Jocelyne Khoueiry (15 August 1955 – 31 July 2020) was a Lebanese female militant of the Kataeb Party and an activist during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

Biography

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

Christian, Khoueiry was active in the

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party ( ar, حزب الكتائب اللبنانية '), also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the lat ...

. During the Civil War, the Christian militia fought against the

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

fighters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). On 7 May 1976, she defended a building overlooking Martyr's Square in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

alongside six other girls against 300 Palestinian fighters. Khoueiry killed their leader, causing the militia to panic and flee following a six-hour span. An image of Khoueiry received worldwide attention. Khoueiry led up to 1,000 combatants under her orders. The number of women reached 1,500 in 1983. She laid down her arms in 1986. In 1988, Lebanese filmmaker

Jocelyne Saab Jocelyne Saab (30 April 1948 – 7 January 2019) was a Lebanese journalist and film director. She is recognized as one of the pioneers of Lebanese cinema. A reporter, photographer, scriptwriter, producer, director, artist and founder of the Cult ...

made a film about Khoueiry. The film, broadcast on Canal+, was titled ''La Tueuse'' and reports on her passage of faith during the Lebanese Civil War. She founded three associations: La Libanaise 31 mai, Oui à la Vie" and the Centre Jean-Paul II. In 2012, she participated in a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

on the Middle East. In 2014, she participated in the

Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops The Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the first of two synods popularly referred to as the Synod on the Family, was held in Vatican City on 5–19 October 2014 on the topic of Pastoral Challenges of the Family in th ...

and was appointed to the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

. Jocelyne Khoueiry died in Jbeil on 31 July 2020 at the age of 64.

References

20th-century Lebanese women 21st-century Lebanese women 2020 deaths Kataeb Party politicians 1955 births Lebanese Maronites {{Lebanon-bio-stub People of the Lebanese Civil War

Biography

See also

References