Described by colleagues, friends, family members and officials from regional NGOs as “authentic, persevering, firm, wise, courageous and the epitome of quiet strength,” Zoya Jureidini Rouhana, a feminist activist, director and co-founder of the NGO Kafa, was honored on Friday evening on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
The ceremony, organized at the initiative of the Cultural Movement of Antelias, took place at the Rahbani Brothers Amphitheater in the Saint Elias Church in Antelias. It is part of the Lebanese Book Festival, which continues until Sunday, March 10, at the church’s hall.
Those who know Zoya Rouhana are aware that beneath her calm and modest appearance, she tirelessly fights against a patriarchal system. For several years now, the fight for a unified personal status code has been Kafa’s main focus. This NGO, founded in 2005, has been at the forefront of the campaign led by a coalition of feminist associations to enact a law protecting women from domestic violence. This law was passed in April 2014.
Zoya Rouhana’s commitment to women’s causes began at a young age when, with the start of the war, she joined the ranks of the Lebanese Commission for Women’s Rights before serving as Secretary for Women’s Rights in the Popular Relief (al-Najdeh al-Chaabiyeh).
A native of Choueifat, in the Aley district, Zoya Rouhana is also a founding member of the Arab Women’s Tribunal, which was established in the 1990s. She is also a founding member of the National Commission for Combating Violence Against Women and a co-founder of Kafa.
Convinced that social action cannot be separated from political action and determined to amend unjust laws regarding women, Zoya Rouhana ran for parliament twice: in 2018 and 2022, for the Greek Orthodox seat in Aley. Central to her electoral platform was the unified personal status code.
“Zoya is the heartbeat of the women’s cause,” emphasized Leila Awada, a lawyer and co-founder of Kafa, in her testimony.
For Zoya Rouhana, this distinction and International Women’s Day are an opportunity to “renew our commitment and our struggle to achieve gender equality” at all levels.
