NAYLA MOAWAD
Her husband had been assassinated. It is not uncommon that after a political assassination, the widow of the slain male politician, carries on the political legacy. But otherwise there are few female politicians in the Third World in general and the Middle East in particular. Arab and other cultures so severely restrict a woman’s mobility within the society that death of a husband or father seems to be the only vehicle whereby a woman enters politics.
Nayla Moawad (née El-Khouri, Arabic: نايلة معوض) is a Lebanese politician and former First Lady of Lebanon. Outside of Lebanon, she is best known as the widow of former President René Moawad, who was assassinated on 22 November 1989. Within Lebanon, she is a high-profile politician in her own right, having served as a member of the National Assembly since 1991. Following her reelection in June 2005, she was appointed to the Cabinet on 19 July as Minister for Social Affairs.
