Beyond the Front Lines: A Study of Regional Conflict on Women in Lebanon - The Experiences of Five Female Voices

Abstract

Human security focuses on the protection and promotion of individuals’ safety, welfare, and human rights, as opposed to traditional state-centric security. Feminist security theory focuses on how gender, masculinity, and femininity shape security policies and practices, seeking to integrate gender perspectives in the analysis of security issues. In the year 2000 the

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 marked a milestone in the international community’s recognition of the impact of armed conflict on women. However, civil society women are still often a neglected group in both war and security studies.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine escalated following the attack carried out by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas on October 7th, 2023. This escalation has had ripple effects, with increasing political tensions between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel, resulting in clashes along the southern Lebanese border. This study therefore aimed to examine the impact and repercussions of this situation by focusing on the lived experiences of five Lebanese women in Beirut. It uses a human security and feminist theoretical framework, while also emphasizing ontological security theory and the psychological consequences of war.

The objective was to gather data through five semi-structured interviews. The interviewees range in age from their early 20s to their early 60s. Due to the number of informants in this study, it is not a representative study for women in Lebanon on a general basis. The primary objective of the study was to explore women’s individual perceptions of whether or how the ongoing conflict on their southern border affects their everyday lives. The semi-structured interviews provided valuable insight into the experiences and perceptions of life as a woman in Beirut today. The women face severe security threats on daily basis and have adopted various coping mechanisms to protect themselves. The data also revealed that the ongoing war in southern Lebanon has a significant psychological and emotional impact on these five women.