Tamara Elzein is the first woman Secretary-General of the National Council for Scientific Research of Lebanon. She also held the role of President of the UNESCO Science Commission at its 42nd General Conference in November 2023. As a pioneering leader, she is trying to ensure the integration of environment and gender equality in the complex humanitarian emergency unfolding across Lebanon.

In Tyre, South Lebanon, where clashes and attacks have been escalating across the Blue line and beyond since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, women peacebuilders are among those being displaced. Fadia Jomaa is a journalist, environmental activist and mediator engaged in a UN Women regional project. Hers is one of ten local women’s mediation networks that are working to prevent and resolve conflicts and contribute to sustainable peace through policy change and community-level action.

Amid escalating violence across Lebanon, three women mediators share their work and determination to support their communities. Violent clashes along the Blue Line have escalated, with strikes and violence spiraling across Lebanon in recent weeks, including in the heart of Beirut. Amid growing insecurity, UN Women teamed up with partners to leverage the role of local women mediators in South Lebanon in support of community-level humanitarian action.

Intensified hostilities began in October 2023 and have escalated since 23 September 2024, disrupting women’s livelihoods in Lebanon and increasing their needs for protection, shelter, food, and health and cash assistance, according to a recent Gender Alert by UN Women.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, between 8 October 2023 and 1 October 2024, a total of 1,575 people have lost their lives, including 297 women. Overall, there have been 10,835 casualties, of whom 2,110 women.

As part of the ongoing collaboration between UN Women and the Lebanese Armed Forces, the first phase of a year-long series of workshops, spanning from September 2024 to September 2025, has been launched, they aim to enhance the integration of female soldiers into the various units of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Miray Mtanious, navigated separation, societal pressure and the challenges of single-motherhood at the age of 26. Last year, Miray joined the Women’s Protection Committee in Beirut. The Committee provides awareness-raising on gender-based violence, the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, and accountability to affected populations. Miray shares her story of personal transformation, liberating herself from societal constraints and becoming an inspiration for others facing similar struggles.

Lebanon’s female labour force participation rate stood at a mere 28.7 per cent in 2022, notably lower than the corresponding rate for men (67 per cent). UN Women partnered with the NGO Acted to provide temporary employment opportunities for 300 women in four menstrual hygiene production facilities in Beirut, Saida, Tripoli and Bekaa. Among them was Ruba Rayya, in Bekaa, whose journey was marked by both difficulties and unexpected empowerment.

Montaha Jaber, 55, has been living in the Bekaa region most of her life. Determined to gain independence and make ends meet, she took a job at UN Women and Acted’s new menstrual hygiene production facility, which was starting a new line producing quality and affordable women’s sanitary products. Trained as a manufacturer, Montaha reflects on her work and the mission of challenging social taboos around women’s reproductive health.

Rima Al Hamra, 50, is the Director of the Hasbaya Development Services Center, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Social Affairs and is located in the South of Lebanon, where armed clashes have been witnessed along the Blue Line over the past several months. She is also one of 240 local women peacebuilders who are trained to become local community mediators, as part of UN Women’s “Women, Peace and Security in the Arab States Phase III” project, which is being implemented in partnership with the Professional Mediation Centre of Saint Joseph University (CPM-USJ) and International Alert, with generous support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Gender-based violence remains a pervasive problem in Lebanon, impacting women and girls across various domains. Despite legal frameworks, cultural norms contribute to a culture of silence, making it challenging for survivors to seek help. In 2023, UN Women partnered with the local NGO KAFA (Enough) Violence & Exploitation to establish a women’s protection committee aimed at raising awareness about GBV, the protection from sexual exploitation and abuse and accountability to affected populations.

The Government of Austria has contributed EUR 1,000,000 towards UN Women in Lebanon’s humanitarian efforts to support women and girls in South Lebanon impacted by the escalation in hostilities across the Blue Line. The financial assistance will be channeled into a project implemented by UN Women to enhance the resilience, self-reliance and leadership in humanitarian action of internally displaced women through access to comprehensive livelihood and protection services.

The Women Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) is launching its fourth round of funding in Lebanon. The WPHF call for proposals will be focused on a) the protection of women and girls, and b) Peacebuilding & Recovery. This call for proposals also provides an opportunity for civil society organizations working on the implementation of commitments related to Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action (WPSHA) in Lebanon to apply for institutional funding that will be used to strengthen and sustain their capacities.

In 2023, Suzan joined UN Women's established community kitchen within the Beddawi camp as an outreach worker, raising awareness on cooking on a budget and providing hot meals to families living in vulnerability as part of UN Women’s “Humanitarian Assistance to Women by Women: Women at Work to Reduce Period Poverty and Food Insecurity in the Lebanon Crisis” project, which aims to provide women with cash-for-work opportunities through the production and distribution of hot meals to families in need.

Today on 8 March, International Women’s Day, the United Nations rallies behind the call to “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”, aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 68th Commission on the Status of Women CSW68.

On the occasion of International Women's Day, the Government of Australia renewed its commitment to gender equality in Lebanon through signature of a new agreement with UN Women Lebanon worth 1,500,000 Australian dollar to extend humanitarian assistance to over 4,300 women, girls, men and boys from diverse backgrounds across three governorates in Lebanon.

To mark International Women’s Day 2024, UN Women and the embassies of Finland, Norway and Switzerland in Lebanon, joined forces to showcase the pioneering roles of women fostering peace and security across Lebanon and to discuss the relevance, challenges and progress in implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Lebanon, in particular amid ongoing crises and conflict. The event also sheds light on the situation of women in the South of Lebanon, their needs, and their roles in the humanitarian relief response.

Wadad Halawani is a civil activist and founder of the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Missing in Lebanon. She has also been appointed a member of the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons in Lebanon which was established by law 105/1980. As a result of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War, it is estimated that over 17,000 people, over 90 percent of which were men, were missing or forcibly disappeared. Most were never heard of again, including Wadad’s husband, who went missing in 1982. Since his disappearance, Wadad has made it her mission to unite, amplify, and advocate for the voices of women, families, and victims of the kidnapped and missing from across Lebanon.

Cosette Nakhle, 49, is a social worker and Head of the Local Development Bureau at the municipality of Chiyah. Through certified training provided via the support of UN Women and its partners, the Professional Mediation Center (CPM) at the University of Saint-Joseph and International Alert, Cosette has made it her mission to promote peace in her community through her newly acquired mediation skills.

Tala, 46, from Shalfeh, Tripoli, Lebanon, is a survivor of gender-based violence and has experienced feeling unsafe in both the public and private spheres. However, through self-defense at Markazouna Center, she is turning her fear into strength, which has allowed her to become a pillar and advocate for ending violence against women and girls in her community.