Libyan women make history in new government
Although Libya's Government of National Unity breaks ground by naming women as justice and foreign ministers, women are still underrepresented in the interim Cabinet.
Hanan al-Barassi, a well-known lawyer and activist, was gunned down on a busy street in downtown Benghazi on Nov. 10. Famous for her anti-corruption activism, al-Barassi — nicknamed Granny of Burga — gained prominence for her video clips published on YouTube criticizing government corruption and defending women.
No one has been held accountable nearly five months after her murder, and her case is not the only one left unsolved. A source in Benghazi’s police department speaking anonymously told Al-Monitor in a phone interview, “This case is closed without anyone being charged.” When pressed on whether there is a suspect, he said, “I cannot say anything else.”
Siham Sergewa, an outspoken parliamentarian from Benghazi, was violently snatched from her home on July 17, 2019. Nothing has been heard from her since. It remains unclear if she is still alive. Amnesty International thinks General Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army (LNA) is ultimately responsible, being the de facto authority in large swaths of Libya, including Benghazi.
On the night before her abduction, Sergewa took part via phone in a TV talk show in the midst of LNA’s military offensive on Tripoli. In that interview, she expressed her opposition to the military attack on the capital. That offensive ended in June 2020 when the LNA was defeated and pushed back. Two days after her disappearance, the LNA denied responsibility and ordered an investigation that so far has produced no answers.
