Increasing Presence of Women in the Lebanese Army

The Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" has published a report on the increasing presence of women in the Lebanese Army, stating that the Lebanese Army has seen a rise in the number of women in this military institution. According to the newspaper, since the 1990s, the interest of women and girls in Lebanon to join the army has increased, prompting the leaders of the Lebanese Army to develop a special program that includes two phases. In the first phase, women are primarily engaged in administrative tasks within the Lebanese Army and gradually receive the necessary training to prepare them to join the men in field operations in the second phase. Asharq Al-Awsat writes that Lebanese Army commanders believe that the inclusion of women in the army enhances its efficiency, as many of the women and girls joining the Lebanese Army hold university degrees and have various specialties. Currently, there are three thousand Lebanese women in the Lebanese Army, with 17 of them having reached the rank of colonel. "George Nader," a commander in the Lebanese Army, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the number of women employed in the army will soon reach four thousand. This military official expressed confidence that women also possess military leadership capabilities, just as one-third of the special forces of the Tunisian Army are composed of women. The Bahraini newspaper "Al-Watan" has also reported that for the first time, a Saudi woman has assumed the presidency of a bank in Saudi Arabia. "Lubna Al-Olayan," a prominent Saudi businesswoman, has been appointed as the president of the Saudi-English Bank "SAB." Al-Watan described the businesses under her management as one of the largest commercial empires in Saudi Arabia. Born in 1955 in the city of "Unaizah" in northern Saudi Arabia, she is the daughter of the famous Saudi merchant Suleiman Al-Olayan. Lubna Al-Olayan holds a master's degree in business from Indiana University in the United States. She has served on the boards of several companies and banks in Saudi Arabia and the region, including the Saudi-Holland Bank and the British company Rolls-Royce. The magazine "Arab Business" named Lubna Al-Olayan the most powerful Arab woman in business in 2011. She also received the "Polar Star" award, the most prestigious royal award from Sweden, in 2012. The Jordanian publication "Al-Ghad" has reported on new actions related to human rights in Jordan. According to this publication, the "Government Institution for Coordinating Human Rights Activities" in Jordan decided in its recent meeting in Amman to open a new way to receive complaints from the people of Jordan, relying on the internet. This institution is headed by "Basil Al-Tarawneh," an advisor to the Jordanian Prime Minister on human rights issues. After this meeting, he told reporters that representatives of non-governmental civil institutions working on human rights in Jordan would also participate in the next meeting. Basil Al-Tarawneh added that the Jordanian government is working to improve the human rights situation in the country and is seeking assistance from all non-governmental organizations in this regard. He expressed hope that in the next meeting of the "UN Human Rights Council" in Geneva, they would present an accurate report on the human rights situation in Jordan, prepared in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental institutions. According to Al-Ghad, this Jordanian official stated that representatives of non-governmental civil institutions would also be part of the Jordanian delegation at the Geneva meeting. Al-Ghad writes that Basil Al-Tarawneh has held several consultative meetings with representatives of some non-governmental civil institutions. Al-Ghad adds that in Jordan, more than 10 non-governmental civil institutions operate freely under titles such as "Youth Will," "Human," "Student Rights," and "Transparency Office."