Libyan women complain: Where do we spend our summer vacation?

Mahmoud Rafidah-Tripoli

At the start of the summer vacation, Bushra faces a problem in finding a park for women in Libya to spend his annual vacation days with her four young children.

Bushra, who lives in Tripoli, says that "some public parks are mixed and we do not take our rest in the summer, where we feel constrained by a difficult situation in specific places we repeat."

But she confirms that she has not yet felt comfortable in the holiday period, especially after the delays of examinations of two of her children, in addition to the ongoing armed clashes on the outskirts of the capital Tripoli.

"We are eagerly awaiting the end of the fighting in the outskirts of Tripoli because we no longer think where we spend our holidays more than we think about the end of the war and the return of life to the capital to reassure our people and our children," Bushra told Al Jazeera Net.

No place for us!
When we contacted journalist Lamia Sheblan to ask about where women spend their annual holidays during the summer, she smiled and said, "Where are the places we can go?" She replied with sorrow, "Unfortunately, women have no places to go in Libya."

"With the exception of cafes known to visit families, there is nowhere to go on vacation. The sea is not suitable for swimming at the moment, and if we want to go to summer we have to go to Sabratha or Ghanima or the five summer resorts outside Tripoli, or travel outside Libya."

Lamia complains about the phenomenon of teenage youths harassing girls and women in public, even those for families. The lack of a suitable place for women only to walk away from harassment and harassment has made girls stay home even in the summer.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Lamia calls on the government of Al Wefaq and the competent authorities in the state to provide parks and summer resorts for women only during the summer in order to spend their annual leave.

Private Recreation
The Children's Land Park opens daily from 4 pm local time. The park, which is dedicated to women and children, confirms that there is a huge demand from Libyan families looking for an outlet after the pressure of study and exams, both for students and those wishing to hold family parties outdoors. With some games for kids.

"The park is for women and children," said park owner Ahmed Hadaqah. "Girls from kindergarten and schools, including secondary schools, visit it to play, enjoy and spend the summer vacation."

He denied any state support since the park was established, and tells Al Jazeera Net that "the state has never helped us in anything, but on the contrary, when we asked for high power from electricity or we operated on two power lines they refused, and the main water line does not reach us, and we are working on Abyar is our own water supply for the park. "

"We encourage the creation of new parks like this park, although they require integrated equipment. The park's presidents are supposed to take into account the financial situation of the head of household because some of the parks are relatively expensive."

Hadaqa asserts that the park receives daily numbers of women from areas adjacent to Misrata such as Zliten, Bani Walid, Sahel and Sirte, where the city's parks are popular among other cities.