The Inquirer (Monrovia)
C. Winnie Saywah
26 November 2007
A call to action to end Gender Based Violence worldwide has begun gaining momentum in Liberia as the Ministry of Gender and Development leads a parade to the Ministry of Justice today to present a statement against violence.
This year's celebration of the 16 Days of Activism under the global theme "Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women," calls for the abolition of all forms of violence against women.
Observing the days under the national theme, "Time for Action; Stop Violence Against Women," the Minister of Gender and Development, Varbah Gayflor told reporters on Friday that the parade is intended to dialogue with the Minister of Justice, Philip Banks on finding a way forward on ending violence against women in the country.
She said an official launching and indoor program will be held at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium after which the activities befitting the observance of the days will continue to December 10 with a massive awareness campaign that will be carried out in selected communities and schools throughout the country in order to educate and provide information on the danger of such related violence.
The keynote speaker will be Bong County Senior Senator, Jewel Howard while Labor Minister, Samuel Koffi Woods will officially launch the 16 days of activism.
For the past 17 years, the 16 days of activism that had marked activities around the world to end gender-based violence had been used to create a global movement to raise awareness, to address policy and legal issues, to campaign for the protection of survivors of violence and advocate for the elimination of all forms of violence against women.
The 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 from the 25-10 to identify with survivors of such crimes in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.
The '16 days' has also highlighted other important dates including November 29, International Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day and December 6, the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.
For Liberia, the objective of this year's campaign is to generate a greater awareness of the negative impact of violence on the development of women and children, to stress the importance of partnerships between government and the civil society in eradicating women and child abuse and to encourage sectoral participation in and support the campaign by working with businesses, faith-based organizations, traditional leaders and others in outreach programs among other things.
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I AM ALLEN NYEKA. I AM A LIBERIAN. I AM CURRENTLY RESIDING IN MELBOURNE, VICTORIA,AUSTRALIA. I THINK IT IS AWESOME AND WORTHWHILE TO CREATE THE PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT STOPPING ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. I AM ALSO A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE AGAINST THE USE OF VIOLENCE MOST PARTICULARLY AGAINST WOMEN,BECAUSE WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE CLASS IN ALL SOCIETIES.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD ARE ALSO CREATING THE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND LOBBYING MORE LEGISLATIONS IN PARLIAMENTS WITH TOUGHER PENALTIES ON BEHALF OF THE SAFETY AND WELLBEING OF WOMEN. I THINK THE BEST TIME… [Read Full Text]