#16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence – 25th November – 10 December (annually)

Wednesday 25 November 2020 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and marks the first day  of the 16 Days of Activism.

The 16 days begins with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and ends with International Human Rights Day on 10 December– highlighting that violence against women is a fundamental violation of human rights.

Where this all started…..  On 25 November 1960, sisters Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal, three political activists who actively opposed the cruelty and systematic violence of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, were clubbed to death and dumped at the bottom of a cliff by Trujillo’s secret police.

The Mirabal sisters became symbols of the feminist resistance, and in commemoration of their deaths 25 November was declared International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Latin America in 1980. This international day was formally recognised by the United Nations in 1999.

In June 1991, the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), alongside participants of the first Women’s Global Institute on Women, Violence and Human Rights, called for a global campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

During the 16 Days of Activism, people around the world will unite to raise awareness about gender-based violence, challenge discriminatory attitudes and call for improved laws and services to end violence against women for good.

Meet some of our members – Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre

Shirkat Gah is a women’s rights organisation based in Lahore, Pakistan, and acts as the regional office (RCO-Asia) of the international network Women Living Under Muslim Laws. It has provided support to women who have been subjected to forced marriages and has organised and campaigned around cases of ‘honour killings’ of women. It has also documented customary practices, including ‘honour crimes’, which result in violence against women throughout Pakistan. Shirkat Gah also has legal advice centres, researchers on health/reproductive rights, as well as VAW and equality under the law. Note: there are offices also in Karachi and Peshawar, but the Lahore office houses the WLUML RCO-Asia. Karachi and Lahore have resource collections, legal advisers, and research / campaigning programme, and publications. The Peshawar office is currently scaled back and has a separate email address.

 

For more information click here

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