On Tuesday, March 8, 2016, Haigazian University celebrated the International Women’s Day, by honoring four accomplished women from diverse backgrounds and experiences, who had great impact on the Lebanese society in concrete ways. The ladies were: Helene Badaro, Asma Zein, Claudia Marshalian and Lena Gebrane.
The event, which was organized by the joint efforts of the Haigazian University Women’s Auxiliary and the Public Relations Department, opened with the welcoming words of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Arda Ekmekji who underlined the substantial importance of this occasion throughout the world. She acknowledged that the honorees have “merited and not inherited this evening’s tribute.”
In her turn, Chairwoman of the Haigazian University Women’s Auxiliary (HUWA), Terine Hasserjian shared with the audience the history of this celebration which dates back to 15 years, during which more than 40 women from different Lebanese denominations and regions have been honored in recognition of their achievements and breakthroughs in their societies.
Public Relations Director, Mira Yardemian led the audience in a “down memory lane”, presenting the lives and major accomplishments of the honorees: Helene Badaro has spent her life serving on committees of educational and cultural institutions, raising funds for scholarships and preserving the Lebanese national heritage; Asma Zein is a business entrepreneur with an amassed wealth of experience and knowledge in the service industry, in addition to being an advocate of women’s rights, especially in the fields of business and entrepreneurship; Claudia Marshalian is a prolific scriptwriter, actress and journalist whose works allowed her to become a major player in Drama in Lebanon and the Arab world; Lena Gebrane is the founder of the organization Kunhadi for road safety awareness. She has turned her tragedy of losing her only son Hadi to a car crash into a new culture of safe driving habits among the Lebanese youth.
In his remarks, President Paul Haidostian seriously addressed the issue of women’s rights considering that “it is not simply laws, religious statements, symbolic gestures, and generous compliments that can address the problem. But formal and informal education, at home, in school, university and elsewhere. It is reform in mentality that leads to better laws and practices.” Giving the concrete example of Haigazian, President Haidostian considered “every celebration of success at Haigazian is also a celebration of the potential, the skills and the toil of women in a very real way,” as 63% of the student body is composed of women students, and 69% of the administrative staff and almost half of the faculty are women.
The celebration was musically animated by Soprano Dr. Reem Deeb who enchanted the audience with the song “Climb Every Mountain”, and the talented musicians Loucine Panjarian on the piano and Roubina Artinian on the flute, graciously playing “Carmen Fantasia Brilliant”.
The program concluded with a decent reception.