Raya Al Hassan has shaken up the ministry much to the liking of the Lebanese people. During her brief three-month tenure in the job, Lebanon’s Interior Minister Raya Al Hassan has broken one record after another, earning her an overnight army of admirers—and critics. Ten years ago, she was appointed as the country’s first finance minister, and now, as the region’s first female interior minister. A graduate of the American University of Beirut (AUB), Al Hassan is a member of Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri’s Future Movement. Tearing Down Roadblocks Al Hassan, 52, kicked off by tearing down concrete walls draped with barbed wire, surrounding her ministry at the Sanayeh neighbourhood in Ras Beirut. They were unnecessary, she claimed, creating traffic congestion and feelings of danger among residents of Beirut—a feeling that top officials were afraid and corroding themselves behind high fortified walls. They had been erected by her predecessor Nouhad Machnouk, a fellow party member…

Lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, on Wednesday elected Jeanine Mabunda as head of the national assembly. Mabunda was the only candidate fielded for the position after her main opponent, Henri Thomas Lokondo, was disqualified. The main opposition boycotted the process citing political manoeuvering. The new speaker belongs to the Common Forum for Congo, FCC coalition, which is led by former president Joseph Kabila. She also got the backing of president Tshisekedi’s CACH coalition. She becomes the first woman to occupy the top legislative seat. She is the sixth substantive speaker and takes over from Aubin Minaku – speaker between 2012 – 2019. “It is done!” she said in a tweet after she was duly elected. She had earlier in her address to lawmakers promised to work with all parts of the legislative chamber in the interest of citizens. Among other roles, she has served as Minister of Industry and advisor in…

Mauritius is currently holding a Gender mainstreaming workshop, focusing on empowering women through cooperatives at the National Cooperative College. Gender mainstreaming conform to the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council formally defined concept, “Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels.” During his workshop opening speech earlier today, Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Soomilduth Bholah, lauded the contribution of women to the country’s economic development. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to promote economic empowerment of women, while encouraging development and growth of women entrepreneurs. He noted that several measures and incentives have been put in place to support cooperatives. “According to Statistics Mauritius, women make up more than 50 percent of the country’s population compared to the male population,” said Bholah, adding there are only 75…

British couples will be able to include their mothers’ names on their marriage certificate under a change in law hailed as a step forward for women’s rights on Wednesday. Church of England leaders also praised the change, which passed into law this week, saying the previous system demeaned women and was out of step with modern times. Previously, marriage certificates in England and Wales only included space for fathers’ names. “We have finally achieved tangible progress towards the equal treatment of both parents,” said the Bishop of St Albans in a joint statement with Caroline Spelman, a lawmaker who works closely with the church and had campaigned for the change. “Only fathers’ names were formerly recorded when marriages were registered, a custom unchanged since 1837,” she said. “This clear and historic injustice reflected the time when children and wives were considered property of men and it is high time for…

The Pennsylvania Commission for Women held a Female Veterans Day ceremony yesterday in which two Lebanon County women were among those recognized for their military service and selfless sacrifice to Pennsylvania and the nation. Dana Boyer and Danielle Watkins were among the sixteen women total recognized, given Lebanon County an unusually high percentage of the overall list. (Needless to say, it helps that Fort Indiantown Gap lies within the County, the nation’s busiest National Guard training site.) “The 16 women who we honor today represent the patriotism and commitment to country that more than 60,000 Pennsylvania female veterans have demonstrated through their military service,” said Maj. Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Dana Boyer “Major Dana Boyer enlisted as a private in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 1996. In 2004, she commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Quartermaster…