‘Preventing violence against women without engaging men impossible’

Islamabad : UN Women and the Embassy of Sweden organized an Award Ceremony titled, “2021 in Retrospective Celebrating Actions to End Violence Against Women” during 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign. The aim of the award ceremony was to acknowledge the actions taken on pledges made during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign of 2021.

Last year UN Women Pakistan encouraged stakeholders to make commitments to ending violence against women, and several pledges were received to bridge funding gaps, show political will for calling for an end to violence and ensure essential services for survivors of violence.

During the Ceremony, UN Women's Country Representative Sharmeela Rassool narrated the story of a teenage girl who was sexually abused and murdered by an employee and said, “Too many victims of femicide still go uncounted. There is a need for concrete action to strengthen data collection on femicides. That will assist in informing policies and programmes aimed to prevent and eliminate violence aga­inst women and girls.”

Henrik Persson, Ambassador of Sweden to Pakistan, welcomed the guests and said “We will never be able to prevent violence against women and girls without engaging men. We need to engage more men who are willing to publicly speak and act to oppose violence against women and girls; and create a ripple effect. Let’s push forward together”

Every year in Pakistan, civil society and women’s rights organizations, the UN system, government partners, development partners, universities, the private sector, and individuals show solidarity, commitments, and actions during the 16 Days to call for preventing and ending violence against women. Through the joint efforts of all stakeholders, aspires to bring about a safer, more just, and violence-free world for all women and girls.

Mr Khalid Khurshid Khan, Chief Minister from Gilgit-Baltistan was the chief guest of the event.

As a part of the event, a panel discussion was also conducted with corporate sector representatives from different organisations from the corporate sector on the theme of creating harassment-free workplaces for all.

The global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign started on November 25th until December 10th, 2022, under the theme, “UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women & girls!” The embassy of Sweden also featured the “HER Rights! Money, power, autonomy” exhibition at the event, highlighting key areas of the journey so far and steps ahead to make the world a truly equitable place for all.