by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese women's enthusiastic and massive participation in Lebanon's nationwide protests has grabbed the attention of media outlets.

Women in the Arab world expressed their admiration for Lebanese ladies who were commonly seen appearing at the forefront of the demonstrations, bravely asking for their rights.

Inspired by the women's participation in protests in Lebanon, Nadine Touma, an activist and co-founder of publishing house Dar Onboz, suggested a slight modification to the Lebanese national anthem by adding the word "woman" to one of its sentences which would read "our mountains and our valleys, they bring forth stalwart men and women."

The adapted national anthem was sang by a young lady during the protests, while the Annahar newspaper dedicated its front page to publishing the new national anthem.

"Women and men are an equal source of power, trust and inspiration, which is why women deserve to be mentioned in the national anthem," Touma told Xinhua.

"I have met during these protests women of different ages and backgrounds, the only one common factor is the pain of being deprived of their rights. I was very much impressed and touched," Touma said.

Lebanese women participated massively in the recent protests which generally called for basic rights including electricity, clean water, proper healthcare. But the women in the protests also demanded more gender rights such as equal representation in politics, a unified personal status law, the right to grant siblings' citizenship, and protection against domestic violence.

The latest wave of Lebanese protests, which broke out on Oct. 17, has so far led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Protesters vowed not to leave the streets until they witness a concrete change in the country's political system and the corrupt officials are brought to trials.

Women of all ages are spread across all areas of the country, not only to protest but also to organize discussion sessions and events that create awareness about their rights as women and as citizens.

Halima Kaakour, a political and environmental activist, told Xinhua women in Lebanon is the least represented politically in the Arab world.

"This is why we can see that the Lebanese women are very active to demand women's rights. Also, young girls have been present on the ground since the start of the protests by participating in all kinds of activities that would help the demonstration," she said.

Olfat El Sabeh, a lecturer at the Lebanese American University, told Xinhua that women's participation evolved in the current protest because they were once disappointed at the authorities' failure to meet their demands.

"We are mothers and we are worried about our children's future ... We noticed that the latest parliamentary elections did not make any changes so we decided to make those changes ourselves," El Sabeh said.

El Sabeh also emphasized that Lebanese women may enjoy more freedom of expression than their peers in other Arab countries but they still lack basic rights, including the right to grant their children's nationality and protection against domestic violence, which usually go unpunished.

Social activist Tracy Nehme has created "Coffee and Politics", a platform that raises political awareness and education while highlighting past revolutions' successes and failures.

Nehme said she saw a very important role for Lebanese women in the uprising, by encouraging protesters to adopt a peaceful attitude while voicing their demands.

"This is why an increased role of women in politics will improve the society all in all," she said.

Ibrahim Halawi, lecturer in Middle East politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, told Xinhua that Lebanese women have mobilized heavily in previous protests to demand a better access to basic rights, such as civil marriage, granting their siblings citizenship, as well as broader gender rights.

"Those previous experiences on the streets culminated in greater political maturity and broader political, social and economic demands raised today across the country," Halawi said. Enditem

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