This is Beirut

From Freedom to Forced Veiling: The Broken Destiny of Iranian Women

Bélinda Ibrahim, 20/06 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Tehran Mahsa Amini Iran Women Freedom Rights

During the 1960s and 1970s, Iran underwent sweeping transformations. In a bid to modernize the nation, the Shah launched a series of reforms under the banner of the “White Revolution.” Women stood at the forefront of this societal shift: they gained the right to vote in 1963, entered universities, joined the civil service and were gradually ...

Camel Milk: One Woman’s Mission in the Tunisian Desert

Lyne Sammouri, 12/06 14:40 - Reading : less than a minute

camel milk tunisia desert women

In the Tunisian desert, camel milk is more than just a drink – it’s a source of hope. Led by Latifa Frifita, a women-driven project is turning tradition into opportunity for disadvantaged communities.

Kfarshima Women’s Volleyball Team Earns First-Ever D1 Spot

Hala Abdallah, 03/06 15:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Volleyball sports Kfarshima Adab and Riyada women

In a landmark achievement for women’s volleyball in Lebanon, Adab and Riyada Club of Kfarshima has earned its first-ever promotion to Division 1, marking a turning point for a young and determined team that defied the odds to rise through the ranks. After finishing second in its category with three wins and just one loss, the team secured its ...

Moroccan Women Stitch Their Way to Empowered Futures

This is Beirut, 31/05 15:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Embroidery Art Morocco Culture Women

In a small village on the coast of southern Morocco, women gather in a house to create collaborative works of textile art, and also earn a living. Several hunch over large canvases, embroidering their latest piece at the women-only workshop, in the village of 400 people. Some of their works have been shown internationally. "This project has ...

Cannes, Reimagined: When Style Becomes a Manifesto

Bélinda Ibrahim, 19/05 17:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Cannes Festival Women Cinema Fashion

The Cannes Film Festival has always been a stage, not only for cinema, but for fashion that borders on the theatrical. Every May, the red carpet blooms with extravagant gowns, daring cuts and dramatic silhouettes. But in 2025, something deeper shimmered beneath the surface. Women are using style not to dazzle, but to declare. Less about seduction, ...

New Cannes Festival Policy Bans Actor Accused of Rape

This is Beirut, 15/05 18:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Cannes 2025 Film Celebrity Women Agresssion Culture

The Cannes film festival barred an actor in a prominent French film from the red carpet on Thursday because of sexual assault allegations, unveiling a new policy under pressure from lawmakers and activists. Theo Navarro-Mussy plays a police officer in a supporting role in the film Dossier 137 by Dominik Moll, which is to premiere on Thursday in ...

Cinema Icon Gérard Depardieu Sentenced to 18-Month Suspended Term for Sexual Assault

This is Beirut, 13/05 12:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Trial Sexual agression Women Cinema France Culture

A Paris court on Tuesday handed French cinema icon Gerard Depardieu an 18-month suspended sentence after convicting him of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021. The Paris court also ordered that Depardieu, 76, who was not present in court for the verdict, be inscribed on the sex offenders' register. Depardieu, who has acted in ...

Marginalizing Women a Major Curb on Afghan Economy: UNDP

This is Beirut, 01/05 16:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump United Nations USA Afghanistan women

Restrictions on women and girls imposed since the Taliban authorities took power are projected to cost Afghanistan almost six percent of its GDP over two years, the UN development agency country director said on Thursday. Taliban authorities have squeezed women out of education, jobs and public life since 2021, creating what the United Nations ...

From Bsharre to Al-Mina: Lebanese Women Break Political Ground in Municipal Elections

Nisrine Merheb, 01/05 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Women Lebanon municipal elections

Women's participation in Lebanese politics remains strikingly low, both in municipal and parliamentary elections. In the 2022 elections, only eight women were elected out of 115 candidates. Misogynistic rhetoric continues to plague women in politics, reflecting a persistent societal resistance to female leadership. During the 2016 municipal ...

'Behind the Filter' Reveals Women Beyond a Framed World

Marie-Christine Tayah, 24/04 10:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Cinema Film Women Festival Documentary Fiction

In an era defined by curated feeds and digital perfection, Behind the Filter comes as a sensitive yet straightforward lens into how women experience beauty, plastic surgery and identity in the age of social media. The film, screening on April 28 at 5:30 PM at ABC Dbayeh as part of the Women Film Festival, is the work of executive producer and ...

The Reinvented Suit: Where Structure Meets Freedom

Béatrice Moreau, 06/04 18:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Fashion Women Suit

The suit is no longer what it used to be – and that’s a good thing. Long confined to the rigid dress codes of office wear, it now stands as the boldest expression of personal style. On the Spring-Summer 2025 catwalks, the structured blazer and tailored trousers transcend their original function to become a true statement of modern ...

“A Hymn to Life”: Gisele Pelicot’s Soon-to-be Released Memoir

This is Beirut, 21/03 12:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

France Book Women Culture

Gisele Pelicot, a feminist icon for her outspoken stance during her ex-husband's trial for letting strangers rape her while drugged, will release her memoirs next year, a publisher said Thursday. A Hymn to Life will be published in 20 languages in January 2026, British publisher the Bodley Head, which is owned by the Penguin group, said in a ...

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