UN women rallies on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

United Nations is observing multiple events worldwide, such as marches, art competitions, cycling rallies, and marathons activities for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence starting from November 25 which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The event is commemorated under the umbrella of the Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women. This year's theme color is orange to symbolize hope and a brighter future without violence against women: “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands against Rape!”. It highlights the need to end the “rape culture” that is entrenched in our society. Iconic buildings, including the Magistrate Court of Zimbabwe, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, the Parliament House of Pakistan will be lit in orange to mark the move. The Manneken Pis in Brussels, Belgium, will also be dressed in orange.

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UN organises an event

Prominent speakers and musical performances calling on preventing and ending violence against women and girls will be part of an event at the UN Headquarters in New York on 25 November. The dignitaries include Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, United Nations Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Pramila Patten, Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director, Susannah Grant, Executive Producer, Writer, Director and Showrunner of “Unbelievable” the Netflix limited series; Ajna Jusic, President of the Association “Forgotten Children of War” from Bosnia and Herzegovina; and photographer Jonathan Torgovnik. Two grantees of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund), Chinyere Eyoh and Karen Naimer will represent the expertise on the event.

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The world stands against violence with women

Apart from this, murals will be painted on the streets illustrating empowered women and depicting positive gender relations in Malawi. Likewise, classes on personal safety to interrupt and de-escalate violence using different tools including Aikido martial art will be organised with students of universities and high-schools in Albania. An exhibition of films created by Latin American women followed by live debates will be organised in Honduras. In Ankara (Turkey), a lightning installation featuring twelve artists will be conducted at the Seğmenler Park to ‘light the dark’, and hundreds of trees will be planted in Cambodia. Moreover, this year also marks the first-ever grantee Convention of the UN Trust Fund, which took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, from 4-7 November 2019. About 150 participants from civil society organisations, government partners and the private sector, discussed implementing around 100 projects around the world to reflect and strategise on ending violence against women.

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