SUZAN EBU SAID

Beirut- The number of killings of women is alarmingly high in Lebanon while the authorities do not fulfill their responsibilities to protect women from violence and femicide. On May 25, 49-year-old Rajia al-Akoum was killed by her ex-husband Ali al-Akoum, a former chief of a police station in Saida, in front of her three children. Her killing sparks outrage over rising violence against women in the country. NuJINHA spoke to some Lebanese women, members of women’s organizations in the country about the country’s high femicide and gender-based violence rate.

 Mariam Yaghi is a feminist activist, journalist and editor of an online feminist platform called Sharika Wa Laken in Lebanon. “In March, Zainab Zuaiter was killed by her husband. After her killing, her brother released a video with his relatives justifying the crime in the name of ‘honor.’ On May 25, another woman became the victim of femicide. Rajia al-Akoum was killed by her husband in front of her three children. Today, we cannot talk about a better reality for women while the judicial system marginalizes women and makes them the private property of men. Article 562 of the Lebanese Penal Code stipulated an exemption from punishment in what is known as ‘honor crimes’. Article 252 of the Penal Code also justifies killings of women in the name of ‘rage’. In a word, laws encourage men to kill women.”

‘The government must tighten penalties for domestic violence’

In the interview with NuJINHA, Manal Said, head of the Union of Progressive Women (UPW), called on the government to fulfill its responsibilities, tighten penalties for domestic violence and find appropriate protection mechanisms so that the perpetrators will not go unpunished. Since many women apply to the union, the Union of Progressive Women launched a hotline to support women victims of domestic violence. Speaking about the hotline, she said, “We provide psychological, social and legal support to women calling the hotline. Some women need protection so we provide protection to them.”

‘The perpetrators should be given the heaviest penalties’

Lebanese lawyer Rania Ghaith demands the amendment of the Law on the Protection of women and other family members from domestic violence. “The concerned authorities must take the necessary measures when women are subjected to violence.” Speaking about the murder case of Rajia al-Akoum, she said, “Murder is a crime punishable by the heaviest penalties. The perpetrators of femicide should be given the heaviest penalties. Our society must stand against gender-based violence and femicide and the families of victims must be supported.”

 An equal personal status law

 Fatima Al-Hajj, a member of the Legal Committee of the KAFA “Enough Violence and Exploitation” Organization, told us that the organization has followed up the cases of violence against women and femicide shed light on them since it was founded in 2005. “Since the beginning of 2023, nine women have been killed in Lebanon by their husbands or ex-husbands. This number may be more because most killings of women are not reported. But when we talk to the families of victims, we understand the victims had been subjected to violence before their murder. Our legal committee wanted to follow up a case of femicide; however, the concerned authorities told us the man killed his wife out of ‘rage’. In each femicide case, social justifications begin even before the arrest of the perpetrator. We have a patriarchal society that encourages men with impunity.  In the last crime against women, the perpetrator has been recently arrested and the investigation is still going on. But our society has already begun to seek excuses for the killer, a medical committee has been appointed to the case to determine the killer’s psychological condition. The killer is a member of the Internal Security Forces and was a former police station chief in the city of Saida. This means he was a man investigating murder cases, including the killings of women. He planned to kill Rajia al-Akoum three months ago. According to the family of the victim, he had threatened to kill her. Although the victim filed a criminal complaint against the killer, the security forces did not record it or take a step to protect her,” Fatima Al-Hajj told NuJINHA.

 The KAFA “Enough Violence and Exploitation” Organization has made efforts to educate women and society with the aim of raising awareness against gender-based violence and called for an equal personal status law. “In December 2022, a group of MPs submitted a draft for a unified personal status law,” said Fatima Al-Hajj demanding maximum penalties to be given to the perpetrators of violence against women and femicide.