WUNRN
Dr. Massouda Jalal
Founding President of Jalal Foundation
and
Minister of Women of the Islamic Republic
of Afghanistan, 2004 to 2006
One
Billion Rising against VAW:
Linking
footprints forward!
As the world kicks off
this year’s observance of the 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence against
Women (VAW), Jalal Foundation urges everyone to take another step forward to
advance the aims of One Billion Rising
against VAW! With One Billion Rising, we already have the
number; we just need to produce meaningful results.
One act to stop VAW today
by one billion individuals across the globe will go a long way in ending
gender-based violence. The latest study
of the United Nations in Asia-Pacific[1][1] showed that 72 to 97 percent of those who committed rape did not
face legal consequences and 80 percent of them were driven by an assumption
that they are entitled to sexual gratification with or without a woman’s
consent. It is clear that poor
administration of justice and a belief system that condones VAW are two of the
factors that we need to collectively prioritize. Jail the perpetrators but invest in the
transformation of their belief systems so that they may cease to be a threat to
women and girls around them. Educate the next generation to respect the rights
of women but support the justice system as well so that they may have the
capacity to prosecute, punish and reform the value system of offenders.
On this day, Jalal
Foundation honors the many organizations and individuals who continue to stop
violence against women. Countless numbers of survivors have been helped, social
services have been improved and expanded, policy and legal instruments have
been adopted or strengthened, males have increasingly been playing active
roles, and resources continue to be generated to sustain the war against VAW.
All these must continue. And while all remedial measures must be sustained, we
should never miss the preventive aspects of negative behavior and cultural
beliefs and practices that sustain gender-based violence.
We pay homage to the many
victims and defenders of women’s rights whose lives were sacrificed in our
struggle against VAW. We call for
support to VAW survivors who boldly stepped out of their violent relationships
and are now facing economic and social challenges to feed and educate their
children. We strongly condemn members of
the police and justice system who makes it difficult for survivors to prosecute
their offenders and call for their dismissal from service. We call upon
governments, political parties, labor organizations, religious institutions,
and other organizations to make elimination of violence a standing priority in
their programming and budgeting. Most of all, we call upon all educational
institutions and girls organizations to train women and girls to protect themselves
from situations, relationships, and people who could potentially harm
them.
Today, let the world know
that Afghan women’s optimism is being overshadowed by dark prospects beyond the
departure of international security forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
The Taliban is back, it is positioning fundamentalists in strategic government
bodies, and the clawing back of gains on women’s rights has started. The
Afghanistan’s decree on the elimination of violence against women, labeled by
fundamentalists as un-Islamic, is now stalled in the Parliament and faces the
threat of being watered down. We already lost the quota provision for women in
the national election law. And VAW
incidents have been increasing with no improvements in the preventive, remedial
and punitive systems.
This day is a moment of
celebration and a chance to strengthen our collective resolve and
cooperation. We have taken many steps
forward. Let the army of One Billion Rising continue to make footprints and
create the path that will bring security and peace to the lives of our girls
and women of the coming generations.
Salam to the EVAW army of the world!
[1][1] http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/9/half-of-men-report-using-violence-and-a-quarter-perpetrate-rape-according-to-un-survey#sthash.xvKznNN0.dpu