NewsLab

Lelia is a journalist working for L’Orient – Le Jour, a daily Lebanese newspaper with a large circulation and a ‘moderate’ approach. I was interested to know about the media in a country that for me, living in the UK, has been defined by the British media almost exclusively in relation to the broader politics of the Middle East.

Lelia is a Christian living in Beirut with her Muslim fiancé, in a country that she considers to be a microcosm for all the worlds’ cultures – a country where you find all religions and every sort of person across the political and cultural spectrum. As a journalist it becomes clear that Lelia and women like her are crucial to nurturing and building upon equality and diversity for women within Lebanese society.

Lelia mentions women such as war correspondent Mona Saliba as an inspiration to the many female journalists working in the Lebanese media, insisting that the most tenacious and insightful reporting on the recent Israeli-Lebanese conflict came and continues to come from women. Reporting on physically and emotionally draining stories ‘in the field’, such public figures - accessible immediately through the rapid exposure of television and new medias – can as role models change women’s perception of their own capabilities and power, and contribute to the currency of respect and equality between the sexes in society.

But what about real political and policy-level change to increase equality in Lebanese society? This according to Lelia is more difficult: women in the media often tow the political line of media companies with connections to particular political alliances. Lelia views most female journalists as more conservative than their male counterparts. And what about ‘domestic’ politics and the policies that affect women’s everyday lives? I asked Lelia if women in the media were bringing women’s issues to the fore to promote the empowerment of women in political terms. But in Lelia’s view, female journalists, in the same way as male journalists perhaps, view women’s civil rights as a separate issue, one that doesn’t necessarily cross over directly or explicitly into their view or portrayal of Lebanese politics as women.

Perhaps this kind of advocacy is simply happening elsewhere, while there have been many other issues taking precedence in Lebanese politics and media? Lelia talks of the many civil societies working to address gender relations in society. I can’t help feeling that this is a wasted opportunity on the part of the many female journalists pursuing their rising careers in the media. But Lelia offers an alternative view and insists that domestic politics will catch up, or women will catch up with domestic politics. As more and more women are broadening their minds and experience through journalism and working in a professional context where they are respected and increasingly valued, Lelia reveals that many women are themselves turning to careers in politics. This offers a real chance to link politics and women’s issues and ensure women are represented at all levels of society. Lelia herself is open to the possibility of one day making the move from media to politics. With the growing number of women establishing strong careers and experience in the media, the future for Lebanese women in politics is gaining a very sound foundation in the media.