Beyond glitz and glamour, Lebanese transgender model breaks taboos

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By Heba Kanso BEIRUT(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In a central Beirut cafe, transgender model Sasha Elijah flips open a paper fan and whips out her new ice cream cone-shaped high-heeled shoes for a potential drag costume. It is a deliberately provocative display of femininity from Sasha, who is on a mission to challenge the stigma and taboo of being transgender in the Middle East through her modelling, drag shows and social media. The 21-year-old's costumes are as colourful and complex as the journey that led to her coming out as Sasha in Lebanon, a seemingly progressive society that she says remains deeply rooted in religious and political conservatism. "I created Sasha so I can face society ... I had to elevate myself, not just the physical self, but with my mindset," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the capital Beirut. "If I was still the person who I was six years ago, I couldn't survive, and I couldn't walk within the society," said Sasha, who battled low self-confidence and depression before coming out as transgender.

Lebanon will on Saturday launch its second gay pride week in Beirut, after breaking new ground last year by becoming the first Arab country to hold such an event. While the gay rights movement has steadily grown in Beirut, homosexual acts are still punishable by up to a year in prison under Lebanese law - although a judge last year threw that into question when he said homosexuality was not a crime. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face persecution in many countries in the region, where some risk fines, jail and even death. Social exclusion and abuse are common. Homosexuality is not explicitly criminalised in Egypt, but LGBT people have long been targeted under laws on debauchery. Dozens of people were detained in a recent crackdown in Egypt when fans attending a rock concert raised a rainbow flag in a rare show of public support for LGBT rights in the conservative Muslim country. Ameen Rhayem, representative of the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE) which campaigns for gender and LGBT rights, said many in Lebanon still struggled to accept difference. "Lebanon is better than Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. But people think life in Lebanon for the LGBT community is easy, but to be honest it is not," said Rhayem. "Yes, Lebanon is more visible with the LGBT community than anybody else in the region, but there are still attacks and arrests of trans people in Lebanon."

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Senior Lebanese politician calls for quick new government

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BEIRUT (AP) - Current Parliament speaker Nabih Berri is urging his colleagues to form a new government quickly, following general elections held last week. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri says Lebanon cannot tolerate any delays because of growing regional tensions and a struggling economy. Parliament Speake Nabih Berri has held the post for more than 25 years, and is expected to be re-elected when the new parliament convenes later this month. Berri spoke to The Associated Press in an interview in Beirut Friday, a few days after Lebanon held its first parliament elections in nine years. In the vote, Berri's Amal group and its allies including Hezbollah won more than a third of the seats, giving them the power to veto any legislation. Berri called for a unity government that includes all Lebanese factions.

Berri to be elected Speaker once again

by annahar -- Speaker Nabih Berri, who's headed Lebanon's Parliament since 1992, is expected to be sworn in once again on May 22 before the deputy speaker and Parliament Secretariat are elected. The Secretariat would be comprised of a President, Vice President, two secretaries and three commissioners. The Parliament will meet under the presidency of the oldest member, and the two youngest members will serve as secretaries. The President and the Vice President are elected by secret ballot after gaining an absolute majority of votes. If a third ballot is required, a relative majority would be sufficient. Should the votes be equal, the oldest candidate would be considered elected. The Chamber will also elect two Secretaries by secret ballot according to the majority stipulated in the first part of Article 44 of the constitution.

Women in Lebanon: How election dashed their political hopes

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This article does not necessarily represent khazen.org

middleeasteye.net - In the weeks leading up to Lebanon’s 6 May elections - the first for nine years - much was made of the important role women were supposedly going to play. The numbers were striking: a country where only four women were MPs out of the 128 seats, 86 female candidates were standing for office, an increase of 74 from 2009 when just 12 women ran for parliament. What’s more, the vast majority of them were running outside of the traditional party system, as independent candidates. For many commentators, this surge in women’s participation was a token for change. In the end, however, just six made it to parliament. According to Myriam Sfeir, associate director of the Lebanese American University’s Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World, the traditional political system’s hold over the country was just too strong. “People are not ready to relinquish their sectarian affiliations,” she said.

Battle lost before it began

In some ways the battle for greater female participation was lost before the election even began. In 2017, politicians wrangled for weeks over a new law on how to hold elections, resulting in legislation so complex that Prime Minister Saad Hariri blamed it for the poor voter turnout. And while the new law attempted to be all things to all men, it noticeably fell short in one key aspect: adding a quota for women in parliament. At the time, Hariri’s Future Movement was a loud voice backing the introduction of a quota to ensure 30 percent female participation in parliament. Yet the initiative hit fierce resistance from other parties, and the idea was quickly scrapped. But many refuse to be deterred. The women’s ministry, in partnership with the United Nations and European Union, subsequently ran a campaign ahead of the election promoting parity between the sexes.

