Laure Moghaizel facts for kids

Laure Moghaizel was a brave Lebanese lawyer and a strong supporter of women's rights.

Laure Moghaizel (born 1929, died 1997) was a brave Lebanese lawyer and a strong supporter of women's rights. She received a special award called the National Order of the Cedar (Commander). This medal honored her many years of helping people and serving her country.

Laure Moghaizel helped start several important groups. These included the Democratic Party of Lebanon, the Lebanese Association for Human Rights, and Bahithat (Lebanese Women Researchers).

Early Life and Education

Laure Moghaizel was born on April 21, 1929, in Hasbayeh, Lebanon. Her parents were Labiba Saab and Nassib Salim Nasr. Laure, her sister, and her two brothers lived in three different cities when they were young. These cities were Jounieh, Aley, and Baalbeck.

Laure's father was a high-ranking police officer. His job meant the family moved often across Lebanon. This helped Laure see many different places, people, and cultures. She became fluent in English, French, and Arabic.

Laure's parents were very open-minded for their time. They encouraged all their children to get the best education possible. Her mother especially wanted Laure and her sister to continue their studies after high school. At that time, advanced studies were mostly for rich families in Lebanon.

Laure went to Aley National School for her high school education. There, she received a modern and secular education. Later, she moved to Beirut and studied at the Besançon school. This school was considered one of the best in the region.

She then went to Saint Joseph University. She studied philosophy and later earned a law degree. In law school, Laure was one of only three women in a class of 100 men. She also met her future husband, Joseph Moghaizel, there.

In 1949, during her first year of law school, Laure met other women who also cared about women's rights. These women included Laure Tabet, Mirvat Ibrahim, and Najla Saab. Laure Moghaizel became very active in social and political life. She decided to work in the public sector and joined the feminist movement. She dedicated her life to linking law with women's issues.

Political Work and Activism

Early Efforts for Change

After Lebanon became independent from French rule in 1943, women's rights started to advance. Two main groups, the Lebanese Women Union and the Christian Women's Solidarity Association, led these efforts. In 1952, these two groups joined to form the Lebanese Council of Women. Laure Moghaizel was a member of the Christian Women's Solidarity Association and stayed with the Council.

However, during the Lebanese Civil War, the Council's work for women's civil rights slowed down. They focused instead on helping war victims. Laure Moghaizel continued to work for human rights and peace during this difficult time.

One of her first actions was a Peace March on March 6 with Beirut University College. She and 22 people from different countries supported labor union protests. They also organized a sit-in outside parliament. This group started a campaign called "The Document of Civil Peace." They collected 70,000 signatures from Lebanese citizens who were against the war. Laure said that even if it didn't stop the war, "it helped us overcome the war." Women were not often involved in the fighting during the war. This was because they were not in government or the military. So, women like Laure Moghaizel found other ways to help rebuild Lebanon. During the civil war, Laure became well-known for her legal work and her strong support for women's rights.

How Laure Fought for Rights

Laure Moghaizel was different from other activists of her time. She saw women's rights as part of a bigger fight for all human rights in Lebanon. She believed that "women’s rights were about treating all citizens equally and fairly."

She used five main ways to fit women's issues into general legal rights. These included:

• Political rights (like voting)
• Legal competence (being able to make legal decisions)
• Economic and social rights (like fair pay)
• Rights under punishment laws
• Rights under personal status laws (like marriage and family laws)

By using her law degree, her work gave women new legal rights. These rights went beyond the usual focus on public visibility and civic rights.

In 1985, Laure was key in starting the Lebanese Association for Human Rights. She worked with her husband, Joseph Moghaizel, who was also a lawyer. As legal representatives, they pushed for human rights. They paid special attention to the needs of Lebanese women in both their public and private lives.

The couple worked through the courts to change important but often overlooked laws. These laws affected women's daily lives. They covered everything from business deals to social services.

Laure's later work went beyond national laws. She also worked to make international agreements stronger in Lebanon. In 1990, she worked with the Lebanese Association for Human Rights. They pushed the government to add a rule to the Lebanese Constitution. This rule said that Lebanon would follow the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Lebanon had technically agreed to the UDHR in 1948. This new rule set an important example. It meant that international human rights rules must be more important than national laws.

This paved the way for Lebanon to adopt the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1996. CEDAW is an international agreement for women's rights. By 1996, 114 countries had signed it. Lobbying for CEDAW in Lebanon is seen as one of the Moghaizel couple's biggest contributions.

Key Achievements

Here are some important advancements in Lebanese women's rights linked to Laure Moghaizel's work:

• 1987: Women gained the right to retirement benefits. The retirement age became 64 for both men and women. Before, women had to retire five years earlier than men.
• 1990: A rule was added to the Lebanese Constitution. It strengthened Lebanon's promise to follow the UDHR.
• 1993: Women gained the right to be legal witnesses in real-estate contracts.
• 1994: Married women gained the right to work in commerce or open a business without their husbands' permission.
• 1995: Women in diplomatic jobs could keep their Lebanese citizenship and jobs if they married a foreign husband.
• 1995: Women (including married women) gained the right to get life insurance.
• 1996: Lebanon adopted the CEDAW.

Personal Life

Laure Moghaizel met her husband Joseph at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. They met during a national student protest. This meeting showed how their lives and careers would be linked. Laure and Joseph, both Christian Catholics, married in 1953.

They had five children: Nada, Fadi, Jana, Amal, and Naji. Her children remember her as a very caring mother. Laure once said she loved coming home from work. She would change into overalls, play with her children, give them baths, and help with homework. Her daughter, Nada Moghaizel Nasr, said her mother did it all. She was a homemaker who cooked, cleaned, and raised children. At the same time, she was a very successful fighter against social and political unfairness.

Laure created a home where open talks were encouraged. Everyone's opinions were respected. Her daughter Nada explained that Laure wanted her children to love books and art. She often read them poetry before bed. Her youngest son, Naji Moghaizel, was born with Down syndrome. This was one reason Laure and Joseph became involved in helping people with disabilities.

One of her daughters, Jana Moghaizel, was a linguist and author. She visited her parents in Beirut for Christmas in 1986 during the Lebanese Civil War. Sadly, she was one of many innocent people killed during the conflict. After Jana's death, the Moghaizels focused even more on their work. Laure once said she "could not forgive anyone who participated in the war." She wore black for the rest of her life to mourn Jana.

Joseph Moghaizel passed away in 1995 after 42 years of marriage. Laure became ill and passed away in her home on May 25, 1997. She was 68 years old.

Laure Moghaizel's Legacy

Laure Moghaizel's work in setting up the Lebanese Association for Human Rights in 1985 is seen as her greatest achievement. This Association helped improve basic human rights for regular Lebanese people. By setting important examples through the court system, the association expanded women's rights in Lebanon, especially in business. Lebanon's adoption of CEDAW was another huge success linked to the Moghaizels.

Some experts look at Laure Moghaizel's achievements along with her personal life. For example, Professor Rita Stephan wondered how Laure's marriage and family shaped her work for women's rights. Stephan suggested that Laure Moghaizel gained "social capital" by showing that her family and husband fully supported her. Joseph's presence in Laure's life could be seen as both a help and a limit. Her contributions to feminism are thought to offer a way to advance women's rights in developing countries.

Laure's family continues to be important in the Lebanese legal community. Her daughter, Dr. Nada Moghaizel Naga, is a dean at St. Joseph University. Her son Fadi Moghaizel now runs his parents’ old law office.

See also

In Spanish: Laure Moghaizel para niños