As Lebanese women continue to struggle with gender inequality, domestic violence, and unfavorable laws, human rights defender Dr. Khouloud Al-Khatib created an app to equip them with the know-how and measures to improve their living status.
In addition to raising awareness, the free App Min Haqqiha (It’s Her Right) is available offline and guides on key issues related to women’s rights in Lebanon.
It presents the Lebanese laws, including the personal status laws related to early marriage, inheritance, custody, and much more.
It also equips women with the needed measures when facing domestic violence, and helps develop an understanding of women’s political participation in Lebanon.
In addition, the App has useful interactive educational quizzes and tools.
Al-Khatib is the co-founder and CEO of the Lebanese Organization for Unity and Defending Equal Rights (LOUDER) and the executive director of the Human Rights Center at the Lebanese International University (LIU).
A lawyer holder of two Master’s Degrees, and a Ph.D. in International Law with an emphasis on human rights, Al-Khouloud is a university associate professor and a member of the Beirut Commission of Basic Freedoms and Human Rights.
She has provided workshops to Human Rights defenders and lawyers from the MENA region on trial observation mechanisms and human rights protective mechanisms.
Al-Khatib took the initiative to establish the platform Min Haqqiha for Lebanese women to use as a legal and educational reference.
Through her App, she raises awareness on violence against women, cites mechanisms to fight it, and suggests approaches that enable women to participate in public offices and politics.
Min Haqqiha won the Human Rights category in the regional competition iValues, held in Amman, Jordan, by the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF).
The FNF promotes civic education, international political dialogues, and political counseling, and seeks to improve policies and politics in various sectors within the MENA region.
In the past two years, violence against women has soared in Lebanon during the pandemic as well as with the impact of the economic crisis and the ongoing social insecurity.
Domestic violence cases have further increased from 51% in December 2020 to nearly 97% by February of this year, according to the head of the Public Relations Division of the Internal Security Forces’ (ISF), Col. Joseph Musallem.
Households struggling to meet basic necessities in Lebanon are facing increasing pressure, especially families that provide for a large number of individuals.
In a similar deteriorating plight, comes the shortfall in women’s political participation, whereas only one woman was appointed in the new Lebanese cabinet.
This illustrates a 26% decrease in women’s representation, as it has declined from 30% in the 2019 cabinet to 4% in the current government.
According to UN Women, Lebanese women occupy less than 5% of parliamentary seats and 6% of municipal councilors.
This alarming decrease reflects a general devaluation of women’s voices and opinions, in spite of the significant increase of their vital contributions during the ongoing crises these past 2 years.
Min Haqqiha App is available to download for free at Google Play and Apple Store.
