Lebanon's First Minister For Women Is A Man

Lebanon’s new government will institute a minister of state for women’s affairs, and the appointee is a 62-year-old man, Jean Ogasapian. 

His appointment received some backlash on Twitter, with many pointing out the irony of the appointment.

#Lebanon's minister for women is a man. and Only 1 woman in the cabinet & just 4 women in 128-person parliament https://t.co/YwqLbZGytw

— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) December 19, 2016

https://twitter.com/NasriAtallah/status/810723056729591808

On the plus side, Lebanon's new cabinet includes a minister for women's affairs. On the minus side, said minister is a man.

— Adam Baron (@adammbaron) December 18, 2016

Ogasapian served in the army till 2000 when he quit to enter politics. He has served as Administrative Reforms Minister in Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government, and he was a state minister in Hariri's' 2009 government.

Lebanon has a new 30-minister government, led by Saad al-Hariri, which could end two years of political deadlock in the country. Among the new cabinet’s objectives is to protect the country from the consequences of the Syrian crisis. There is only one woman in the cabinet.

The country has also been in the news lately as it plans to overturn a law that allows rapists to avoid punishment if they marry their victims.

Also Read: First person insights into state of women in Middle East & Asia with Monica Biradavolu

The Big Interview: Firebrand feminist Mona Eltahawy