CAROLINE BAZZI

Beirut- Hana Association is a Lebanese non-profit association founded on November 11, 2011. The association has organized many courses to support Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian women as well as children, empower them and launched campaigns to raise awareness of the public to promote gender equality.

Nawal Mahmoud, the chair of the association, spoke to our news agency about the activities of the association.  The association has organized courses to teach women how to read and write, “We also organize courses about women’s health and launch campaigns to raise awareness of the public about women’s rights. We provide psychological support for women. We also organize sewing and needlework courses to support women to have a leading role in society,” Nawal Mahmoud said.

Campaigns to raise awareness

The association has launched many campaigns to promote gender equality, “We organized a course for both women and men. Our aim was to ensure equality at workplaces.  We also organized design and painting courses. Many women and girls attended those courses. However, men couldn’t complete the courses.”

Women work in energy field

Nawal Mahmoud mentioned the environmental projects in Lebanon, “Lebanon has suffered from severe electricity shortage for years. We taught women how to generate electricity from nature and sunlight. They work in the energy field now. After taking our courses, women repair household appliances.”

The association also provides moral and psychological support to women. Pointing out they need financial assistance from organizations such as UNICEF, Chevy's , and ANERA, Nawal Mahmoud indicated that UNICEF has suspended its activities and limited its aids due to the Covid-19. “We launched a project to produce face masks. We produced face masks and sold them to overcome financial problems.”