SÛZAN EBÛ SEÎD

Beirut- Claudine Aoun Roukoz, a senior communications specialist, was born three years before the Lebanese Civil War, has engaged in political advocacy, media, entrepreneurship, as well as environmental and women rights activism. For more than 20 years. Claudine Aoun Roukez, who has always lived under war conditions, immigrated to France. In 2016, she was appointed as President of the National Commission for Lebanese Women.

She grew up in a dangerous environment

Born in 1972, Claudine Aoun Roukoz told us that she grew up in fear, like all Lebanese children. Underlining that she grew up in a dangerous and unsafe environment, she said, “Between the ages of 16-18, I worked actively in documentation and communication during the resistance. I immigrated to France in 1988. I went to work in fear there. This had an impact on my activities about peace, women's rights and preventing youth from using drugs. I currently carry out activities in the field of environment with the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), focusing on climate change and animal welfare issues, and combating indiscriminate hunting.”

Role of women in French cinema

Claudine Aoun Roukoz stated that she had a hard time getting used to living in a war-free environment in France, “While the people lived in the war conditions, we lived in a safe environment in France during the war. I was interested in women's advocacy and social justice during my university education. My first certificate was in the field of culture and media, and then I graduated from Cinematographic and Audio-visual Studies and obtained my Master’s degree in Cinematographic and Audio-visual Studies from the Sorbonne University in Paris. My master’s thesis was about the role of women in French cinema after the Second World War. During that time, I studied history in order to understand the cultural background of the war and its consequences on people, and I became an activist for women's issues.”

After returning to Lebanon, she began to take an active role in politics. She is now married and has three children. She takes care of her children while carrying out her activities. “When I returned to Lebanon, I already had experience in politics. In 2009 I founded a communication company called Clémentine SAL. In 2016, I was appointed as President of the National Commission for Lebanese Women. Mouna Hraoui worked for the establishment of the commission after the Beijing conference. The commission was founded in 1998. We have 12 friends working for the commission. Many companies also support us.”

“Helping people makes me happy”

“Helping people makes me happy,” she said, “I feel proud when I help anyone who has a problem. Every humanitarian case that we can help from our side is a success story and every success in amending or promulgating laws, such as the sexual harassment law, the amendments to the domestic violence law, and Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, is considered an achievement. We also follow up on these laws to be passed by the Council of Ministers, and to implement them in a short period of time.”

Emphasizing that there should be solidarity among women, not competition, Claudine Aoun Roukoz told us that they will keep struggling.