Campaign Activities: Partners
The following is a list of statements and alerts that have been created by other groups that we find relevant to the VNC Campaign.
Nigeria: Favour Irabor - Money, religion & patriarchy pose problems for female politicians
It’s over four months now since the last general elections, but Nigerian women politicians and even stakeholders are yet to recuperate from the shock of its outcome. Unlike previous elections, women vied enmass for various political offices, but few of them got in! As a response to this fall which has also translated into an abysmal reduction in the representation of women in political offices(apart from the ministerial offices), the question of ‘what went wrong?’ has continued to take centre-stage at most women gatherings. Here, women’s human rights activist, a lawyer, (Ms) Favour Irabor, Programme Officer, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, reviews the circumstances surrounding Nigerian women in politics as she calls on stakeholders to urgently begin preparations for the 2015 elections.
UN report: Achievements of Muslim women's rights groups
The United Nations recently established to champion gender equality and empowerment of women. In its first major report “,” UN Women highlights both the global plight of women seeking justice and the amazing progress women have made in the past century. Particularly enlightening aspects of the report are the coverage of women in Muslim countries and the accomplishments of Muslim women’s rights groups.
Released in the wake of the Arab Spring, the report emphasizes the active role Arab and Muslim women are taking in effectuating historic change in the region, invalidating the stereotypical view that Muslim women are voiceless and meek.
VNC Strategic Consultation Meeting Report
The Violence is Not our Culture (VNC) Campaign Evaluation: “Taking Stock of Our Gains and Challenges for the Future”
Decade
"Decade" was made by students of Punjab University, Lahore for Shirkat Gah's film festival "Violence Is Not Our Culture". The film highlights the struggle of a brave woman who decides to open a school despite intense pressure from the men of the village. Her hard work pays off when in 10 years, hence the name Decade, the whole village is transformed. Watch the video.
Sakineh, A Symbol of State Violence
This video marked the launch of the online campaign: Stop state violence against women in Iran!, which is a project by one of our partners, the Institute for Women's Empowerment (IWE). The campaign goal is to mobilise public opinion, both national and international, to stop Iranian state violence against women.
VNC Marks 3 Years with Global Actions
16 Days of Activism 2010: The Violence is Not our Culture campaign marks its third year with a series of global actions
On the eve of this year’s commemoration of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence, the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women launched its new name:
Violence is not our Culture: A Global Campaign to Stop Violence Against Women in the name of ‘Culture”
(VNC Campaign)
The change is in response feedback from its activists and allies to broaden the scope of the Campaign beyond specific manifestations of culturally-justified VAW such as ‘killing’ and ‘stoning’. The change of name is also timely as we launch our engagement in the debate at the UN on universality versus cultural relativism in human rights.
The 16 Days of Activism also offered the Campaign key opportunities by which it could raise the profile of its concerns on ‘culture’ and gender–based discrimination and violence against women (CVAW) and be in solidarity with social movements, NGOs, individuals, friendly-States and the UN system engaged in common efforts to end violence against women.
Equal Despite Difference
About
The Equal Despite Difference campaign aims to create a new culture in Iranian society which respects sexual rights and sexual orientation, through awareness raising (amongst the general public, as well as gay and lesbian communities) and strengthening solidarity and support among lesbians.
Solidaritas Perempuan - Aceh
About
Solidaritas Perempuan (Women’s Solidarity) was established on December 10th, 1990 with the aim of advocating for gender equality through the promotion of pluralism, anti-violence, ecological awareness, and just principles. In 1993, Solidaritas Perempuan was divided into 14 regional offices spread throughout Indonesia. The Aceh branch has launched a campaign to increase public awareness of the harm caused by the implementation of Shari’ah law, and to encourage policy change. Additionally, SP Aceh advocates the reform of local Shari’ah laws in order to address culturally justified violence. Through lobbying and increasing the capacity of stakeholders, SP Aceh is fighting to increase awareness of some of the harmful aspects of the relationship between religious laws and the rights of women.
VNC Strategic E-Campaigning Workshops: Women Re-claiming Culture through Tactical Technology
In 2010, the Violence is Not our Culture (VNC) Campaign hosted two Strategic E-Campaigning workshops, based on the expressed needs and desires of our partners in the Asia and Africa regions, with the intention of enhancing the effectiveness of our advocacy and communication strategies for our networked campaigns in their local contexts.