SUZAN EBU SAİD

Beirut- Lina Hamdan is a Lebanese political activist, who participated in the October 17 Revolution, which lasted for two years (2019-2021) in Lebanon. She was a member of the Revolution Coordination Committee alongside other activists. She believes that Lebanese people can change the situation of the country.

‘There are projects; however, they are not implemented’

“I have been a social activist since 2010. I am the president of several associations. When the revolution took place on October 17, I participated in it since its inception within a number of forces of change groups. I was also a member of the Revolution Coordination Committees. In our country, there are reform projects and laws; however, there are not implemented. I ran for parliamentary elections twice for the implementation of the reform projects and laws,” she told NuJINHA.

She lost elections twice

Lina Hamdan ran for Lebanese parliamentary elections twice but unfortunately, she could not win a seat in the elections. “My first experience was before the revolution. In 2022, I became a candidate for the parliamentary elections again. I could not win a seat in the parliament again due to the lack of support and funds. Even though I failed twice in the parliamentary elections, I will continue to be a Lebanese fighter and activist. My first experience in the elections was spontaneous and I gained experiences in the second parliamentary elections. But I will be ready for the next elections by preparing a strategic plan.”

She will be ready

Speaking about the next Lebanese parliamentary elections, Lina Hamdan said, “I will carry out awareness-raising activities. During the second parliamentary elections, we had a strategic plan; however, the number of candidates were very high. For this reason, we held a conference with the participation of 110 experts to prepare a comprehensive report on education, health, economic, geopolitical and other issues in order to carry out our election campaign.”

She was chosen to represent Lebanese women

Lina Hamdan was chosen by the Embassy of Canada along with Lebanese MP Halima Qaqour to represent Lebanese women in the world. Speaking about her role, she said, “I was chosen by the Embassy of Canada to empower women’s political participation as part of a project.”

‘We hope the electoral law will change’

Stating that the invisible votes of women will affect the next elections, Lina Hamdan said, “The votes of women will change the election results. We believe that women will vote for women candidates. We know that struggle never ends. We hope the electoral law will change and that Lebanese women will be active in the next elections. Women’s political participation is important to increase women’s role in all spheres of life.”