We’ve noticed two kinds of arguments: those about whether marital rape is rape at all and arguments about whether or not it should be criminalized in the penal code. We hope you share with us your commentaries, arguments, and opinions in the open discussion that will happen afterwards.

ARGUMENT: There is no such thing as marital rape because it is a wife’s duty to give her husband sex, so he can’t possibly rape her. He is just exercising his right.

Mbala there is, rape is forced sex. Whenever sex is forced, whenever it is not consensual, it is rape. And rape is a very serious crime against a person’s body, mind, and spirit. It doesn’t matter if it’s within the context of marriage or a relationship or whatever the excuse is. No man has the right (Divine or otherwise) to rape his wife. Any religious interpretation that condones this is one that is erasing the bodily autonomy and integrity of women.

Marital rape does not exist in a void – it often comes as part of a relationship that is marred with violence and exploitation and abuse. And the arguments that normalize it exist within a patriarchal society that continuously places women’s bodies at the service of the state, the family, religion, and capitalism.

ARGUMENT: Marital rape has its reasons, if a wife continuously refuses sexual relations with her husband or if she is cold, or shy, or can’t initiate sex or she provokes her husband.

A woman is her own person first, before being a wife. Her marital obligations don’t mean that she wipes out her own bodily and sexual autonomy. She does not “belong” to her husband. If she refuses to do anything, sex especially, it is her full right as a human being to say no and not have to face force and rape. Sexual problems within a couple are to be solved with communication and negotiation, never with force or violence.

ARGUMENT: Marital rape is a Western phenomenon. It doesn’t exist in our countries and this demand is trying to ruin our cultural values.

The demand to address marital rape emerged from years of direct work with women in Lebanon, from their daily stories and struggles. Marital rape exists in all cultures – ours included – and it needs to be dealt with without the excuse of dismissing our demands as Western because they are not. Dealing with culturally-sensitive issues is not the same thing as preserving traditions that have harmed oppressed our populations for ages.

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ARGUMENT: Religious courts already deal with marital rape and they know how to do it best. It is not the job of the Penal Code. Families are sacred & every religion has its particular rules, so every family must follow its religious rules.

Obviously, if women in Lebanon are crying out against lack of protection, it must mean religious courts are failing miserably. We reject the sectarian system that divides among women in Lebanon – weakening their collective struggle and giving them the worst end of the personal status laws – across all sects without exception. Families are not sacred and homes are not forbidden. They are social structures that change and adapt for the betterment of society and culture. We demand a unified law that preserves the human rights of women outside of sectarian differences. Plus, the rape law exists anyway in the Penal Code, and it is in the penal code that we want it amended not to exclude spouses.

ARGUMENT: Criminalizing marital rape will dismantle the family, fathers will lose respect, and children will be traumatized.

Rape is violence and violence itself dismantles the family. If the mother is unhappy and oppressed, the children will be affected anyway. Why do we want to preserve the image and respect of a father who is abusive towards his wife? What kind of children is that rearing anyway? A protective law will inhibit violence and rape and can only be good for the children and the health of the family.

ARGUMENT: It is still a sensitive topic, if we make it illegal right away, society won’t know how to deal with it.

Khalas sensitive topics. It is not sensitive to the women who have to suffer it. It is a public concern, for us as a society and a culture, for our men and women, it is a logical, basic human right and if you think our society is so perfect anyway, you wouldn’t mind a protective law. What do you have to fear?

ظهرت حجج كثيرة ضد تجريم الاغتصاب الزوجي وضد اعتبار الجماع القسري بين الزوجين اغتصاباً وضد إدراجه في القانون الذي يجري تداوله في مجلس النواب حالياً لحماية النساء من العنف الأسري. عرضت “نسوية” بعض هذه الحجج والردود عليها بهدف تبديد الخرافات التي ما زالت تحرم المرأة من حقوقها الجنسية وسلامتها الجسدية، سواء في القانون أو في التصور العام أو في قدرتها على التفاوض ضمن نطاق العلاقات الحميمة. شاهدوا أدناه باللغة العربية الفيديو الذي تم تصويره ضمن الحدث الذي جرى على مسرح بابل في بيروت بتاريخ 15 نوفمبر 2011. وتفقدوا معرض الصور هنا.

وقد لاحظنا نوعين من الحجج: تلك التي تتساءل ما إذا كان الاغتصاب الزوجي اغتصاباً حقاً وتلك التي تتساءل ما إذا ينبغي تجريمه في قانون العقوبات. نأمل أن تشاركونا تعليقاتكم وحججكم وآرائكم في المناقشة المفتوحة التي ستجري تالياً.

