There was no lightbulb moment that sparked Victoria el-Khoury Zwein’s interest in politics. It was a culmination of experiences, such as when she went to open a bank account for her children but was told by the teller that only the father could. When she decided to pursue politics, her family was not necessarily encouraging either. “The first challenge was to convince my mum and close family that it was okay [as a woman] to be involved in politics,” she said.

“When I ran for the municipal elections for the first time, I was 29. It was in 2004, and there were no women in the municipality before me, so it wasn’t easy ... feeling that you are working alone,” she said. Zwein served as an elected official in the municipality of Sin el-Fil, Beirut, from 2004 to 2010. She was reelected in 2016 and still serves as the president of the local development committee.

In Lebanon, various religious and cultural norms mean women are treated differently. The country has yet to reform its 15 personal status laws based on religion, or the courts that apply them, so women do not have the same rights regarding property, divorce, and custody of children. “Imagine that till now, women in Lebanon do not have the same rights, even amongst themselves. It is different from one sect to another, and it’s different from one region to another,” Zwein said.

Zwein is also frustrated by the lack of support for female politicians. Although the 2018 election was an opportunity to have more women in government, she said the main political parties were not serious about their nominations nor in giving female candidates the preferential votes and media exposure needed.