VOTE FOR US. WE’LL VOTE FOR YOU

In Lebanon, there was NO LAW to protect women from gender-based violence within the family. Kafa, a leading women’s rights NGO, drafted a law against Domestic Violence, but it was negleted by the parliament for years. Finally, on April 1st, 2014, the law drafted by Kafa was going to be proposed for voting in Parliament. Kafa came to us 3 days before Pariliament’s meeting to help them put pressure on Members of Parliament to vote the LAW. Since Women represent 52% of the voting force, and those members of Parliament were running again for legislative elections, we decided to threaten the MPs with the one weapon that could make a difference: OUR VOTES. We invited people to color their thumbs in red, color of women’s injuries (instead of the “blue” ink used for voting in LEBANON) and threaten overtly: Vote for us, We’ll vote for you. Like wildfire, people from all walks of life joined our movement resulting in an unprecedented wave of engagement that led to the passing of the law.
In Lebanon there was no Law to Protect Women from Family violence, in a society that is still extremely patriarchal and where the judicial system is affected by corruption. All judicial matters related to families or personal status are handled by religious courts, which laws still favor the man. As such, domestic violence remains a big taboo, covered by the law of silence. Also, the Members of Parliament who are supposed to pass gender equality laws are 92 % males in a society that still believes that politics are matters of men.Adding to that, it is culturally known that men in the family decide of the political voting of the members of the family, so for a woman to use her Voting Force as a threat was a first in Lebanon.

#Bronze@PR, @CannesLions2015

CREDITS:

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Bechara Mouzannar

REGIONAL EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Malek Ghorayeb

MANAGING DIRECTOR: Nada Abi Saleh

MANAGING DIRECTOR PR: Jo Chemali

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Areej Mahmoud

CREATIVITY NATIONSBEYONDCLICHES LEBANON GENDER EQUALITY LOVEANDLOBBY