A photo of journalist Zeinab Yassine during her coverage of the war in South Lebanon for Télé-Liban. Photo taken from her social media.
For several days, Tele-Liban has been at the center of a growing controversy, both on social media and in the press, over the resignation of journalist Zeinab Yassine.
On April 2, Yassine posted her resignation letter on X. The letter, dated March 13 and addressed to caretaker Information Minister Paul Morcos, denounced the state-run television channel’s refusal to permanently allow her on air because she wears a hijab (headscarf). In her letter, she said it had been “an honor to be the first veiled woman to appear on the national channel,” referring to her on-the-ground coverage of the war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Yassine was initially hired by Tele-Liban to work in the channel’s social media department. After the conflict erupted on Oct. 8, 2023, she said she “volunteered” to cover the war on location. “There was a staff shortage for ground coverage, so we allowed Zeinab to do it and appear on air,” Tele-Liban Editor-in-Chief Nada Saliba told L’Orient-Le Jour.
But after the cease-fire took effect on Nov. 27, 2024, Yassine was asked to return to her original social media position. She instead requested to join the editorial team to continue field reporting — a request that was denied.
No religious symbols on air
The reason, according to Saliba, was Tele-Liban’s internal regulations barring religious symbols on air. “This rule has been in place since the station’s creation,” she said, citing past cases involving both Muslim and Christian journalists who were told to remove visible religious items, such as headscarves or crosses. “A headscarf is as prohibited as a cross around the neck,” she said.
But Yassine rejected that reasoning. “The veil is not a religious symbol — it’s a garment,” she said, questioning whether, by the same logic, someone named Pierre or Fatima would have to change their name to appear on air. “It’s discrimination against my veil,” she said, calling it a “double standard.”
Meeting with the minister
Yassine said she made her resignation public to prompt a meeting with the information minister — a meeting that has yet to happen, she added. As the case drew more attention online, she said she was offered a job at Radio-Liban. “I declined because they still want me behind the scenes, not on air,” she said.
Both Saliba and Yassine are awaiting the formation of a new board of directors at Tele-Liban, which could decide whether to change the channel’s internal policy. The rule has come under fire on social media, where users have pointed to cases of Tele-Liban presenters appearing on screen wearing Christian crosses.
Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, the minister declined to comment. However, at the close of Friday’s Cabinet meeting, he stated that “this issue is outside the scope of discussion for the Cabinet meeting” and will instead be referred to the new board of directors.
“We will form [the board] as soon as possible,” he said, “so there is proper management of this institution capable of examining strategic and fundamental issues.”
