Creation of a Ministry of Women’s Affairs

50 – Creation of a Ministry of Women’s Affairs – Al Jamhouriya

The National Commission for Lebanese Women was established in 1996, under the auspices of the government, to carry out the Beijing Platform for Action, which includes 12 objectives covering areas from the advancement of women’s participation in public life to ending violence against women and girls. Similarly, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs was created to ensure achieving equality between Lebanese men and women, in their cultural, social, political, economic, civil rights, and that the country’s legal codes reflect such commitments. However, the Ministry’s mandate of authority, as well as its financial resources, remain limited; this impacts the mission it seeks to realise, and hence its influence is rather symbolic. It is worth noting that Lebanon’s first Minister of Women’s Affairs, Jean Oghassapian, is a man.