International Day For Elimination Of Violance Against Women Observed

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Nov, 2016 ) : The international day for the elimination of Violence Against Women (VAW) was observed here on Friday as an annual feature as else where in the world.

The day was first marked as a day to combat violence and raise awareness in 1981 by activists. The United Nations General Assembly gave the day its official designation in 1999. The date is based on the 1960 assassination of three Mirabal sisters who were political activists in the Dominican Republic who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.

Every year from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, the International Human Rights Day, 16 days campaign titled, Activism against Gender-Based Violence is being celebrated to raise public awareness and mobilizing people everywhere for bringing a change in society.

Women rights activists and civil society representative sharing their remarks on the occasion stated that violence against women was a human rights violation. Violence against women is a consequence of discrimination against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women, they remarkied.

It impacts on progress and prosperity of the country in many areas, including poverty eradication, combating HIV/AIDS, and peace and security. Violence against women and girls is not inevitable, they shared adding that prevention is possible and essential.

Civil society representatives in their messages on the day shared that one of the major challenges to prevent and end violence against women and girls worldwide is the substantial funding shortfall.

Violence against women and girls, a gross human rights violation, devastates lives, causes untold pain, suffering and illness. It also incurs high economic costs, they opined. Beyond the direct medical and judicial costs, violence against women takes a high toll on household and national budgets through lost income and productivity.

They further said, deep-rooted inequality in the roles, rights and opportunities of men and women, and attitudes and social norms that condone or normalize such violence, have made the problem tenacious, but not inevitable.