Lebanon’s Population is calling for a Revolution

Lebanese women are at the forefront of the Lebanese protests, leading the demonstrations arm in arm, revolting against police forces and publicly showing their disregard for the Lebanese government, fighting deep-rooted patriarchy in the country. Gender Concerns International wants to express its admiration for these women and their persistent fight for gender equality and women rights in these complicated times.

Last Thursday, protests sparked in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut after the government announced the implementation of a tax on calls over messenger services. For six days now, the whole country has been on the streets to protests against government corruption and for better living conditions in the country. Sparked by a tax, this uprising has much deeper roots connected to the government’s mismanagement, corruption scandals, a lack of basic social services, decreasing living conditions and a current economic crisis in the country. On Sunday, the Lebanese diaspora all around the world demonstrated their solidarity by organizing protests in cities such as New York, Sydney, Paris, London, Berlin, Los Angeles, The Hague and many more. People all around the world united to chant slogans like ثورة (Thawrat) “Revolution” and كلن ياعني كلن (kellon ya3neh kellon) “all of them means all of them” calling for the resignation of the whole Lebanese political elite and fundamental reforms in the country’s political system.

This public call for change which has paralyzed the whole country for the past week unifies a historically divided country and highlights an important progress from the past. Protestors along all religious lines are marching arm in arm in the street of Beirut where, 30 years ago, a civil war divided the city in two, separating Christians from Muslims.

Here some pictures from the protests in The Hague: