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Stopping the Violence against Women

 

Stopping the Violence against Women : 16 days of Activism 2008
On November 25, 1960 in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic, three of the Mirabal sisters, Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa were brutally murdered. The Mirabal sisters - “Las Mariposas (the Butterflies)” -were political activists and highly visible symbols of resistance to Trujillo’s dictatorship. Strangled by Trujillo’s secret police and thrown over a ravine, the sisters have become symbols of both popular and feminist activism. November 25th marks the launch of the 16 day campaign.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women, and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a human rights violation. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates, including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.
 
CARE Nepal: Stopping the Violence
CARE Nepal recognizes violence against women and girls as the result of unequal power relations between women and men, hence it seeks to address systemic, structural and policy related cause of social injustice through its programs and policies. Its programs focus on women’s rights and the elimination of discrimination against them. CARE Nepal supports activities which include: increasing state accountability, capacity building, advocacy and public awareness. It promotes women’s decision making ca­pabilities in influencing and implementing policies at all levels.
Over the last few years, in partnership with various organizations, CARE Nepal has been commemorating 16 Days of activism to end gender based violence by organizing multifaceted campaigns involving women rights ac­tivist, political parties, legislators, journalists and governments from the grass root to national level. This newsletter attempts to highlight the vari­ous activities undertaken on the occasion of 17th International 16 days Violence Against Women (VAW) from November 25 –December 10 by CARE Nepal.
 
What is violence against women?
Violence against women is a pervasive human rights violation, a public health crisis, and an obstacle to equality, development, security and peace. The terms “violence against women” and “gender-based violence” are used to refer to a range of abuses committed against women that stem from gender inequality and women’s subordinate status in society relative to men. In 1993, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defined violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”
 
 
Women’s rights within the Human Rights Framework
 The human rights framework asserts that women are entitled to the protection, promotion and fulfillment of their human rights as one half of humanity. The framework provides important language and tools to “define, analyze, and articulate women’s experiences of violation and to demand redress in ways already recognized by the international community.”   Abuses against women can no longer be relegated to the so-called “private” sphere, and accountability is demanded of States to uphold commitments to women’s human rights made in a number of treaties and international documents within the United Nations system.
The human rights framework can be described in seven principles :
  1. Dignity: The core basis of human rights is the protection and promotion of human dignity.
  2. Universality: Universality means that governments and communities should uphold certain moral and ethical values that cut across all regions of the world. 
  3. Equality and non-discrimination: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international human rights documents afford the same rights and responsibilities equally to all women and men, all girls and boys, by virtue of their humanity regardless of any role or relationship they may have. 
  4. Indivisibility: Women’s rights should be addressed as an indivisible body, including political, social, economic, cultural and collective rights. 
  5. Interconnectedness: Human rights concerns appear in all spheres of life – home, school, workplace, elections, court, etc. Violations of human rights are interconnected; loss of human rights in one area may mean loss in another.
  6. Government responsibility: Human rights are not gifts bestowed at the pleasure of governments. Nor should governments withhold them or apply them to some people, but not to others. When they do so, they must be held accountable.
  7. Private responsibility: Governments are not the only perpetrators of human rights violations against women. Corporations and private individuals should also be held accountable; cultural mores and social traditions that subordinate women should be challenged.
 
International human rights treaties and declarations created within the United Nations that address violence against women and require States to take action include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1979), Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW, 1993), Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute, 1998), Millennium Declaration (2000) and Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (2000), among others.
 
Women Empowerment for Transformation in Churia (SAKCHAM)
The Women Empowerment for Transformation in Churia (SAKCHAM) project successfully organized, coordinated and facilitated various interaction programs, rallies, press conferences, and street plays at the local level in its working districts of Mahottari, Sarlahi, Makwanpur, and Chitwan. It mobilized various networks and women’s rights forums while working actively with its implementation partners Kalika Samudayik Mahila Bikash Kendra in Chitwan, Gramin Mahila Sewa Kendra in Makwanpur and Bal Samrakshan Kendra in Sarlahi. In and through its various activities, it was able to garner the support and participation of government officials, women rights activist, political parties, and journalists in advancing women’s rights and ending violence.
 
Gender and Peace Building Project (SAHABHAGITA)
The SAGHABHAGITA project, in partnership with women’s rights forums, NGOs, and Women Development Offices, coordinated various activities in the far and mid western regions of Nepal. The activities included interactions on women’ rights, orientation programs on UNSCR 1325, mass rallies and local folk song competitions. The objective of all the activities was to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and speak out against domestic violence.
The folk song competition alone drew the interest of twenty groups from 10 districts. Over all, during the course of the entire program a total of 4,798 community members, including 2901 women, participated in the program which covered the districts of Surkhet, Kailali, Bardiya, Banke, Dang, Doti, Accham and Kanchanpur.