الحجة: ليس هناك ما يسمّى بالاغتصاب الزوجي لأنه من واجب الزوجة أن تقدّم العلاقة الجنسية لزوجها، وبالتالي، لا يعقل أن يغتصبها إذ هو يمارس حقه فحسب.

بلى إنه موجود؛ الاغتصاب هو جماع قسري. عندما يكون الجماع قسرياً، عندما لا يكون بالتراضي، فهو اغتصاب. والاغتصاب جريمة خطيرة جداً ضد جسم الإنسان وعقله وروحه. لا يهم الإطار الذي يحدث فيه، أكان ضمن الزواج أو العلاقة أو أياً كان العذر. لا يملك أي رجل الحق (إلهياً كان أو دنيوياً) باغتصاب زوجته وأي تفسير ديني يتغاضى عن هذه الفكرة يمحو استقلالية المرأة وسلامتها الجسديتين.

لا يوجد الاغتصاب الزوجي في فراغ بل هو غالباً ما يظهر في العلاقة التي يشوبها العنف والاستغلال وسوء المعاملة. وتعود جذور الحجج التي تطبّعه إلى المجتمع البطريركي الذي يضع جسم المرأة في خدمة الدولة والأسرة والدين والرأسمالية بشكل متواصل.

الحجة: للاغتصاب الزوجي أسبابه؛ إذا رفضت الزوجة العلاقات الجنسية مع زوجها باستمرار أو إذا كانت باردة أو خجولة أو لا تجيد المبادرة إلى ممارسة الجنس أو إذا كانت تستفز زوجها.

المرأة سيدة نفسها أولاً قبل أن تكون زوجة. التزاماتها الزوجية لا تعني أنه عليها أن تتخلى عن استقلالها الجسدي والجنسي. هي ليست “مِلك” زوجها. إذا رفضت أن تفعل أي أمر، لا سيما ممارسة الجنس، فمن حقها الكامل كإنسان أن تقول “لا” من دون أن تواجه القوة والاغتصاب. يجب أن تعالَج المشاكل الجنسية لدى الزوجين من خلال التواصل والتفاوض وليس عبر اللجوء إلى القوة أو العنف.

الحجة: الاغتصاب الزوجي هو ظاهرة غربية غير موجودة في بلادنا ويحاول هذا المطلب أن يدمّر قيمنا الحضارية.

برزت المطالبة بمواجهة الاغتصاب الزوجي بعد سنوات من العمل المباشر مع نساء في لبنان، من صميم قصصهن ونزاعاتهن اليومية. الاغتصاب الزوجي موجود في كل الحضارات، من بينها حضارتنا، ولا بد من مواجهته من دون عذر صرف النظر عن مطالبنا باعتبارها غربية، لأنها ليست كذلك. التعامل مع القضايا الحساسة حضارياً يختلف عن الحفاظ على تقاليد أذتنا وقمعتنا لعصور.

الحجة: تتولى المحاكم الدينية بالفعل مسألة الاغتصاب الزوجي وهي أفضل مَن يجيد فعل ذلك. هذا الموضوع ليس من شأن قانون العقوبات؛ فالعائلات مقدسة ولكل دين قواعده الخاصة، وبالتالي، على كل أسرة أن تتبع القواعد الدينية الخاصة بها.

من البديهي أنه إذا كانت النساء في لبنان يرفعن أصواتهن مستغيثات لغياب الحماية، فحتماً هذا يعني أنّ المحاكم الدينية تفشل فشلاً ذريعاً. نحن نرفض النظام الطائفي الذي يقسم بين النساء في لبنان، فيضعف نضالهن الجماعي ويخضعهن إلى إجحاف قوانين الأحوال الشخصية، الذي يطال الطوائف كلها من دون استثناء. العائلات ليست مقدسة والبيوت ليست محظورة. هي بنى اجتماعية تتغير وتتكيف وفق ما يحسّن المجتمع والحضارة. نحن نطالب بقانون موحد يحفظ حقوق المرأة كإنسان بغضّ النظر عن الاختلافات الطائفية. بالاضافة الى ذلك، فإنّ قانون الاغتصاب موجود بأية حالٍ ضمن قانون العقوبات وهناك نريد تعديله بحيث لا يعود يستثني الزوجين.

الحجة: تجريم الاغتصاب الزوجي سيفكك الأسرة، فيفقد الآباء الاحترام ويصاب الأولاد بالصدمات.

الاغتصاب عنف والعنف بحد ذاته يفكك الأسرة. إذا كانت الأم تعيسة ومقموعة فسيتأثر الأولاد بأية حال. لماذا نريد الحفاظ على صورة واحترام أب مسيء إلى زوجته؟ أي نوع من الأطفال ينشأ في جو مماثل بأية حال؟ سيردع القانون الحمائي العنف والاغتصاب ولا يعقل إلاّ أن يصب في مصلحة الأولاد وصحة الأسرة.