Across Lebanon the slogan “Half the population, half the parliament” was displayed on billboards, television and social media. In Lebanon’s new parliament, however, just 4.7 percent of its MPs are women. Many blame Lebanon’s new electoral law, which is a mix of proportional list voting - which should have encouraged non-traditional candidates, like women - undermined by a preferential vote, whereby the voter chooses their favourite personality on the list to give that candidate priority over others. As a result, said Ammar Abboud, an expert in electoral law and member of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, hopes that a greater number of candidates would translate into a greater number of MPs were misplaced. “With the preferential vote, members of the same list find themselves competing against each other. To minimise their losses, some candidates put women on their lists precisely because they were less likely to get preferential votes,” Abboud said.

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Trump dealt a huge blow to Iran by trashing the deal

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This article does not necessarily represents the opinion of khazen.org 

by Alex Lockie - businessinsider.com - President Donald Trump dealt Tehran a huge blow by withdrawing the US from the Iran nuclear deal, and now Iran's troubled regime has few face-saving options besides a full-on confrontation. Between the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria, Iran is being backed into a corner. Iran is not yet free to pursue nuclear weapons. It's still in the deal with the remaining members that did not withdraw. But Trump's secondary sanctions on anyone doing business with Iran, and Iran's failing economy, make the prospects for the survival of the deal dim. "I think the key question we are now facing is what impact the American announcement will have on continuing European and Asian engagement with Iran," Malcolm Chalmers, the Royal United Services Institute's deputy director general, told Business Insider. Iran gave up its nuclear ambitions to get sanctions relief in the form of the deal, but that relief has now been blocked. Trump's constant down talking of the deal led investors to hesitate before investing in Iran. Combined with an "unfriendly" investment climate in the country, the cash influx never really materialized, said Chalmers.

The one thing that worked well for Iran under the deal was an increase in oil sales, and now that's come under threat too. "Secondary sanctions will penalize any foreign companies that do business with Iran," said Chalmers. Effectively, the US has ruined the deal for Iran with sanctions and threats of sanctions, so Iran will probably pull out sooner or later, said Chalmers. The Trump administration, as David Sanger and David Kirkpatrick wrote in The New York Times, is betting that Iran lacks the economic strength to confront the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. But, as they point out, America's allies warn that is a dangerous miscalculation that could lead to war.

Israel is beating up Iran quietly; the US is beating them up loudly

Iran's problems don't start and end with the deal. The US and Israel assess that Iran is trying to import a huge number of fighters and missiles to Syria and Lebanon to surround and eventually attack the Jewish state. Israel refuses to accept this, and has allegedly undertaken a series of airstrikes that increasingly target Iranian military officials. Some of the airstrikes have been nothing short of spectacular, with hundreds of Iranian rockets and dozens of fighters reportedly dying. But Israel has kept quiet and not confirmed any specific strikes so far. "There has been almost no gloating by Israel for the [recent] attack... despite indications that the attack has succeeded in one respect by hitting quite serious targets," Jonathan Schanzer, Vice President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Business Insider. Iran has vowed to retaliate, but they have few options. "The highest priority of Iranians is how to take revenge," former Mossad director and retired Major General Danny Yatom told Business Insider. "On those attacks that are related [to Israel] they will not send us flowers, they will try to send something else." Iran can "either fire missiles from where they're deployed now," within Syria and Lebanon, or "they can use Hezbollah to ambush our forces over the border," said Yatom, referring to the Shia group prominent in Lebanese politics and designated by the US and Israel as a terror group. Furthermore, the US has announced its intentions to support Israel in pushing back Iran and said it would come to Israel's defense. So short of attacking Israel outright in a way that could easily cause an all-out war that would see many Iranians die, Tehran has few options.

No diplomatic or economic recourse, only missiles

"It's a no brainer for almost all European companies" on whether to do business with the US or with Iran, according to Chalmers. The US is the world's most powerful military and economy. Iran's Rial recently tanked in value to about 60,000 to the dollar. Meanwhile, Iran cracked down on the financial liberties of its citizens, barring them from holding more than $10,000 in foreign currency. Now with the US moving to freeze Iran's Central Bank, the country's economy, already savaged by sanctions, looks particularly weak. Iran has powerful influence within the Shia Islamic world, but that's a small world already being pushed by Iran to pressure Israel. In Iran, the clerical regime frequently engages in chants of "death to America" and "death to Israel," but they have no practical means of achieving these goals. With a hard line staked out by the leaders of the Islamic Republic, and their backs against the wall, some form of warfare may be their only option.

