Mother of three Raya Haffar Hassan cracked Lebanon's male-dominated political spectrum last week when she was appointed finance minister, the first time for a woman to land such a top job. Activists say the appointment of Hassan and State Minister Mona Afeish in the new 30-member national unity government unveiled on November 9 is a welcome step, but remains a mere "crack in the political glass ceiling."

The US-educated Raya Haffar Hassan, who has an MBA from George Washington University, was selected by Prime Minister Saad Hariri while Mona Afeish, an attorney and civil society activist, was named by President Michel Sleiman. "The glass ceiling? I guess you could say it's cracked," said Aman Kabbara Shaarani, who heads the Lebanese Council of Women, an umbrella group of several organisations. "Prime Minister Saad Hariri took a good step by appointing two women to his cabinet, but this is far from enough," she told AFP. 

Lebanon prides itself as a pioneer of women's liberation in the Arab world but it still lags behind some of its more conservative neighbours and only four women have seats in the 128-strong parliament.
In government, female representation fares poorly as well. The first woman to be appointed to a government was the daughter of Lebanon's first prime minister Riad Solh, Leila Solh Hamadeh, who served as industry minister from 2004 to 2005. "We would have hoped women to get at least 30 percent representation in government, especially since women accounted for 53 percent of all ballots cast in our elections last June," Shaarani said. "Unfortunately in this country, qualified women do not reach high-level posts because political shares are divided among men and along sectarian lines," she added.
"But our two new female ministers are highly qualified, so it's a step forward in terms of quality at least."
Hassan is no newcomer to the world of finance. She has contributed to the establishment of assistance programmes in Lebanon set up by the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. 

Since 2003, the 42-year-old mother has worked with three former prime ministers on financial policies and says she is ready, and capable, of tackling challenges that lay ahead. "It's a very challenging opportunity, and I understand that very well," Hassan told AFP. "But I think being a woman, we have the ability to withstand a lot of pressure." "I intend to use diplomatic demeanour and calm to argue my points within the cabinet and namely when it comes to setting the national budget," she said.
The task will be tough: although Lebanon has largely ducked the global economic crisis, the national debt is expected to top 50 billion dollars this year. 

Most of the debt was incurred during the massive reconstruction after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war led by Saad Hariri's father Rafiq Hariri, a five-time prime minister who was assassinated in 2005. Hassan also enters a national debate on whether to privatise the country's extortionate telecoms sector and the money-draining electricity sector, the government's third largest expenditure after debt servicing and salaries. Her detractors deride her as a muse of the Hariri era, and the pro-opposition daily Al-Akhbar has dubbed her the "golden child of Hariri's financial policy." 

The US- and Saudi-backed Hariri announced the new cabinet line-up after nearly five months of tough negotiations with his rivals in the Iran- and Syria-backed Hezbollah-led opposition. Hariri got the lions's share, with 15 ministries given to his alliance, while the opposition is represented by 10 ministers.
President Sleiman, who plays the role of arbiter, appointed the remaining five ministers.