Tomorrow’s Leaders Program

Success Stories

TLS Students Inaugurate the Intersectional Feminist Club with a Series of Active Learning Gender-Based Sessions

Inspired by the LAU-MEP TLS program, designed to promote gender inclusion in higher education, LAU-MEPI TLS students Ala Zahabi,  Hussein Faour, Yasmina Al Masri, and Faisal Al Haddad catalyzed all the knowledge and expertise they get from the diversified program components ranging from gender-based courses, sessions, and webinars, and inaugurated the Intersectional Feminist Club (IFC) as a steppingstone to instill change within their complex, yet diverse community.

Before the IFC club inauguration, the team crafted carefully the club’s vision and values considering the community’s pressing gender-related topics. The club’s objectives were well defined as follows :

  • Raise awareness about the importance of sexual, gender, and racial equality in Lebanon and the MENA Region. 
  • Illustrate the importance of pro-activism, advocacy, and teamwork to achieve equality between the minorities in society and maintain their human rights.
  • Fight gender-based violence and discrimination.
  • Fight segregation based on gender, sexuality, ethnicity, caste, social class, and physical and mental impairments.
  • Empower women and different minorities in various fields.

When the team announced that they were forming a club, they experienced an overwhelming willingness by numerous students who were eager to instill positive change in the world of gender advocacy and feminism. As a result, most of the club members joined through the word of mouth. It was almost like a ripple effect: students telling their friends, these friends telling their friends… the IFC club grew with students and from students, to the point that advertisement was sometimes unnecessary.

In less than four months, the IFC organized and hosted a series of gender-based sessions led by experts in different fields. To name a few: “Experience of Political Violence in the Environmental and Peace Sector”, “Debate on the Issue of Migrant Workers and Kafala System in Lebanon and the Region”, “MASKULINITY: Addressing Men’s Mental Health in Lebanon and the Middle East”, “An Arab-American Journey for Women’s Rights in the US » etc.

The sessions were enlightening and engaging sharing one fresh and common direction: to redress entrenched patterns of sexism and gender inequality.

« We believe that the Inauguration of IFC birthed an unwavering path towards social change. Despite our modest start, we are certain that our continuous efforts will yield a tremendous impact across LAU and hopefully our community » says TLS student Hussein Faour attributing the success of this initiative to the TLS program.