Detective Sarah Aghnatios at her desk in Ras Beirut police station, on March 5, 2026. (Credit: Renee Robledo-Davis/L'Orient Today)
After 25 years inside Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF), Colonel Diala al Mohtar has reached a position few women before her ever had. She became the first female colonel in the ISF in 2022. She helped lead the institution’s first gender audit. She contributed to proposals aimed at strengthening protections against harassment and discrimination.Yet when she looks back at her career, one small detail still makes her laugh. "I deserve my own private bathroom," she said.Colonel Diala Mohtar, in her office at ISF headquarters on March 5, 2026. (Credit: Renee Robledo-Davis/L'Orient Today) The comment captures the contradiction facing women who have entered Lebanon’s security forces over the past two decades: the doors have opened, but many say the institutions behind them were not designed with women in mind. Today,...
After 25 years inside Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF), Colonel Diala al Mohtar has reached a position few women before her ever had. She became the first female colonel in the ISF in 2022. She helped lead the institution’s first gender audit. She contributed to proposals aimed at strengthening protections against harassment and discrimination.Yet when she looks back at her career, one small detail still makes her laugh. "I deserve my own private bathroom," she said.Colonel Diala Mohtar, in her office at ISF headquarters on March 5, 2026. (Credit: Renee Robledo-Davis/L'Orient Today) The comment captures the contradiction facing women who have entered Lebanon’s security forces over the past two decades: the doors have opened, but many say the institutions behind them were not designed with women in mind....
South Lebanon: Uneasy calm follows Israeli artillery fire, explosions in border villages
