BEIRUT — “The people want the downfall of the regime,” two young women chanted as they stood next to razor wire facing riot police in Beirut’s Riad el-Solh square under the gaze of the Prime Minister’s Palace.

Since the start of Lebanon's protests Oct. 17, women have been on the front lines acting as a buffer between protesters and security forces as well as leading many chants against the Lebanese government. 

For Zeina Haidamous, the protests have given her hope and a sense of empowerment. She has been on the streets of Beirut nearly every day, even after she had to get stitches after she got hit in the face by a rock on the second day of demonstrations.

"Even after the rock hit me on the face, I wanted to be there," Haidamous told Al-Monitor. "But as I was bleeding, I had to go to the hospital to get stitches. The next day I wanted to go down [to the protests], but they wouldn’t let me, my friends and family. So, Saturday I was at home, but Sunday I went back down, and I stood with the men and women on the front line, with the women actually, on the front lines between the protesters and the army. I felt no fear at all. This is something that had to be done and I was ready to do it without thinking and without hesitation. Every time that they yelled that they need the women in front, all the women there were eager to make a stand and protect both the protesters and the military against any clash because we want a peaceful protest.”