Defying violence against women in politics

The massive participation of women in the protest movements during the October 17, 2019 revolution and the way they took charge of handling the Covid-19 pandemic where women’s concerns were brought to the forefront, could give the false impression that the battle for their participation in politics has been won. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It seems that the old discriminatory mechanisms related to access to power persist and the increasing visibility of women in the public sphere comes at a high cost where they run the risk of becoming targets. With the rise in verbal and physical violence against women in the public life, something had to be done. In November 2020, Madanyat, with the support of the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, launched the program Sawtna defying violence against women in politics, which this publication is part of, to specifically address harassment on social and traditional media targeting women politicians, activists, and journalists.

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