By Najia houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: A total of 155 female candidates from different sects are contesting the Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15. The only Shiite female candidate on the lists of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement is MP Inaya Ezzeddine. The remaining Shiite female candidates are trying to win seats previously secured by the Shiite duo. Choosing Ezzeddine to represent parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Amal Movement four years ago, in the 2018 parliamentary elections, was a deliberate move to establish “the movement’s openness to the importance of women’s role in public affairs,” as Berri said at the time. But Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was very clear on “not involving women in political life because, in Lebanon, MPs offer condolences, participate in weddings and provide services, and we in Hezbollah do not accept that our women carry out such duties.”

This year might be the first time that Shiite women from Hezbollah’s entourage have stood up to the party. In the Baalbek-Hermel constituency, in northern Bekaa, six electoral lists are competing to win 10 parliamentary seats, including six for the Shiite sect. One list includes Hezbollah and the Amal movement, another includes members of local clans. The others draw candidates from civil society movements that do not seem to be hostile toward Hezbollah as their programs do not have demands related to the fate of the party’s weapons. But Sarah Mansour Zeaiter, a Shiite candidate running in the Baalbek-Hermel constituency under the Qadreen list, was subjected to verbal abuse and defamatory remarks from her family a few days ago.

The Zeaiter clan issued a statement explaining that she did not represent the family and that the clan remained loyal to the current MP and candidate for the upcoming elections Ghazi Zeaiter. The statement does not mention that Ghazi Zeaiter is a defendant in the probe into the Beirut port blast. In the Zahle constituency, in central Bekaa, eight lists are competing to win seven seats, including one Shiite seat. Among the competing lists is the Zahle for Sovereignty list backed by the Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah’s arch-rival. The list bears the slogan: “Restoring sovereignty, liberating decision making, and direct confrontation with Hezbollah.”

It means that any Shiite candidate on this list is in an unenviable position, which is what happened with the candidate Dr. Dima Abou Daya, who was disowned by the Abou Daya family in a statement issued a few days ago. Abou Daya, 41, a university professor who specializes in law and business, conducts training on anti-corruption and money-laundering and is involved in women’s empowerment activities in Lebanon. She said her decision to run for the parliamentary elections was bold because people were deprived of their voices in Lebanon. “Running for the elections is a right secured by the constitution and I have the guts to exercise my freedom of opinion protected by the constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” she told Arab News. “Hezbollah and the Amal Movement have always monopolized the Shiite seat. It is the first time that a Shiite female candidate has run for this seat other than these two parties, which has been a challenge for them, especially since I call for sovereignty and patriotism.

“Not all the family was behind the disownment statement. They were led by someone who doesn’t belong to the family and who is affiliated with one of the political parties. Half of the statement was prepared in advance. The signatures were added later on and it was published on social media, which exposed me to a huge number of defamatory comments. It was also featured on the Al-Manar channel affiliated with Hezbollah and was published in many groups in Zahle. “This encouraged me further to continue what I started, rather than give up and be afraid. It made me stick to my beliefs even more. What does it mean to be disowned by your family? Disownment in our society happens when you commit a crime or adultery. What did I commit? “The logic they are fighting me with contradicts their talk about democracy. They do not practice what they preach. The statement indeed caused a rift in the family, but I rely on free voices rather than stolen voices. “My decision to run as an independent candidate in a list supported by the Lebanese Forces is based on my personal beliefs. Moreover, its program reflects my views.”

Ali Al-Amin, the owner of the Janoubia website who opposes Hezbollah and had previously run for parliamentary elections in the previous session, was subjected to verbal and physical abuse. “Any electoral movement that opposes Hezbollah bothers the party. They are expressing this by isolating the male and female independent candidates that oppose them, whether by imposing their ideological authority or security authority,” he told Arab News. “Hezbollah, which is a closed sectarian party that promotes patriarchy, decided to resort to families and clans to exclude the female candidates, knowing that this party had previously neglected and broken up these clans and families and used them for their own benefit. “At first, they started many online smear campaigns against me and then threatened me. Afterward, they beat me up. They can even lead their target to leave their community. You could also be murdered, like what happened to researcher Lokman Slim. They captivate the whole sect, kill and suffocate the society until it becomes obedient and meaningless, suffering from misery.”