexes rather than crime indicators.

“Community wellness is not just the absence of crime, locking up the bad guys, but it is creating healthy environments for people to thrive and grow and to be well. We all have a role to play in that. For example, in our community, we have Women’s Habitat, which is an organization serving folks impacted by intimate partner violence. They are part of the network of individuals who are connecting across different organizations and in support with the city to help us stand up a better way forward.”

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Could the Arab Spring scenario from Egypt repeat in Bangladesh as well?. This is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution to: Rayhan9d

By Randa El Ozeir
TORONTO and DHAKA , Aug 20 2024 (IPS)

“I hope the outcome [of the recent revolution in Bangladesh] would be different. I hope the end result will not be the same,” says Shireen Huq, women’s rights and human rights activist and Founder of Naripokkho organization, to IPS about the many similarities with the Arab Spring.

In the recent revolution in Bangladesh that led to dismantling of the autocratic ruling of Sheikh Hasina, many hundreds of young lives, including at least 32 children, were lost at the hands of the police and the auxiliary forces. According to a recent report conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commission, there are “strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force in their response to the situation.”

The Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood Party) came to power through parliament elections in Muslim-majority Egypt in 2011 on the heels of the Arab Spring and got elected president in 2012. The military came back, staging a coup, re-seized power in the country in 2013 and put the current president as head of state. Could this scenario repeat in Bangladesh as well?

I spoke with Huq, who believes that there is a real issue of religiosity among young people in Bangladesh. However, this would not necessarily lead to supporting fundamentalist forces. “We saw that the fundamentalist forces were active in the protest. It is uncertain at this time to what extent they will be able to navigate the situation and get some advantage out of it. Hopefully, the interim government will be able to maintain their hold on the situation and keep it moving in the right direction.”

Disappointment with leaving women at the forefront of the movement out of the interim government

However, Huq is disappointed that the young women have not been represented in the interim government, although some discussions were held initially.

“The garment industry has been led by a majority of the female workforce. During this uprising and these protests, we saw hundreds and thousands of women on the streets. This has also been unprecedented, as women will outnumber men not only in numbers but also in energy force. Two young men have been taken [in the government] from the movement, so this is a little bit worrying. But I am not worried on the whole about women’s rights being further eroded. If anything, I am hopeful that women’s rights will be further advanced,” stated Huq.

In 2018, Huq and her organization, which consists mainly of feminists, many in their middle ages, developed a women’s manifesto that they are currently sending to all members of the interim government to set the expected priorities for women. “We have to wait and see. We have to give young women space to organize themselves the way they want. They will sort out how they want to build their own space, their own structures and their own organizations.”

Hundreds of thousands of female Bangladeshis took to the street during the recent uprising that dismantled the autocracy in the country. This is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Credit: Rayhan9d

In her article titled “Living on Revolution Time”, Anne Alexander, Founder of MENA Solidarity Network, wrote that rulers “will always seek to tip the scales back, to restore their capacity to rule by any means they can. In a very real sense, therefore, “revolution time” is always borrowed time.”

The overthrown Awami league is a big political party in Bangladesh and has plenty of supporters, including among the grassroots. They made a failed attempt for a comeback on the 15th of August, the date when the independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975.

First Reforms, then Democracy

What the world saw in Bangladesh embodies the analysis of Martha C. Nussbaum in her book titled Anger and Forgiveness, “Awakening people to the injustice of society’s treatment of them is a necessary first step toward social progress… Sometimes the legal structure is itself unjust and corrupt. What people need to do is not just to secure justice for this or that particular wrong, but, ultimately, to change the legal order.” (p. 211, 212)

Social justice and reforms appear to occupy a primordial place on the youth agenda in Bangladesh, while democracy takes a back seat, for the time being. “Democracy is definitely one of the major goals, but it is not only democracy which is popularly understood as elections,” clarifies Huq. “What is on the agenda right now is ‘reforms’. The slogan from the streets is also ‘Reform of the State’ in every sector. The success of the interim government, to some extent, is to deliver on those reforms. Democracy is equality and justice in the real sense of the term. Social justice and democracy will go hand in hand.”

Student demonstrators held their ground rejecting calls for swift elections and voiced the planning of their own political party. No doubt there is a generational gap when it comes to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who was considered as the Father of the Nation. Youth don’t have any memory of previous times. “Hasina has used her father in every possible way,” says Huq. “I think it is my generation who is lamenting the inability of young people to make that separation, so they attacked his statues and his portraits which wasn’t probably necessary. There is a lot of pent up anger, not only about the autocracy of his daughter, but also about the misdeeds during his time.”

We are living in an era of acceleration around the world with the prevalence of technology and the pace of life. New generations seem to have lower inertia compared to previous generations and we are witnessing many youth revolutions. Huq thinks revolutions can be infectious. “I am not saying what is happening in Pakistan is because of Bangladesh, but it is interesting that it is happening in South Asia, and maybe we’ll see something happening in India as well, [it is] much-needed in India.”

