Ladies' man Ladies' man

Lebanon’s first women’s affairs minister is… a man

Feminist groups in the country call for protests, saying ‘no women, no legitimacy’

By ToI Staff 24 December 2016, 12:12 pm

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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri waves to journalists, shown before his election upon his arrival to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, October 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanon got a new government this week, including for the first time a women’s affairs minister. But Lebanese feminist groups are protesting the move — because he’s a man.

The choice of Jean Ogasapian as the first minister has drawn wide-spread criticism, the Guardian reported.

Nasri Atallah, a Lebanese writer, described it as “the ultimate act of mansplaining,” the Guardian said, adding that KAFA, a prominent women’s rights organization, called for protests under the slogan, “No women, no legitimacy”.

“The government that has been announced is a clear indictment to all the politicians who took part in creating it,” the organization said in a statement. “It is an insult to all women.”

The 30-minister government is led by Saad Hariri, bringing together the entire political spectrum except for the Christian Phalangist party that rejected the portfolio it was offered.