About the Campaign

Objectives of the Global Campaign 'Stop Stoning and Killing Women!'

The Global Campaign 'Stop Stoning and Killing Women!' is initiated to address the persistent misuse of religion and culture to justify killing women as punishment for violating the 'norms' of sexual behaviour as defined and imposed by vested interests.

To this end, the Campaign will:

1. Stimulate and promote discussion and public awareness of the politicisation of culture and religion as means for justifying the abuse of women's human rights.
2. Develop an inventory of discourses and counter-discourses on the use of culture and religion to legitimise violence against women.
3. Build the capacity of women's human rights advocates and women's movements to document such cases of abuse and to use the relevant international instruments for advocacy.
4. Mobilise the support of internationally reputed personalities from legal, religious and human rights arenas.

In addition, the Campaign reiterates the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Professor Dr. Yakin Ertürk, in her January 2007 Report: 'Intersections between Culture and Violence against Women'^*

• To engage in culture-based discourses to validate and strengthen the positive cultural elements while de-mystifying and challenging the oppressive elements.
• To address violence against women in all aspects of its intersections with other forms of inequality and issues of basic human rights.

The freedom of belief does not mean freedom to kill.