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Comedian Nemr Creates a New Frontier for Lebanese Perspective

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By Caitlin Antonios -- newuniversity.org - If comedians are the new rock stars, then Nemr might just be Lebanon’s Mick Jagger. The Lebanese-American stand-up comedian has made waves in the Middle East for his hilarious, biting and thoughtful comedy. He is the only Arab comic to have a special out in the U.S.: “No Bombing in Beirut,” which premiered in 2017 on Showtime. Filmed in both Lebanon and America, the special cuts from location to location to emphasize the fundamental truth that people from all different backgrounds and cultures can laugh at the same things. His new show, “Love Isn’t the Answer,” (an intentionally provocative title) can be seen at Irvine Improv on May 10 and centers on the philosophy that love makes people complacent and hate is what spurs progress and change. “Love isn’t the answer,” said Nemr in an interview. “The answer is actually hate! Everyone is saying ‘love trumps hate’ but that doesn’t create change. Love can be terrible in the wrong hands and hate can be great in the right hands.” For Nemr, people must truly hate a situation for them to do something about it and create change for the better. While some may not agree with that philosophy, as long as they’re laughing at his shows, he’s done his job.

His love for comedy emerged at a young age after his family moved from Lebanon to San Diego during the Lebanese Civil War. Listening to old comedy shows made him realize the power of being able to make someone laugh. When Nemr’s family moved back to Lebanon in 1993, he struggled to adjust. Sometimes there was no electricity, no hot water — it certainly wasn’t America. After getting over his initial culture shock, Nemr says he fell in love with Lebanon and its people, which is why it became so important for him to bring a Lebanese perspective to a wider audience. “I fell fiercely in love with the country,” said Nemr. “We have so much history and culture, going back to the Phoenicians, and we’ve learned so much that needs to be shared with the rest of the world.” That perspective, Nemr says, is often drowned out by the media’s narrative of terrorism and chaos which he believes is the responsibility of other Arabs to change in the United States. For him, comedy is the key. After graduating from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 2005 as a finance major with a minor in philosophy, and seeing a resurgence in war the following year, Nemr began working to build a foundation for comedians. Arab culture tends to steer away from the arts and focus on more “stable” jobs like becoming a doctor or an engineer. First, Nemr had to prove that comedy was actually a business that could be a concrete way to make a living. Then he had to show people there was a market for comedy in the Middle East and comics were worth hiring. Finally, and most importantly, there had to be talent. While in America, becoming a comedian and getting on stage to perform stand-up can be facilitated, Nemr was facing the unprecedented challenge of creating a space for comedy in a country and culture that seemed initially hesitant to embrace it. “It takes a long time and it’s going to take a long time before there is really a thriving comedy scene,” said Nemr. “I just helped build the infrastructure.”

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Lebanese President Calls for Dialogue on Taif Accord, National Defense Strategy

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by aawsat.com -- Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday he would cooperate with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri to enable the new parliament restore its legislative and regulatory role as a natural platform for discussing issues that concern the people. In this regard, the president stressed his intention to launch a national dialogue to continue the implementation of the Taif Accord and develop a national defense strategy to guarantee the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “I shall strive, along with the speaker and prime minister, to complete the implementation of the Taif Accord,” he stated. In an address to the nation, Aoun congratulated the Lebanese people on the parliamentary elections, which were held for the first time on Sunday since 2009. “It became clear that the new electoral law has achieved the correct representation that the Lebanese have always advocated, and has not deprived anyone of fair representation,” the president said.

He underlined the importance of the participation of Lebanese expatriates for the first time in the elections, noting that this achievement “provides new horizons for the Lebanese democratic process and places the country in the ranks of states that respect the vote of every citizen, wherever he or she lives.” Aoun called on all parliamentary blocs to assume their responsibilities at parliament “in order to face common challenges and complete the march towards reviving the country.” He listed some of the achievements of the current legislative and executive authorities, including security and political stability, the regulation of financial affairs, the adoption of the law on citizenship and the completion of diplomatic and judicial appointments. He stressed, on the other hand, that many challenges “await us, including the promotion of economic growth and the implementation of administrative decentralization and e-government as a modern gateway that ensures transparency and combats corruption, to help achieve social justice and sustainable development for all Lebanese regions.”