2023-05-15 13:57:00
Religious and cultural differences are still reflected in situations that take place in public places, most recently when two women were stoned while they were swimming on the Sidon beach. This contradicts the content of the Lebanese Constitution, which guarantees public freedoms for citizens.
The two women, according to the first information, are from the area, and they were wearing swimming clothes on the beach there. Two sheikhs from the city came to them and gave them two minutes to clear the beach. When the two women did not comply with this warning, the two elders threw stones at them, and regarding 10 other young men rushed to throw stones at the two women as well. None of the passers-by or the people present in the vicinity of the incident dared to intervene, despite the fact that the two women suffered physical damage, in addition to the subsequent psychological damage.
The two women had no choice but to resort to the official authorities in the region, in the hope that they would carry out their duty. According to one of the two women told the “We” association, which deals with people’s rights on public beaches, that they contacted the municipality and the security forces in the area, but the two parties did not respond and did not take any steps to help or express any position. Therefore, the two women resorted to contacting the local associations, in the hope that they would raise their voices regarding what happened.
This incident traumatized both women. According to the “We” association, and in an interview with its sources to “An-Nahar”, one of them is unable to talk regarding the unjustified violence she was subjected to, as one of the two sheikhs told them, “Go and swim in your area,” while they are from Sidon. Likewise, the husband of the aforementioned woman is regarding to file a lawsuit once morest the two sheikhs whose identities are known. But the wife has not decided to file a lawsuit yet, as she is under the influence of shock and unable to think.
The head of the Sidon municipality, Muhammad al-Saudi, in an interview with An-Nahar categorically denies that one of the two women called the municipality and did not receive a response. I even found out regarding it from social media, and it’s still not confirmed what day it happened.”
But in general, according to the Saudi, it is not the role of the municipality to prevent or allow anyone to swim on the public beach, and “everyone has personal freedom to wear what they want to wear, but at the same time, the considerations and cultures of one city and one region differ from another, the culture of societies differs in Lebanon, and I as president A municipality, I cannot prevent anyone from swimming, and if someone is exposed to it, we send the police to him.” The Saudi asserts that the municipality, in general, is not the authority authorized to take any action regarding this issue, and it would have been more useful for the two women to communicate with the security forces.
The Saudi recounts that there are incidents that sometimes take place in the city, such as a place where alcoholic beverages are served, and “we see resentments, but we have never faced such an incident in the city of Sidon as the swimming incident that occurred with the two women.”
Opinions are divided, in a religiously and culturally mixed country like Lebanon, between those who support the freedom to go to public beaches on all Lebanese lands by wearing bathing suits, as it is a personal freedom, and those who believe that the customs and cultures of some places and regions should be respected. But what is indisputable is that the rejected sheikhs threw stones at the two women for refusing to leave the beach, instead of turning a blind eye. Is this the culture of Islam? Throwing stones amounts to an act of “ISIS” in front of the people and the state, so will those who assaulted the two women be held accountable?! let’s see…
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