Libyan women commemorate International Women’s Day
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) – Women in Libya, like other women in the world, on Friday celebrated International Women’s Day at a time when the country is still experiencing violence and instability that makes them vulnerable, eight years after the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime.
Libyan women have always been at the forefront of all struggles alongside men such as the resistance against the Italian occupation and the 17 February 2011 revolution that ousted Gaddafi. They have continued to fight for freedom, dignity and equality between citizens.
Enjoying a privileged status within the Libyan society, women in Libya have huge advantages compared to others in Arab and Muslim countries.
They are seen in all professions and jobs. From being mothers through soldiers, engineers, political leaders or businesswoman, the Libyan woman has proved she is as efficient as a man.
Today, in the context of insecurity that prevails in the country with the proliferation of arms among populations and the omnipresence of armed groups and other militias, women in Libya are victims of effects of instability in the north African country.
Displaced from their homes inside and outside the country, mothers of martyrs, prisoners or disappeared, women in Libya suffer from that instability which puts them in a precarious situation.
To illustrate that suffering, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salamé, in a message on the occasion, said that women, children and youths represent about 50% of people who need humanitarian assistance and are among the most vulnerable groups in Libya.
About 278,000 women need humanitarian assistance, about 170,000 have difficulties in accessing to health services and 150,000 women are facing problems of protection, particularly violence based on gender, which is one of the most crucial human rights violations.
Despite this suffering, Libyan women have not relented and have continued working to restore their dignity and promote their emancipation.
Mr Salame praised the "resilience of Libyan women" who continue engaging and making credible contribution to the government’s programmes.
He said "the road is not easy and it’s only thanks to their commitment and perseverance that Libyan women now enjoy an important role in efforts to restore and promote peace in the country".
In a communiqué, he reaffirmed the commitment of UNSMIL to back the fight to ensure the participation and inclusion of Libyan women in the ongoing political efforts.
The national human rights committee in Libya, in its communiqué said that Libyan women have won an unprecedented success in all domains, despite difficulties over the past few years.
It denounced all forms of violence and attacks against women, as well as any violation of their rights and any act that can breach their private life and liberties in the light of a series of violence during the civil war that broke out in Libya in 2011.
According to the human rights committee, "several women in Libya suffer from forced displacements, poverty, and are victims of many types of exploitation, as well as the absence of decent life".
-0- PANA BY/IS/MSA/MA 8March2019
