source: Middle East Times, 20-5-2005.
summary: BEIRUT - Women trying to make their mark in Lebanon`s male-dominated political world have much to envy of Rima Fakhry, the only woman ever to make it on to the political council of the Islamic movement Hizbullah.
"It is a huge responsibility particularly in these circumstances," Fakhry, 39, said at her office in a heavily guarded building in southern Beirut.‏
She is proud of having become the first woman ever to reach a top position in Hizbullah since the group was founded 20 years ago.‏
"The most important thing for women in Lebanon is to improve themselves in order to have as wide an education as possible," Fakhry said.‏
"In Lebanon women don`t enjoy their full rights," she added.‏
A mother of four married to a businessman who is not a member of Hizbullah, Fakhry works alongside 17 male colleagues who have all been cooperative and supportive since her appointment in January.‏
"No one within the council was opposed to my nomination but outside there are people who are still not convinced that a woman should have a role in a leadership position," she said.‏
Fakhry, who wears the black head-to-toe chador, sits on a committee responsible for political analysis and monitoring events in Lebanon and the world.‏
She works a six-hour day at the office and another few hours surfing the Internet at home.‏
Hizbullah, which has 12 deputies in parliament, will not put forward any female candidate for legislative polls due to take place on four consecutive Sundays starting May 29, Fakhry said.‏
"We will work hard, however, to raise awareness about the polls and encourage people to vote," she said.‏
"Before the political crisis of the past few months and before the assassination of [former Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri there was a lot of talk of involving women in the elections and of a female quota," she said.‏
Only three women sit in the current 128-seat parliament.‏
"We encouraged all the parties to include women candidates on their electoral lists. But now the priorities have changed," she said.‏
"Now our main concern is to maintain national momentum in Lebanon, to protect the resistance" against intense pressure from the United States and the United Nations to disarm, she said.‏
Hizbullah is the only armed group not required to lay down its weapons after the end of the 1975-90 civil war, and is credited with helping drive "Israeli" troops from southern Lebanon in 2000, ending 22 years of occupation.‏
Despite her opposition to the policies of the United States - which has put Hizbullah on its terror list - Fakhry believes "there are many good things in America that we can learn from".‏
A graduate of the American University of Beirut (AUB) who earned a degree in agricultural science, Fakhry says that she always recommends AUB to young women asking her advice.‏
"Yes, we are against the US administration and American politics but we have ties with the American people. We respect them," she said.‏
During her free time, Fakhry listens to classical music, with Chopin and Mozart among her favorites.‏
She also reads a lot and one of the most recent books she enjoyed was Noam Chomsky`s Hegemony or Survival: America`s Quest for Global Domination.‏
Fakhry said that she was attracted to Hizbullah`s message of "pure Islam" and joined when she was 20. She rejects the group being described as extremist.‏
"A civil war was underway. There was an "Israeli" invasion of Lebanon. Our society was facing a lot of pain and injustice.‏
"There were many options, many parties, politicians, to choose from but I chose Hizbullah because I believed in its message," she said.‏