Nohad’s husband had not left her any choice, he told her ten years ago: "It's either me or the job". Convinced that work is a means to bolster her blossoming, this 45-year-old woman asserts: "I was willing to give up my marriage in order to fulfil myself''. By dint of patience and persuasion, and assisted by the dire economic situation, Nohad is now working in Shatila. She is the mother of three children… and is still married. She does not represent an isolated case. "Fortunately, more and more women have now the courage to face up to their husbands who are always reluctant to see their wives pursue professional activities by fear of "what people will say", of the independence they might attain and of other men’s opinion of them ", she says.

But such considerations are currently superseded by unemployment rates in the camps which have reached record levels; they are out of date, now that the camps have not been spared by the demographic disparity that is raging in Lebanon and that, like everywhere, mentalities are gradually changing thanks to the impact of media and time. The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), - Note thwhich promotes the continuation of university education through grants, has registered an increase in the number of young female students. Each year, more women are working and men are hardly ever refusing their financial contribution which has become vital under current economic pressures. At present, men and women in the camps equally face the professional restrictions that Palestinians suffer from as well as the shortage in employment opportunities within the camps.Theoretically, men have a wider range of choices, and opportunities are more limited for women. In recent years, the number of associations and NGOs has increased in an attempt to overcome the weaknesses of a system in which women and children are the major forgotten parts.