My Voice, My Words
I have thought long and hard about how I wanted to go about writing this text. Initially, I was…
…going to retrace Lebanese history, and the events which led to what we now call “the October Revolution”. Then I stopped writing for about 2 weeks. The thought of writing this intimidated me I felt as though nothing I could ever put into words would be worthy of the importance of this topic. I still feel this way.
An Ode
I thought about very clearly and systematically explaining facts, going through a timeline, giving numbers. All of which is obviously important, but then again, those are facts, and facts are facts: type “Lebanon revolution” into Google and you will probably find answers to your questions. What the Internet won’t help with, and that with which I hope I will, is the passion, soul and engagement behind this movement.
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This is precisely what this text is for. And for the sake of this text, I am not a writer, not a scholar, not even a student: I am a Lebanese woman. This text is an ode to all the Lebanese women of this revolution, and all women who have ever been part of a revolution. This is for you.
On October 17th, 2019, the day the revolution broke out, a woman was caught on camera kicking an armed ministerial guard. It was a kick of exhaustion, of suffocation, and of suffering.
It represented the fire burning within Lebanese people’s hearts. The fearlessness of this woman’s action established a new discourse among Lebanese media and public opinion: the revolution was not only an anti-corruption revolution; it was a female revolution (‘ثورة أنثى’). The image of this woman kicking the armed man became the symbol of the revolution: a symbol of resistance, struggle and strength.
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Standing Tall & Together
Since, women have been exceptional. Mothers and wives have taken the streets, banging on pans and screaming their lungs out. Screaming for their children, screaming for their families, screaming for their country: the women had spoken, and they would not and could not be shut down by anyone or anything. They were fueled by the rage towards the political class which had stolen from and lied to the Lebanese people. They were sick and tired of being thought unworthy of representing their country in government, incapable of passing their nationality down to their own children, undeserving of inheritance, and worthless without a man by their side or children in their wombs.
Normally, and knowing the past misogynistic tendencies of Lebanese society, the women would have been asked to go back home, use these pans for cooking, and let the men fight the revolution. Despite everything, these women – young and old, religious or not, married or not – had made the streets their own.
Shoulders back and head high, they held the Lebanese flag higher than it had ever been held. They wrote, spoke, argued, and chanted for this revolution. They stood right in the face of the army, their guns and of anyone who had ever dared to set them aside to make way for the men. And in that specific moment, when women had formed a human – female – chain, disabling the army from going against the men, they showed everyone that all along they were the ones protecting, and not the ones needing protection.
Much to Overcome
Of course, this newfound hope for gender equality is not enough. The obstacles women face in Lebanese society go much deeper than them just not being able to talk for themselves and protest. This is a society in which one in four women is subject to assault at one point in her life, a society in which forced marriages still happen, and one in which a woman’s sexuality is more of a taboo than politicians spending millions on South African models.
Nevertheless, it is primordial to acknowledge this revolution for precisely what it is: a step forward for Lebanese women and all women still oppressed and not credited for what they are worth.
There is still a long way to go, don’t get me wrong. Women will need to march further, scream louder, and kick harder. But for now, let me just end by saying that the female revolution has only just begun.
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About the Article
A view of women and their role in Lebanon’s October 2019 Revolution.