Despite the great momentum of the revolution’s energy, Huq worries about India’s intervention and interference. “I think some warnings have been issued about that. If India really wants for Bangladesh to prosper and to do well, then the best thing it can do is to keep its hands off.”

Randa El Ozeir, is a Canadian-Lebanese journalist who writes on health issues, women’s rights and social justice.

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Najat Jumaan, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Management at Ar-Rasheed Smart University and Board of Director Member at Jumaan Trading and Investment Co.

By Randa El Ozeir
TORONTO, Aug 16 2024 (IPS)

Once upon a time, the Sheba (Seba’a) Kingdom (today’s Yemen) had a prominent queen. Women, in the presence of men, were held in a higher position, literally.

Things afterward have upended to the disadvantage of female Yemenis living under a strong-hold tribal and patriarchal system. 

Amid an eight-year-long war between the government and Houthi brought a humanitarian crisis considered to be one of the worst in the world, there is a small good news story. While the armed conflict has kept Yemeni men busy at the front(s), some Yemeni women have stumbled upon a societal and economic breather, stemming from a national need to generate an income for themselves and their families to stay afloat.

Women began venturing in small, low-risk businesses.

Dhekra Ahmed Algabri, executive director at Al-Amal foundation, praises the rise of women in many trades and commercial sectors, although they are “linked to conservative patterns established by society, such as sewing, hairdressing and styling, cooking, handicraft making, incense and perfume production and women’s clothing.”

Absence of an Integrated, Empowering System

Najat Jumaan, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Management at Ar-Rasheed Smart University and Board of Director Member at Jumaan Trading and Investment Co., believes that Yemeni women run projects here and there, “but they are not subject to an integrated system to empower and encourage them from a young age to be an active element in the economic and productive process.”

Nevertheless, some Yemeni women broke free from cultural limitations and into traditionally male-dominated fields, such as programming and engineering. Algabri explains that “during the ongoing conflict, women turned to e-commerce, e-marketing and professional services of consulting and training.”

Dhekra Ahmed Algabri, executive director at Al-Amal Foundation.

The bright side businesswomen saw in the dark situation of Yemen was their existence in a closed market they knew inside-out.

“I can move in it and find solutions to several of its problems, and when you achieve things in a more natural and organic way, you attract public recognition and reap supplemental exposure,” says Eman Al-Maktari, co-founder and CEO of MOSNAD Talents Marketplace.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Gender Equality in Yemen underlines the need for “women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.”

However, there is a  lack of official and reliable numbers about the actual extent of women’s contribution in the economy. According to Jumaan, “women’s participation is very limited and they are poorer compared to men in Yemen.”

Her statement is confirmed by World Bank statistics which puts women’s participation in the labor force at 5.1 percent compared to 60.4 percent for men in 2023. The same study noted there were no official statistics for shares in businesses. Only 5.4 percent of women had bank accounts compared with 18.4 percent of men.

Obstacles and Social Media Blessing

Long-standing obstacles are deep rooted in the society’s culture and perpetuate across generations, such as male-female segregation and restricted movement for women (the imposed “mahram”). Individual exceptions might overcome some of the barriers as in the case of Al-Maktari, whose family is more open, but the majority face “a glass ceiling that prevents them from ascending, growing, continuing, and achieving profits,” says Jumaan.

To make matters worse, war related obstacles appeared. The airport of Sana’a was closed for a long time and hindered participating in meetings and conferences. Additionally, Al-Maktari finds that her Yemeni nationality prevented her “entering other countries to participate in opportunities available to other women around the world, which results in an unfair advantage. The undertakings I made would have had a two- to three-time greater return if I were in another country.”

The alternative rescue came from social media that opened vistas for Yemeni businesswomen to promote and show case their work. Nonetheless, it didn’t solve the problem of regional inaccessibility and foreign investors’ reluctance to join the fragile and volatile Yemeni market and expand there.

Eman Al-Maktari, Co-Founder and CEO of MOSNAD Talents Marketplace.

Incentives But Unclear Future

Civil society and donor organizations, the banking sector and the government are investing in “many incentives, initiatives and forms of support for businesswomen through training programs, workshops, financing, loans, professional networks and consultations,” highlights Algabri.

The General Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Yemen also plays an important role, albeit not prominent in light of the crisis, to support the economic and commercial sector in the country.

Al-Maktari benefitted from mentorship and training programs to understand business and start one of her own.

“I received support from an Indian mentor in the field of IT, and it helped me greatly when I was emerging as a digital expert and found a platform to build projects and a name”.

Yet she describes the current situation in Yemen as “foggy,” with an unclear future for businesswomen in a country weighed down with multi-layered obstacles in women’s paths.

“Even economists are not capable of answering the question about our future. We cannot plan annually or quarterly and have very short-term business plans.”

