Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
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And I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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“Sabah el Kheir” everyone. I am Ghida Anani. I come from Lebanon, and I work with an organization called KAFA. Kafa means “Enough” violence and exploitation. I am twenty-eight years old. And I have been working for the past eight years to end violence against women and girls. This is a very difficult thing to do in the Middle East. That is because people often permit, and even make excuses for, violence against women and girls. The law often permits it. Women suffer silently from family violence, marital violence, murder, trafficking and early marriage.”
Voice 1
These are words from a speech Ghida Anani gave on November 24, 2009 on the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Ms. Anani’s work has been hugely successful. Today’s Spotlight in on her work with KAFA in the country of Lebanon. We will tell what her work means for women in that area.
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Warda is a woman living in Lebanon. Warda is not her real name. But Warda’s story is real. She has six children. She has suffered twenty years of domestic violence - violence in her home. Her husband beat her. He forced her to have sex even when she did not want to.
Voice 1
Warda tried to seek help. She went to the local hospital, and to the local police. But no one would help her. In Lebanon, matters like this are ruled on in religious courts. So Warda went to see a representative of her local Shia Muslim religious court. The representative told her that it would be difficult for her to get a divorce - even though her husband was beating her.
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Finally Warda found help at KAFA. Today Warda does not suffer beatings from her husband. But she still has a difficult life. She lives with her parents now. She is still married. And she has no rights to visit her children.
Voice 1
Sadly, Warda’s situation is common in many parts of the world. It is surely true in Lebanon. Ghida Anani claims that “as many as three quarters [3/4] of all Lebanese women have suffered physical abuse at the hands of husbands or male relatives at some point in their lives.” In an interview with Irin Carmon, Ms. Anani explained why she got involved with KAFA:
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“I felt that the issue of women’s rights - especially when it comes to violence against women - is the most necessary part of development in any country.”
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KAFA offers abused women many resources. They are able to provide them with mental therapy - talking about their problems with a skilled doctor. KAFA also can provide legal help and forensic reports. These reports prove abuse using science. KAFA provides lawyers to advise women and to help them in court. They can also help the women find a place to stay, training for a job, or other services.
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But one of the most important things KAFA is now doing is working to create a new law. Currently, cases that involve domestic violence or other family matters are decided in a special religious court system. This religious court system is hundreds of years old.
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Supporters of the religious court system claim that the system respects different religions. It lets each religion deal with the issue in its own way. They say that any change in this system could destroy the current balance between communities.
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However, many people believe these family courts are not fair to women. Many of the laws say that a woman is a man’s property. And the laws are not consistent - that is, they are not the same. Each religious court can deal with the family issue according to its own law.
Voice 2
Beginning in 2007, KAFA started a special group. It included legal experts like lawyers and judges. Together they set out a new bill called the “Family Violence Bill.” The bill proposed taking domestic violence cases out of religious courts. It suggested giving women equal rights under every law. Nadya Khalife is a researcher on women’s rights. She supports the bill. She says:
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“The family courts do not treat men and women equally. We do not want a legal system treating women differently from men or one that treats Druze, Shia, and Christian women differently from each other.”
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The bill proposes several new ways of dealing with domestic violence cases. It sets out special family courts that use a common law to rule everyone equally. Rules of the court will not depend on religious differences. And in domestic abuse cases, women will be able to get help from social workers and doctors that know about physical abuse.
Voice 2
The bill also says that anyone who observes a case of domestic violence must report it. No one should remain quiet about abuse. The bill also makes a way for women to get a legal restraining order. That is, the law can prevent an abusive husband or family member from coming near a woman he has abused.
Voice 1
The bill offers to protect women who have been abused from their abuser. It suggests providing these women with resources they need to survive. The bill proposes a change to the police too. Each main police office would include a female officer. And these officers would be trained in dealing with domestic violence.
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If this bill becomes law, many women’s lives will change. It will be a slow change. But abused women in this area have few resources. And every person deserves the right to feel safe, to make choices, and to live with self respect. For women like Warda, a law like this could have meant a completely different life. Warda told human rights group IRIN:
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“I wish that law had been around before I got married twenty years ago. It would have changed many things for me. I would not have been imprisoned to a man who does not respect me. I would not have been imprisoned to a court system. I would have lived with dignity.”
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Hopefully through the work of KAFA and other organizations like it, women in Lebanon, and in places all around the world, will not have the same regrets as Warda. They will be able to live with dignity and respect.
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