Bahia Baalbaky: A pioneering activist in the Secondary Schools Teachers’ Association
Bahia Baalbaky’s activism started taking shape upon the 1967 resignation of the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the ideologue of Arab nationalism. Baalbaky took part in a protest against his resignation in a popular march in Beirut, making it her first participation in a public protest 1. She has been actively advocating for women’s rights ever since, continuing to do so even after she became a member of the Secondary Schools’ Teachers Association in 1979. Major causes she advocated for include equal working conditions for men and women working in the public sector, and equalising men and women with regards to state benefits. In 2014, she was elected as a member of the executive board of the Teachers Association for two consecutive terms. She is currently the Head of Educational Affairs Committee in Public Secondary Schools’ Teachers of Lebanon (LPESPL). She is also one of the founders of the Independent Syndicate Current, an independent platform that represents the interests of secondary school teachers.