Eliminating violence against women the focus of UNAMA-backed event

3 Dec 2015

Eliminating violence against women the focus of UNAMA-backed event

BAMYAN - To raise awareness about violence against women and the legislation designed to eliminate it, some 200 university students and community leaders gathered at a UNAMA-backed event in the capital of Afghanistan’s central Bamyan province.

The students and others attending the event participated in extensive discussions and a quiz competition focused on Afghan laws designed to protect women from violence.

The event, backed by UNAMA’s regional office in Bamyan, is part of a broader programme running across Afghanistan to mark the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an annual campaign that begins on 25 November with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and culminates on 10 December with Human Rights Day.

“Although we have made many achievements on women’s rights in Afghanistan in the last decade, recent cases show ignorance and illiteracy,” said Mr. Asif Mubaligh, the Deputy Governor for Bamyan, speaking at the event.

“Looking at the recent acts of violence against women, we need to commit ourselves to work even harder,” he said, stressing that every member of Afghan society has a role to play.

Also speaking at the event was Ms. Taeba Khawari, a member of Bamyan’s provincial council. She highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the issues and more effectively implementing and enforcing the Afghan law designed to eliminate violence against women (EVAW).

Mohammad Alim, a student in Bamyan’s central high school, won the first prize in the quiz competition. “This competition gave me the opportunity to memorize all the articles of the law,” he said. “I have been discussing the articles of the EVAW law with my classmates to prepare for the competition.”

Events in this year’s 16 Days campaign are being held under the global theme ‘From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All.’

UNAMA is mandated to support the Afghan Government and relevant international and local non-governmental organizations to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights.