"You can report me but how long will they imprison me? One day, two days, a month? Two months? a year? I will come out and kill you”. These were words Malak, 43, heard over and over from her abusive husband even while pregnant.

The father was waiting eagerly for his crown prince to be born. But after 9 months, his wife gave birth to yet a third baby girl. Having been disappointed twice before that, Green's father did not accept this shocking outcome and he did everything in his power to convince himself that this baby girl is indeed the boy he has been waiting for. And as "his boy", he would take her with him when he goes to hang out with his male friends, he would pick up her boyish outfits himself, and he would even talk to her like one of his buddies to the extent of sending her pictures of hot girls.  

Nicole began exploring her sexuality at a young age. By the time she was twelve, she had her first kiss with her best friend, but decided to ignore her feelings and deny them. At that time, awareness was not available, so nothing related to that kiss felt normal. She eventually decided to move on and forget that incident. 

Sonia, 62 years old, lives alone in Broumana, without any friends, people there avoid her, harass her and insult her from time to time. Sonia says that she knows some homosexuals who live there, but they avoid her every time she runs into them, as if they don’t know her. Sonia adds: “I don’t know why people are afraid of trans, while they accept homosexuals more than they accept us”.  

For years, most women with disabilities have lost the opportunity to integrate into the Lebanese society. When they apply for jobs, no one is interested in exploring their real capacities in working and being productive. Moreover, they are often subjected to prejudice, as indicated by one of the workers in the kitchen, based on their disability, which requires them to perform fewer tasks and be paid a lower salary compared to other workers.

I was always invited to audition for acting in soap operas and films in Lebanon. However, once the directors noticed my leg and the device that I use, they would become evasive. I have one leg shorter than the other as I was born with a condition called “Limb Length Discrepancy”. Two years ago, I started suffering from osteoporosis, and became unable to use the device, thus, I started using a wheelchair.  

I thought marriage would save me from my family, especially from my brother, who denied me my right to study, work, and communicate with the outside world, because I am a girl, and in his opinion, girls should stay home. Every time I revolted against his approach, he would beat me up.