Attachments: Lebanon Silent Witness Project-KAFA.doc;
Launching of the Silent Witness Project in
Lebanon
KAFA,”Enough Violence and Exploitation" organization
chose the 8th of March, 2006, for launching the Silent Witness project in
Lebanon. On this date thirty silhouettes were displayed in the UNESCO Palace in
Beirut. Each silhouette carried the story of a woman who was killed by the hand
of a family member in Lebanon, and the date she was killed. All of the
silhouettes were given a name. One of the silhouettes carried the actual name of
the victim; her daughter, who witnessed the crime when she was eight years old,
gave her testimony during the event. One of the silhouettes was left blank, to
be the story of any woman who has been or will be the victim of family violence
in Lebanon.
Not all women were killed by their husbands; some were
killed by their relatives, like brothers or fathers or even sisters and mothers.
In a significant proportion of these crimes the excuse of the offenders was that
they had "doubts about her behavior". In this context the slogan for the event
was "Because killing women is a shame...", alluding to the term "honor killing",
often used to describe this type of crime in the culture of the
region.
Mrs. Zoya Rouhana, KAFA's Director, explained that the
aim of the project is to raise awareness and advocate the adoption of a law on
domestic violence in Lebanon. The event was under the patronage of the Minister
of Social Affairs, Mrs. Nayla Moawad. The keynote speakers at the event were the
most senior women's right's advocate in Lebanon, Mrs. Linda Matar, as well as
the judge Iskandar Fayyad, who highlighted the necessity of drafting a law on
domestic violence. Women and children survivors of domestic violence shared
poems they had written based on their experiences with violence. The poem "I got
flowers today", written by Paulette Kully, had been translated into Arabic, put
on a large banner and was read by a survivor.
A
very mixed audience amounting to over 250 people was present at the event. The
launching of Silent Witness was well received in national and Arab media. Media interest continues, as KAFA has
been approached by several TV and radio channels, as well as newspapers who wish
to follow the project.
The project continues with the Silhouettes touring around
the country. The first exhibit after the UNESCO palace is at Kaslik
University.