الحجة: ما زال موضوعاً حساساً؛ اذا جعلناه غير شرعي فوراً فلن يعرف المجتمع كيف يتأقلم.

“خلصنا” مواضيع حساسة. ليس موضوعاً حساساً بالنسبة إلى النساء اللواتي يعانين منه. إنه شأن عام بالنسبة إلينا كمجتمع وحضارة، بالنسبة إلى رجالنا ونسائنا، إنه حق إنساني منطقي وأساسي وإذا كنت تظن أنّ مجتمعنا مثالي جداً بأية حال فلن تمانع وجود قانون الحماية. ما الذي تخشاه؟

Sara Abou Ghazal will be presenting Sawt on Wednesday 3rd of November at 8:00 pm in the Pecha Kucha Night at the Youth Cultural Center in Zouk Mikael!

The program includes:

1- Save Beirut Heritage – Balsam Madi
2- Karma Hamady – graphic designer & illustrator
3- Shankaboot – web series
4- Sierra Prasada – writer
5- Fida Bizri, linguist
6- Cirrus Brass Design: Ribal Rayyes, designer & Ribal Radwan, architect
7- Avatar Architettura – Nicola Santini, architect
8- Dima Boulad – graphic and motion designer
9- Freetree – Charbel Samuel Aoun
10- Sawtalniswa- Sara Abu Ghazal
11- Kiki Bokassa – artist

This is the first public event that SAWT takes part in! So we should be there and give us much support as we can!

We will be gathering at Nasawiya and heading up there together! If you’re interested in joining us, meet us at Nasawiya, or contact us for more details/directions: 01 216 984 or farah@nasawiya.org

Go Sawt!

Back then, the Sudanese community in Lebanon organized a fund raising event on a quiet Sunday in Ouzai for 4 Sudanese children who suffer from cancer and reside in Lebanon, one of which has already passed away since then. Mid way through the event, the Lebanese GSOs raided the placed, assaulted everyone, cut the event down, hit people, insulted them, swore at them and practiced racism in its rudest forms.

This is why alternative fund raisers needed to be done, not only to get money raised but to highlight the urgency on this issue and how it relates to all other oppressions in Lebanon. What the Sudanese community faced on that day is part and parcel of a whole system that other marginalized communities in Lebanon face on a daily basis in different forms.

The event included live performances by Ahmad Kaabour, Issa Ghandour and Masrah AlDouma. Dr. AbdelMeneem, a Sudanese community leader and refugee in Lebanon for 2 years and Aimee Razanjay, a Madagascari community leader residing in Lebanon for the past 12 years shared their stories and gave witness reports on their activism and all the hardships it entails throughout their stay here.

Through the generous donations of people who attended the night and those who supported without coming, we were able to raise 1894$ for the girl.

A big thank you to every person who worked on making this event a success.

هذه الصفحة غير متوفرة باللغة العربية

Taking place on 25 April 2010, the Laïque Pride march represents a sincere initiative by citizens who would like to have a direct relationship with the state, without a mediator in between. Secularism in a country as diverse as Lebanon represents true coexistence, while the current sectarian system represents a crisis.

Women’s interest in a secular state goes in parallel with their struggle for equality, justice and full citizenship. Women’s call for a secular state goes hand in hand with the demands for protection from family and gender-based violence. Secularism allows women to be emancipated from sectarian laws that effect their lives and choices, including marriage, inheritance, and custody among other issues.

We call upon all concerned citizens, women’s rights NGOs, women from all sects and religions, and women of conforming and non-conforming sexualities to march with us in the Nasawiya feminist block, as we demand a secular state in Lebanon.

For more information on how to join us, contact us on 01-447 192 or write to farah[at]nasawiya.org.

For more information on Laïque Pride, see the event’s Facebook Page.

The conference will take place on March 25-26, 2010 at Habtoor, Grand Hotel, Lebanon.

If you’re a young Lebanon-based female student with a strong knowledge and interest in online technologies and processes, and you would like to take part in this unique event, please write to farah@nasawiya.org before Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

On this year’s International Women’s Day, over 100 people answered Nasawiya’s call to take to the streets to take back the night. For roughly two hours, feminists made their way from Mar Mikhael, Gemayze to Ain el Mraiseh, marching past bedazzled onlookers, curious drivers who ground to a halt, and wary police cars and officers who trailed the march. They were chanting:

- For freedom, for nationality, a feminist revolution.
- One word, shout out loud, feminism won’t die.
- Feminists against sectarianism, racism, sexism, classism, capitalism, Zionism, rape, harassment, patriarchy.
- For Lebanese women in Tripoli, in Byblos, in Saida, in Tyr, in Beirut… a feminist revolution.
- For Lebanese, Palestinian, Iraqi, Filipino, Sri Lankan women and women of all nationalities, a feminist revolution.

