Melissa Tabeek

Melissa Tabeek is a freelance journalist currently based in Beirut. She reports on politics, culture and social issues in the Middle East. She holds an MA in journalism from Northeastern University.

Lebanon | Mar 14, 2015

Female artisans carry on family tradition

Craftswomen in Lebanon are eager to carry on family traditions, although they lack government support.

Lebanon | Mar 13, 2015

Female DJs find the beat in Beirut

Beirut's female DJs are multiplying in the city's clubs, bringing their own unique sounds to a scene once dominated by males.

Lebanon | Mar 12, 2015

Lebanese women feel inner beauty not enough

Beauty standards in Lebanon have increased pressure on women and men alike, from all ages, to undergo cosmetic surgeries and other forms of enhancement.

Sally Greige (C), 24, poses for photos after being crowned Miss Lebanon 2014 in Beirut on October 5, 2014. AFP PHOTO/ANWAR AMRO (Photo credit should read ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images)

Lebanon | Jan 28, 2015

Beirut libraries struggle with funding

Beirut's public libraries are trying to draw in new clientele in an age where Lebanese social services are vanishing.

Lebanon | Jan 7, 2015

Refugee, Lebanese women forge friendships

A project to produce mouneh, the traditional processing of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs into jarred preserves, is bringing Lebanese women together with Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Lebanon | Dec 3, 2014

Lebanon's bittersweet expertise in prosthetics helps amputees

As a result of past conflicts in Lebanon, organizations and government ministries have created a prosthetics sector that continues to advance and using its knowledge to assist not only Lebanese, but also Syrian refugee victims of war and those with congenital disabilities.

Ahmad Sadek, a 13-year-old Syrian boy, receives medical treatment from a nurse in a government hospital in Tripoli, North Lebanon June 4, 2012. According to hospital officials, Ahmad was wounded four days ago during shelling by government forces in the town of Qusair in Syria. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR332UZ

Lebanon | Nov 7, 2014

Lebanon's migrant workers find comfort in drama

Producer and director Zeina Daccache’s drama therapy program, Catharsis, offers Lebanon’s migrant workers and other disadvantaged populations a way to connect with each other and a rare outlet for self-expression.

Lebanon | Jun 16, 2014

A dream come true: Beirut boy meets Spider-Man

The nonprofit organization Tamanna makes wishes come true for severely ill children in Lebanon, offering them and their families something to smile about and a respite from illness.

Lebanon | May 29, 2014

Beirut's shoeshine boys

Part of an estimated 180,000 child laborers in Lebanon, shoeshine boys, many of them from Syria, face a hard life on Beirut's streets.

Lebanon | May 27, 2014

Lebanese forego expensive weddings, marry abroad

Internal political crises and regional unrest have led to an economic decline in Lebanon, pushing many couples to cease organizing the large and elaborate weddings that have become common in recent years.