Despite all challenges, hope is growing for Yemeni women. “If conditions and components of success are met, many of which are related to women and the belief in and perfection of their abilities, they can reach their economic power when given the opportunity to educate, learn, qualify, and gain experiences and talents,” says Jumaan.

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Dr. Abdulrahman Bizri, member of the Lebanese parliament and the parliamentary committee on public health, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and chair of the national COVID vaccine committee and response.

By Randa El Ozeir
BEIRUT & TORONTO , Jul 8 2024 (IPS)

This summer is bringing an additional challenge to the public health front in Lebanon, along with higher-than-normal temperatures.

An uptick in food- and water-borne communicable diseases, mainly viral hepatitis A, has been registered in the country, according to recent statistics released by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health from numbers collected in hospitals, health centers and laboratories.

The hepatitis A virus (HAV) causes hepatitis A, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which causes inflammation of the liver. The virus is primarily spread when an uninfected (and unvaccinated) person ingests food or water that is contaminated with the feces of an infected person. The disease is closely associated with unsafe water or food, inadequate sanitation, poor personal hygiene and oral-anal sex.”

An unrelenting, thorny economic crisis has been ravaging the country for years and is considered the main culprit for the deterioration of basic facilities, community installations and public services.

Dr. Abdulrahman Bizri, member of the Lebanese parliament and the parliamentary committee on public health, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and chairperson of the national COVID vaccine committee and response, blames the collapse of Lebanese currency, the negligence, the intractable economic, political and livelihood crises, the mismanagement and the prevailing misconduct for the complications of preventing and containing diseases, including communicable types.

“All these factors led to failure in sustaining health infrastructure, such as sewage, and providing clean water to households for direct or indirect human use through produce and/or livestock, which resulted in the spread of many diseases, namely the infectious ones transmitted through contaminated water, such as cholera, hepatitis A, acute diarrhea, dysentery, salmonella and other diseases.”

Staff Shortages and Budget Cuts

Government dysfunction, scarcity of maintenance and investment and corruption slowed down the development of services and responses to health outbreaks.

Dr. Hussein Hassan, professor and researcher in food safety and food production at Lebanese American University (LAU), points out two additional elements that have deeply affected the public health situation: the reduced funding and the exodus of medical doctors.

“In hospitals, for example, we have staff shortages due to the brain drain while we are suffering from inefficiency and ghost workers. Unfortunately, we also have bribery and budget cuts that delay much-needed projects.”

Can the Ministry of Health (MoH), with its current shape in light of government spending, decrease its ability to manage and protect against communicable diseases?

Bizri says that “MoH is facing an uphill battle due to its limited and low capacities. It relies heavily on the support of the international community,  for example, WHO, UNICEF, and UNHCR, among others, to control these diseases.”

Dr. Hussein Hassan, professor and researcher in food safety and food production at the Lebanese American University (LAU).

Bridging the gap requires a comprehensive and holistic approach to dealing with the situation based on short-term and long-term steps to be taken on many official and public levels. Hassan believes that “we need to strengthen the surveillance of outbreaks, execute mass vaccination campaigns, provide affected individuals with required supplies, and improve the water and sanitation in crowded areas by installing purification systems and even distributing bottled water.”

Large Presence of Syrian refugees

Poverty, poor public awareness, inadequate education, a social environment with minimal knowledge and disregarding good hygiene practices contribute to communicable disease transmission.

Bizri refers to the sizable presence of Syrian refugees who live in difficult and bad conditions, congregated in unorganized camps with insufficient reliable health structures or safe drinking water. He applauded the three-way partnership between the Lebanese Ministry of Health,  international organizations like WHO and UNHCR, and the considerable Lebanese medical private sector in fighting diseases threatening the country.

“Lebanon succeeded in containing many epidemics that had the potential to prevail. The Lebanese medical body, including civil society, massively volunteered to control the spread of these diseases. The health sector spearheaded the efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and is still at the forefront of fighting communicable diseases.”

However, he has reservations regarding the “skeptical role of UNHCR in its fight against many of the epidemics menacing Lebanon as an outcome of the concentrated existence of Syrian refugees, since it does not deal transparently with the Lebanese government and its official institutions.”

To ensure continuity of public health preventative and controlling programs, Hassan mapped out some long-term measures to be put in place, including “economic and political stability, strengthening the healthcare system, investing in improving water supply and sewage systems, and developing and implementing maintenance programs related to water safety, particularly among refugees.”

He acknowledges the crucial role played by international collaboration and financial and technical support delivered by non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Mistrust has dented the relationship between the healthcare system and the citizens.

“I believe that Lebanese citizens lost faith in the health sector long ago,” said Bizri. “Yet they keep depending on this sector, which offers affordable health and medical services compared to the private healthcare costs in Lebanon. The country boasts advanced medical services and treatments, but its public health is still enduring a significant deficit.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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