Our words won’t do the event justice. So we thought we’d let these images do the talking instead.

The revolution continues…

Video: Nasawiya International Women’s Day March – 2010

For more videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Photo Gallery: Nasawiya International Women’s Day March – 2010

For more photos, go to our Facebook Fan Page.

On this year’s International Women’s Day, we decided once again to take our actions to the streets to interact with people and raise awareness about women’s issues.

After weeks of rehearsals, two groups performed over the weekend of March 6-7, 2010 “Invisible Theater” actions in several locations around Beirut. The scenes performed were about sexual harassment, and a brother meddling in his sister’s life. Go to our YouTube Channel to see videos from the sibling meddling group’s performance in Costa, Hamra and ABC Mall, Achrafieh.

Developed by Brazilian activist and theater director, Augusto Boal, the “Theater of the Oppressed and Invisible Theater” technique consists of performing a previously rehearsed play in a public space without the public’s knowing that it is a play. It addresses a precise theme concerning social injustice, such as sexism. It is intended to provoke debate and to clarify the problem with the people who experience it.

We also printed over 40 congratulatory banners which were hung in and around Beirut. You may have spotted them while you were out and about.

Members and friends also distributed 3,000 Happy IWD stickers in streets, offices and universities.

Through a special partnership with the progressive daily Al-Akhbar, other members contributed articles to the paper’s March 8, 2010 issue, celebrating International Women’s Day.

And while the Nasawiya hive was buzzing, another group of activists documented the collective’s preparations for IWD 2010 in a do-it-yourself video.

Our actions will culminate tonight at 6:30 PM with a “take back the night” march for all women’s rights.

“How many times have we thought twice about leaving our homes at night?” said Farah Salka, General Coordinator. “How many times have we dreaded the walk back home, even from the car up to our apartment? How many times have we walked at night, always looking over our shoulders? How many times have we been silenced, just because we were women? That’s why we’ve decided to take to the streets to demand that the night be a safe time for women and remind people that gender equality is an integral part of human rights and that there’s still a lot to do for women’s rights and social justice.”

Our march calls for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence, be they verbal, physical, and sexual must be eliminated; the elimination of sexism and all forms of discrimination, and exploitation that are based on gender, sexuality, able-bodiedness, ethnicity, race, religion, class, etc.; the right of women to their bodies and sexualities; and the abolition of all laws that violate women’s rights.

Whichever way you’re celebrating International Women’s Day, we wish you all a very happy one.

The revolution continues…

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 – Book Club – 7:00 PM – T-Marbouta
Nasawiya is kicking off its Book Club (Kira’at Nasawiya) with a discussion on women and quota in light of the newly adopted 20% quota for women in the upcoming municipal elections. The discussion will take place at 7:00 PM at T-Mmarbouta in Hamra (call 01-447192 for directions).

Thursday, February 18, 2010 – Theater Workshop – 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM – IndyACT Office
Nasawiya continues its theater of the oppressed workshops in preparation for International Women’s Day with another 2-hour session starting at 7:00 PM at the IndyACT office in Mar Mikhael (call 01-447192 for directions).

Saturday, February 20, 2010 – Imaging Workshop – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM – IndyACT Office
The second workshop in our Gender and IT program will be on “Optimizing Images for the Web.” Led by Art Director Naeema Zarif, the workshop will take place between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM at the IndyACT office in Mar Mikhael (call 01-447192 for directions). Participants should have basic knowledge in computer use and preferably have photoshop CS3 installed on their computers.

All events and workshops are free. No registration is required, except for the “Optimizing Images for the Web” workshop, as places are limited to 15. To reserve your place, please email farah@nasawiya.org with a little bit about you. Priority goes to young women and young activists of both or neither gender.

هذه الصفحة غير متوفرة باللغة العربية

Using WordPress, you can build a website or blog with lots of interactive features really easily. See our Arab Feminisms website as an example.

The training will take place over two days:

Saturday, February 6 from 11am – 1pm
Introduction to WordPress and its different features: themes, plugins, integration, customization.
A practice homework.

Monday, February 8 from 7pm – 8pm
Recap of workshop + presentation of practice homework for comments

The training is free, and will take place at the IndyACT office in Mar Mikhael (call 01-447192 for directions) with a wireless connection for those of you who want to try out features during the workshop. It will be given by Nadine Moawad.

To register, please email farah@nasawiya.org with a little bit about you. We have 15 places available and priority goes to young women and young activists of both or neither gender.

هذه الصفحة غير متوفرة باللغة العربية