On a sunny afternoon near a busy motorway in Beirut, former Lebanese MP Paula Yacoubian sits in the headquarters of her charitable organisation.
Launched nearly a decade ago, the NGO is busier than ever dealing with the fallout from the country’s protracted economic meltdown.
Ms Yacoubian, 45, says she barely gets any sleep. A former TV host and the most famous female Lebanese politician who is not a political scion, Ms Yacoubian is getting ready to launch her campaign next week.
“Every day I work from early until late on good candidates, good lists, and dealing with all the problems that we have,” she said, scrolling through her phone.
Anti-establishment activists such as Ms Yacoubian believe that Lebanon’s next parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15 are a turning point for women in the country’s post-civil war history.
They hope that dozens of independent politicians, at least half of them women, will be elected out of a total of 128 seats, and form a parliamentary bloc big enough to threaten the country’s male-dominated sectarian political class.
“The corrupt junta is in big trouble,” said Ms Yacoubian.
Changing the system
She was the only independent politician elected in the last elections in 2018, and one of six female candidates elected out of a total of 86 women candidates.
She resigned in protest along with a handful of MPs in the wake of the Beirut port explosion in August 2020. The blast, which killed at least 215 people, is widely viewed as the result of years of incompetence, neglect and corruption of the country’s leadership.
“I wanted to tell the people: I’m next to you, I don’t have to be with this mafia and I’ll back with a bloc. That’s what I’m trying to do,” said Ms Yacoubian. A third of the people standing for office in her coalition are women. “We don’t have any other system of accountability than the ballot so we have to do it right” she said.
Our elections are a comedy
Fadia Kiwan,
a professor of political science at Saint Joseph University in Beirut
Fighting corruption also inspired Najat Aoun Saliba, a chemistry professor at the American University of Beirut, to run for the first time for office this year. “It’s time to say no, this is not who we are, and these are not the people who represent us,” she said.
She knows that it will be an uphill battle. The party she is running with, Taqaddom, or “progress” in Arabic, rejects corrupt practices that are widely used among traditional political parties to encourage loyalty.
“People feel they owe them their vote because they secured them a place in hospital, or a job, or anything. We’re coming with no money. It’s not just a major shift in the gender balance, but also in people’s mentalities,” she said.
Analysts caution that the odds remain stacked against women this year, especially independent women — many sitting female lawmakers are the wife, the aunt or daughter of a prominent male politician.
The reasons for this are numerous, said Fadia Kiwan, a professor of political science at Saint Joseph University in Beirut and current head of an intergovernmental organisation affiliated to the Arab League, the Arab Women Organisation.
They include recent decisions such as the 2017 electoral law, which includes a preferential vote that usually goes to an already-popular figure — usually a man. Multiple attempts by civil society to pressure Parliament into adopting a gender quota bill have failed.
Women are also discouraged from joining politics by decades-old patriarchal traditions, such as favouring male members of prominent families in joining politics over their female members.
Additionally, candidates have higher chances in being elected if they are rich — and women are poorer than men due to complex sectarian inheritance laws and low participation in the workforce — only 25 per cent in 2019 according to the World Bank.
This limits their participation in illegal yet entrenched practices in Lebanese politics such as paying a political party for a nomination, according to Ms Kiwan.
Large amounts of funds are also necessary to buy votes. Transparency International has reported that nearly one in three Lebanese citizens were offered bribes in exchange for their vote. “Our elections are a comedy,” said Ms Kiwan.
She estimated that the opposition might win 15 seats in the coming elections, with a few grabbed by new female figures. “If they are strong, and unite, they may become a strong core group for change,” said Ms Kiwan.
There are fears — shared by Ms Yacoubian — that politicians could find a last-minute excuse to postpone the elections. This occurred in 2013. Polls indicate that voter apathy could be high.
Yet in Ms Yacoubian’s office, with its view of a home-grown vegetable garden and busy volunteers stacking food donation boxes, the mood was upbeat.
“Never again in my country will the mafia have the same number of MPs. This is over. They’re in a decline,” she said. “And it’s good news for Lebanon.”
Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%20Vol%203
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJames%20Gunn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chris%20Pratt%2C%20Zoe%20Saldana%2C%20Dave%20Bautista%2C%20Vin%20Diesel%2C%20Bradley%20Cooper%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP5
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
More from UAE Human Development Report:
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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