Mauj: Providing Arab Women with the Tools to Reclaim One’s Body & Self
Note from the team: Ever since we were little girls, we were made to understand – both directly and indirectly- that our bodies were not necessarily ours. They were society’s to judge and control; a vessel determining our worth and our family’s reputation. The term female sexual health was a foreign term, and the concept […]
Omgyno: Making sexual and reproductive health more accessible for women in Lebanon and beyond
Note from the team: In the past few years, many activists, collectives, and organizations have risen to fight for access to sexual and reproductive health services, previously considered as taboo topics in various parts of the world. Omgyno, a social enterprise that follows a holistic approach to facilitate the provision of menstrual, sexual, and […]
The Sisyphean March to Arab Freedom
A young protester carries a placard that reads, “The future of our children is not more important than our future,” during the October 2019 Revolution in Lebanon. This strong message calls out the government’s incompetence and the critical need for transformative change in the country. October 20, 2019. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Ghoussoub. If we […]
Unleashing (Queer) Economic Liberation in Lebanon
In 2018, the annual International Women’s March in Lebanon brought together a diverse group of individuals who passionately advocated for gender equality. March 2018, Beirut, Lebanon. Photo Courtesy of Matthieu Karam Lebanon, a country marked by its complex social fabric and rich cultural diversity, has seen the interplay of neoliberalism, marketization, and queer identities and […]
Foundations and Torn-Up Bibles
Author’s Note: This piece consists of the Prologue of my book entitled The Faith of an Unbeliever. This book is a spiritual and philosophical memoir about my phenomenological experience with Christianity amidst a vibrant religious milieu. As I explain in the piece, I grew up in a Christian family, school, and village. This mist of […]
Art as Freedom: A Personal Essay
Under the shade of beautiful trees, a vibrant blue beetle car finds its spot on the streets of Jbeil. Photo courtesy of Emma Jowdy. For as long as I can remember, I have always had an interest in art, specifically photography. As I got older, the urge to capture moments, people and memories grew stronger. […]
Finding Freedom through Music: Spillage Village’s “Hapi”
The illustration draws inspiration from the song “Hapi” by Spillage Village, featured on their album “Spilligion”. Artwork courtesy of Jaimee Haddad We can’t have a conversation about freedom without acknowledging those who came before us and fought against a myriad of oppressions we cannot fathom. The perseverance of the women in our lineage, the challenges […]
Promeneuses
Photo Courtesy of Cynthia Ghoussoub Today, earlier, I strolled through a strike, erupting into smoke, shouting banderoles and songs and messages to organized governance persevering to destroy, and parading in a closed circle tightly knits trumpets and brass, before they trudged past one by one, red flag after purple flag after rainbow flag after military […]
(In)Sovereign Soils: Lebanon’s Entrapment in a Global Monopoly on Agriculture
The village of Khiam, near the city of Nabatieh in the Jabal Amil region. Lebanon. Photo courtesy of Staselnik under CC BY-SA 3.0 Since the late 19th century, the world has gone through three phases of global food regimes. The first lasted throughout the colonial era and emphasized Europe’s agricultural hegemony over colonized countries; the second […]
Closing the Funding Gap: Challenges Faced by Female STEM Researchers
Sliman Mansour, The Immigrant, oil on canvas, 2017. As I embarked on my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at Birzeit University in 2014, I was struck by the under-representation of women in my field. In a class of over 70 students, I was one of just four women. I faced persistent stereotypes and dismissive comments […]