JIWAR is a pioneering initiative that strives towards breaking taboos and stigmas regarding sexual education by building sexual awareness through activities that develop a better understanding of the topic of sexuality and methods of preventing sexual diseases. Consisting of Fabienne Semaan, Ahmad Ghosn, and Kaila Maccise, this team of 3 dared to take the initiative and participated in INJAZ Lebanon’s TAQA program, which is part of the Generation of Innovation Leaders (GIL) program, powered by UNICEF Lebanon and funded by the Kingdom of Netherlands, and won monetary aid to help them bring their idea to life and kick-start their program.

”Sexual education isn’t simply a right, but a duty to be educated in the matters of sexual health and awareness. It is our duty towards our physical and mental well-being to know how to deal with ourselves and how to deal with others who might be facing sex-related health issues and other obstacles,” explains JIWAR

JIWAR specializes in providing help on how to combat STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and giving workshops to youth at school on the importance of sexual education, in addition to managing age-appropriate activities and lessons that nurture an in-depth understanding of sexuality, preparing the youth for the changes they will encounter during puberty. ”‘The best cure is to not get sick.’ With that being said, JIWAR sees that educating children on sexual health is the best way to protect children from sexual problems they might face in their adolescent years. We aim to do this by conducting workshops and sessions on mental and sexual health at educational institutions in Lebanon; lecturing youngsters on the physical changes they will be passing through and preparing them to welcome and deal with these changes,” quotes Ahmad from JIWAR.

JIWAR participated in the TAQA program and amazed the jury with their groundbreaking initiative, making a huge leap towards a more advanced, stigma-free educational system.

”INJAZ Lebanon has provided us with two types of support in order to achieve our goal: the first is on the structural and planning level by helping us build a clear business model, and the second is on the financial level by providing an operational grant.”

JIWAR told us that they’ve been accused of following a certain agenda or attacking personal beliefs and societal norms as they delve into this ‘’taboo’’ topic. However, they made it clear that they were not trying to alter anyone’s personal convictions and beliefs, but provide information and simply educate the community on sexual health. “Some have suspected that we belong to certain sexual or cultural movements, but we have faced this by insisting that we are an educational and informative platform that has no other goal but to remove the ignorance surrounding this topic,” adds Ahmad.

JIWAR is currently providing their workshops mainly in North Lebanon. Nonetheless, they hope to expand their field of work to encompass the whole 10452m2 and further Arab countries. Although this topic remains surrounded by foggy ignorance and is met by refusal from a large slice of society, JIWAR has managed to find hope in chaos and is thriving with their ability to touch people’s lives and spread knowledge regarding this topic that is often shrouded by a veil of taboo and stigma. INJAZ Lebanon is confident in these youth’s ability to make an impact on the whole society and benefit the whole community! 

INJAZ Lebanon has its fingers crossed as it wishes JIWAR the best of luck in its fight against the stigmatization of the normal. Lastly, INJAZ Lebanon would also like to express its sincerest gratitude to its sponsors and beneficiaries, especially UNICEF Lebanon and the Kingdom of Netherlands for providing a voice for Lebanese startups such as JIWAR to truly portray their messages to a wider horizon.

To get in touch with JIWAR, drop their Instagram page a follow @jiwar.lb and keep an eye on for their updates.