Lebanon
The conditions of domestic workers in the Middle East
KAFA (English: enough) Violence & Exploitation is a Lebanese Civil SocietyOrganisation founded in 2005 by a group of professionals and humanrights activists.
KAFA’s mission is to work towards eradicating all forms of gender-based violence and exploitation of women and children through the advocacy of legal reform and change of policies and practices, influencing public opinion, and empowering women and children.
In a partnership project with the Danish Refugee Council, funded by KVINFO, KAFA aims to end the exploitation of female migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, who are exposed to violence. The project focuses on enhancing the legal status and rights of migrant domestic workers and changing the attitude towards them in Lebanese society by targeting the problem at various levels.
The legal framework and social practices in Lebanon and Jordan provide employers with a great deal of control over the living and working conditions of migrant domestic workers. However, this leaves these workers with few options when it comes to demanding their rights or seeking protection from and redress for abuse.
Outstanding women unknown to the public
A database of women experts, Who Is She, was recently launched in Lebanon, and as this video shows, there is certainly a need to make highly qualified women more visible in society. The Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) took a camera to the streets and asked men and women if they knew who different female experts are. Very few did!
PROJECT NAME:
Gender and Women’s Rights – Dialogue and Cooperation
This programme aims to strengthen the cooperation between civil society in Denmark and the Arab region, as well as to improve women’s rights and strengthen women’s active participation in society. The aim is also to encourage debate on gender issues – both in the Arab region and between Arab and Danish partners.
On this page you can find project groups and read more about the programme.
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The regional programme on Gender and Women’s Rights is based on the cooperation between KVINFO and a number of Danish and Arab partners.
The programme was launched in July 2007 and includes activities with participation from most of the Arab region. It supports the development of long-term cooperation and twinning relationships between Danish and Arab organisations and institutions. Partners include women’s and human rights organisations, shelters for women victims of violence, documentation centres on gender issues and educational institutions including gender-study centres.
Working for women’s rights
The overall aim of the programme is to strengthen the cooperation between civil society in Denmark and the Arab region, as well as to improve women’s rights and strengthen women’s active participation in society. The programme also aims at encouraging and strengthening the debate on gender issues – both in the Arab region and between Arab and Danish partners.
Key focus areas
The activities of the regional programme are focusing on the following focal points:
- Legal Change
- Women in the Public Sphere
- Gender-based Violence
- Research, Documentation and Debate on Gender Issues
These key focus areas touch upon the main challenges of women in the Arab region. These are challenges that are often shared by women, both in Denmark and in other parts of the world. The choice of key focus areas was based on recommendations from Arab women activists and on the potential for establishing a fruitful exchange between Danish and Arab activists and professionals.
Exchange of knowledge
The regional programme includes and supports a large number of different activities. KVINFO works with partners in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine setting up national Who is She databases of women experts, The Danish National Observatory of Violence cooperates with several Arab organisations on the development of an Arab regional observatory against violence, Danish and Arab shelters are sharing their experiences and the Fund for Dialogue and Cooperation supports the joint efforts of other Danish and Arab NGOs.
Creating opportunities for debate
A very important aim of the regional programme is to create opportunities for debate – especially between those who do not meet very often. Public meetings, seminars and conferences facilitate face-to-face encounters and debates and the website Womendialogue. org promotes communication on the main themes of this programme.
For more info about this project
Please contact:
Lene Ingvartsen
Programme Adviser
E-mail: lene.ingvartsen@kvinfo.dk
Tlf: 50 76 33 63
Skype: lenekvinfo
PROJECT NAME:
Who is She Database
'Who is She' are databases of women experts from all areas of society, designed to heighten the visibility of women’s professional competencies in the Middle East. Currently the project includes Who is She in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine. The databases provide a tool to search for women with specific qualifications and skills, while also making women experts visible as role models.
On this page you can find project groups and read more about the project.
The competencies held by many women are often overlooked, both in the media and in the business community, despite the fact that there are many professional and very well-educated women who are at the top of their fields. In Denmark, KVINFO’s database of women professionals acts as an effective tool to make women’s competencies visible to the public at large.
Heightening the visibility of women’s expertise in the Middle East
The ‘Who is She’ database is an Arabic version of KVINFO's Danish database of women experts and has been developed in a joint partnership between KVINFO and our partners in the Middle East and North Africa. Through the ‘Who is She’ database project, the Danish method of increasing professional women’s visibility in the public sphere is being put into practice in the Middle East. The Who is She database editors work together with KVINFO and with each other to share knowledge and lessons learnt in order to improve the databases.
Experts from all areas of society
The ’Who is She’ databases present experts from all areas of society, including scientists and researchers, managers, politicians, and persons from the world of arts and culture. The databases provide journalists, employers, conference organisers and others with a tool they can use to search for experts with specific qualifications and skills. The women experts, who are presented through comprehensive CVs listed in the database, will also act as role models for younger women looking to develop their career.
Three databases and one underway
The institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World at the Lebanese American University in Beirut is responsible for Who is She in Lebanon. In Jordan, the Jordanian National Commission for Women is responsible for Who is She in Jordan. Who is She in Egypt will be edited and maintained by the Women Memory Forum, Cairo. In Palestine the INSAN Center at AlQuds University is currently in the process of developing the Whi is She Palestine database that will be launched in 2012. The ‘Who is She’ databases are bilingual in English and Arabic, with an option of a French language version, if required. The project has been designed to accommodate future database partnerships in other Middle Eastern countries.
For more info about this project
Please contact:
Katarina Blomqvist
Programme Adviser
E-mail: katarina.blomqvist@kvinfo.dk
Tlf: 50 76 33 54
Skype: katarinakvinfo