CAROLINE BAZZI

Beirut – Nisreen Al-Ashkar is a hardworking woman and she is now the president of the Union of Opticians and Optometrists (Syndicat des Opticiens et Optometristes au Liban) in Lebanon. She was the first female member of the union, which was founded in 1951. “The union and its partners didn’t easily believe in us. I became the first female member of the union after being elected as a member of the bureau committee four years ago. Nisreen has a successful and hardworking personality and she previously worked in the media industry. “The members of the union visited me and demanded me to use my experiences in media for the union. In the last four years, I learned many things about the union and supported its works.”

She faced three barriers

Nisreen Al-Ashkar faced three barriers when she was elected as the president of the union. “I faced three barriers. The first barrier for me was politics. There were members from different political parties and they criticized me to use a different language. My profession was my language and political party. After being elected as the president, I visited my colleagues in Lebanon to know their conditions. I thought if intellectuals and students support parties and sects, we cannot change anything in the parliamentary elections but if these people participate in the elections for themselves, then the change will start from the unions.”

Nisreen Al-Ashkar talked about the second barrier against her. “The second barrier for me was the promotion of sects and sectarianism. This situation surprised me a lot, but I want to raise awareness of public opinion on this issue. The third barrier I faced was racism. Some people were against me just because I am a woman. I should say that some people supported and stood by me. I thank them so much and hope I don't destroy their hopes.

A new project

Nisreen Al-Ashkar keeps working despite all barriers against her. “I want to support my colleagues who are facing a major crisis. We need everything. We buy everything from other countries,” Nisreen Al-Ashkar mentioned that she will take a courageous step in the upcoming days. “In order to realize our plan, we will support our colleagues and find jobs for the unemployed university graduates. I have already begun to sign agreements with other countries.”

Call on women

Nisreen Al-Ashkar talked about the works of the union. “The duty of all unions is to protect the rights of their members. We want to improve the works of our union.” Nisreen Al-Ashkar also sent a message to women; “Yes, women are successful and responsible, they are leaders. Today, women can look after their children; do the housework while they are in the labor force. I want to tell every woman that you can do anything as long as you believe in yourself.”