UN in Turkmenistan kicks off the “16 Days of Activism” campaign against gender-based violence
The United Nations in Turkmenistan has kicked off the 16 Days of Activism campaign to fight violence against women and girls.
The campaign has begun on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and will last until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
Starting on 25 November, a "Selfie Booth" was set up at the UN Turkmenistan, where all staff, partners and guests of the building were invited to take selfies with an Orange ribbon and important messages to end violence and discrimination against women and girls. The volunteers of Y-PEER, Youth Peer Education Network in Turkmenistan, a group of young leaders committed to promoting healthy living and gender equality among their peers, led the engagement at the “Selfie Booth.”
This educational campaign aimed to increase knowledge of the UN colleagues and guests on the substance of the problem and how each can contribute to prevent and combat violence against women and girls, among them girls’ education, early childhood development, gender-responsive social services, combating patriarchal norms and practices, women’s economic and political empowerment, reliable data on situation of women in the country and many others.
All UN Staff got the orange ribbons to wear to show their commitment to prevention and prosecution of the gender-based violence. The facts on gender-based violence were displayed across building, and Y-PEER led “Selfie booth” treated all guests to the orange ribbon cookies and invited all to take a quiz and view the videos GBV and key messages on prevention/elimination of GBV.
The campaign continued on 29 November, where a briefing session was organized by the United Nations Human Rights, Gender and Youth (HRGY) Theme Group at the UN conference hall. Ms.Bayramgul Garabayeva, UNFPA Assistant Representative and Chairperson of the HRGY Theme Group, made an opening remark, followed by the official statements of UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, as well as the videos and short presentation on the importance of the day. All photos with selfies were posted at social media.
"Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, public health pandemic and serious obstacle to sustainable development. It imposes large-scale costs on families, communities and economies. The world cannot afford to pay this price." — Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign which is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. It was originated by the first Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and is coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership.
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For more information, please contact:
Ene Tuyliyeva
Advocacy Communication Associate
