Give My Sons a Bank Account, She Said

And apparently she got it:

A mother struck a small blow for women’s rights in Lebanon on Thursday by opening a bank account for her children – a right previously reserved only for fathers. “I’ve been trying to open a bank account for my two sons for 10 years now, but I was continuously told that only my husband could sign the papers,” Lebanese-American Barbara Batlouni told AFP.
….
Her move came after Lebanon’s bank association altered its own rules on December 9, following a campaign to press for the change led by the Institute of Progressive Women and other groups.

I knew we had archaic rules when it came to women’s rights but this clearly takes the cake. Her actions were also quite well awarded:

The bank also presented her with a $US1,000 cheque as a token of their appreciation for her “fight against discrimination,” BBAC general manager Ghassan Assaf said.

Its great to see customers stepping in and pushing for change but I’m quite curious to know why the industry itself did not see the need to change the rules. I’m sure Batlouni is not the only case; for God’s sake, she’s been trying open a bank account for her children for over 10 years. Its clearly time for the business community to review sexist rules and regulations, and push for their removal. In any case, I’m glad she had the patience to wait for that long.

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Bekhsoos is Back

Lebanon’s only lesbian magazine has returned to cyberspace:

Lebanon’s online lesbian magazine Bekhsoos is back after a nearly one-year hiatus for almost one year.

The publication, whose Arabic name loosely translates as “Concerning,” was launched as a quarterly magazine in early 2008 by members of the Lebanese lesbian group Meem and was billed as the Arab world’s first publication for lesbian and bisexual women.

Back then, Bekhsoos published a mixture of news about sexual identity in the Arab world.

Now it plans to feature more investigative reports with the objective of filling “the gap of lesbian- and transgender-produced writing in the Arab world.”

Slowly, it seems, gay rights is advancing – could this parliament be the one that finally ends the discrimination and nullifies Article 534? That would be absolutely amazing, though I’m not holding my breath.

Note: I’m unable to visit the e-mag thanks to The Powers That Be in the UAE (hey that rhymes) who “nanny” my Internet access. So I leave you with this  – try not to laugh too hard:

The UAE's Internet Nanny

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My Nationality Campaign Scores a Point

Great news for the My Nationality campaigners:

In a rare move Tuesday, a Mount Lebanon court granted Lebanese citizenship to the children of a Lebanese woman following the death of her non-Lebanese husband, giving hope to thousands of other families to follow suit.
…
Judges John al-Azzi, Rana Habka and Lamis Kazma granted the children citizenship rights after concluding there was no law prohibiting a Lebanese mother from conferring her nationality to her children after the death of her husband. The judges also referred to Article 7 of the Lebanese Constitution, which states that all Lebanese citizens have equal rights before the law.

One small step forward. Now we just need the courts to recognize the children of a Lebanese mother regardless if their dad is dead or alive.

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Iraqi Gays Escape to Beirut

Beirut seems to be the destination of choice for Gay Iraqis escaping the violence back home, and there’s help on the way:

A group of San Francisco philanthropists have raised $7,500 to aid gay Iraqi refugees in Beirut, reports blogger and activist Michael Petrelis.

In related news, with the new parliament selected, the Gay-Straight Alliance is pushing forth with their petition to have Article 534 overturned:

Our new parliament has arrived. And now we will get ready to mail them all – all 128 of them – our petition with the signatures which are now at 2250. That is really cool. I honestly didn’t expect us to cross 2000, I just put 10,000 min rassi [from the top of my head], but we have enough to make an impact! Yes, we do.

So we have one more week to go as we allow the MPs to settle into their new offices. Let’s rally everyone we know who still hasn’t signed to get the sigs up to 2500. I’m guessing every pack will be around 50-70 pages long.

Voila, le link one last time, and thank you all for your amazing work. It shall not stop here. We shall together come up with creative new ways of battling the infamous 534: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/abolish-article-534-of-the-lebanese-penal-code

Best,
Nadz

If you haven’t signed the petition, there isn’t much time left. Make you voice heard and support equal rights for all.

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Sports: The Glory, The Fame, The Nationality

Interesting news from the Philippines concerning the International Basketball Federation Championships (2009 FIBA):

Don’t count Lebanon out among the teams to contend with in the coming 2009 FIBA-Asia men’s basketball championship in Tianjin, China.

The Lebanese national squad officially naturalized former NBA draftee Jackson Vroman and is expected to suit up for the team in the August 6 to 16 meet.

Really? Is that what we are doing? Handing our Passports to guys who can dunk while our own sisters who marry Non-Lebanese are prohibited from passing on their nationality to their children? Did you also know that there is a loop-hole in that discriminatory law. For a Lebanese women to marry a non-Lebanese and have their children obtain her nationality, she will need to:

1. Marry outside of Lebanon.
2. NOT register the marriage at the Lebanese Embassy.
3. Take her children to the Lebanese Embassy and register them as illegitimate children (i.e. born out of wedlock).

BAM! Children are officially considered Lebanese. But apparently, all one really needs is a husband that can play basketball.

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