Dec 9th, 2008
Moving against Violence against Women
O ye lovers of God! In this, the cycle of Almighty God, violence and force, constraint and oppression, are one and all condemned. Baha’u'llah, Baha’i writings
A quarter of the women and girls reading this blog have been subjected - or are being subjected - to some kind of abuse or violence.
A quarter of the women not reading this blog have been subjected - or are being subjected - to some kind of abuse or violence.
So, altogether, about 850,000,000 women and girls.
Some say it is third of all women, more like 1,100,000,000.
On 25 November, 5,066,549 signatures of people saying `NO’ to violence against women were handed over by UNIFEM to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. That is, about .07 per cent of all people have said that they are opposed to violence against women.
Do we take this issue seriously?
Several of the people who signed up to oppose violence against women were at the Baha’i national centre tonight. Along with one women who, bravely, explained that she herself had been the subject of violence at the hand of a spouse
We are towards the end of the 16 days of activism to eradicate violence against women. Tonight, as their contribution to the campaign, the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom hosted a reception highlighting the Bahá’í International Community’s statement `Beyond Legal Reforms: Culture and Capacity in the Eradication of Violence Against Women and Girls’.
President of the United Kingdom National Committee for UNIFEM, Zarin Hainsworth Fadaei, presented the brief but powerful document, which focuses on the need not just for legal and institutional reform - necessary as this is - but also on the `deep-rooted changes needed to create a culture where justice and equality prevail over the impetuousness of authoritarian power and physical force’, the `inner, ethical and moral dimension’ that `provides the surest foundation for values and behaviour which raise up women and girls’ and `promote the advancement of all of humankind’.
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, the Leader of the House of Lords, congratulated the Bahá’ís on their thoughtful and thought-provoking publication. She gave an account of what the British government is doing to tackle this issue, pointing out that, just as the Baha’i document stated, legislation is not the only way forward. For example, she said, there is British legislation against female genital mutilation (FGM); on the other hand there have been no convictions. Early in the next year the government is launching a consultation on violence against women, intended to sharpen the focus on the issue.
Baroness Gould, chair of the Women’s National Commission, also applauded the Baha’i statement, particularly its grasp of the complexity and interconnectedness of the issues. She said that there were enough laws - what was needed now was to put all the laws into action.
Most important is our own response. It is we, the people, who need to change the way in which we deal with one another. We have to create an environment in which violence against women, girls, children, anyone, is completely unacceptable and the perpetrators punished.
A quarter of the women and girls reading this blog have been subjected - or are being subjected - to some kind of abuse or violence.
A quarter of the women not reading this blog have been subjected - or are being subjected - to some kind of abuse or violence.
This is something we can do something about.
A quarter of the women and girls reading this blog have been subjected - or are being subjected - to some kind of abuse or violence.
A quarter of the women not reading this blog have been subjected - or are being subjected - to some kind of abuse or violence.
If this is you, tell someone. Now. Seek help. Now. Here.
If this is your sister, your daughter, your mother, your friend, your neighbour, your boss, your work colleague, your teacher, your student - tell them you know. Get them to seek help now. Send them this link.
Stop violence against women and girls. Now.
Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, Baha’u'llah, 16 days of activism, violence against women, Baroness Royall, Baroness Gould, women’s aid, UNIFEM, UNIFEM-UK