A simple “kasra” accent was used to inspire Lebanese women to bring about gender equality in society.

The client, The Hariri Foundation, wanted to address the imbalance of gender roles in Lebanese society through their “Women Empowerment Program”, by raising awareness on women's status and rights in Lebanon and incorporating gender equality in the social culture.

The integrated campaign demonstrated how all men and women read words as being automatically addressed to men. The “kasra” accents on revealers twisted their meanings. To reach the whole country geographically and all women demographically, a moving interactive billboard as well as posters were set up, whilst stickers were distributed, in rural and upscale areas on the streets of Lebanon throughout November, to engage the public and physically get them involved. The campaign also hit the digital circuit, through emails, YouTube, and Facebook, reaching the Lebanese internet population, who found the forum an outlet for their opinions. On the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8, 2009), TV personalities were contacted to wear the “kasra” on air and endorse the campaign during that week. As the highlight of the campaign, during a filmed event, the Minister of Education distributed stickers and encouraged prominent women in society to get metaphorically involved with the interactive billboard as well as literally involved on the ground.

With increased buzz and the heightened interest of reporters, the campaign enjoyed substantial share of newspaper and magazine coverage with articles appearing in major regional publications. The result was a total estimated PR value of $1,814,235. Bloggers online adopted the campaign. Articles appeared in the press. It became the talk of the town and many adopted the “Khede Kasra” phrase in their everyday conversations. The campaign sparked debates and roundtables about female regulations in the Lebanese judicial system. All in all, awareness on gender inequality was spread.

The agency chose to tackle gender inequality in the Arabic language. Spoken and written words in the media which would otherwise be addressed to men by default, were altered with a “kasra” accent, making them addressed to women. This was extremely relevant to the client which had been heavily researching the depiction of women in the media. With a call for action line that encouraged women to “make your mark”, the target audience that included every Lebanese woman from every possible demographic, was inspired by such a simple idea. The meaning behind literally changing the word empowered them to actually change their reality with their own hands. Knowing that the Lebanese watch a lot of television, their favorite shows were used as yet another channel to communicate the campaign.

Lebanese women cannot give their nationality to their children if married to a foreigner. Lebanese women automatically lose custody of their children above 9 years of age in any divorce battle. Domestic violence against women is widespread. Lebanese women need to actively participate in society and stand up for themselves. We designed a campaign that would help to raise awareness about the inequalities and disadvantages suffered by women that would hopefully lead to widespread cultural reform.