Joe Maalouf Hosts and Moderates Two Panels for the 8th edition of Women on the Front Lines E-Conference

WRITTEN BY YASMINE EL JURDI

05, FEBRUARY 2021

On November 17th - 2020, Joe Maalouf, the president and founder of Qarama, participated in the Women on the Front Lines E-Conference (WOFL) in its 8th edition, organized by UN Women in partnership with the May Chidiac Foundation (MCF). He hosted and moderated two panels one of which was titled “The Role of Media in Fighting Gender Based Violence”; participants included Ms. Dalal Mouawad (journalist and senior video producer at AP), Ms. Sobhiya Najjar (independent journalist and TV producer), and Ms. Abby Sewell (journalist at L'Orient-Le Jour). The second panel was with Dr. Edit Schlaffer, founder and executive director of Women Without Borders. The panel was titled "Women’s Role in Fighting Extremism and Gender-Based Violence".

According to Maalouf, "Gender based violence is now out in the open thanks to activists who have brought global attention to the matter through the various branches of the media." During the conference, Maalouf also emphasized on the importance of launching programs and implementing laws and regulations to protect victims and help them. He added it is essential to constantly empower women and make sure children are protected.