25th November 2008:
International Day Against
Violence Against Women (VAW)

25 November 2008

Today marks International Day against Violence against Women (VAW). The Day commemorates the anniversary of the murder of the Mirabal sisters who were brutally murdered by the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1960. In 1999, the UN officially recognised November 25 as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This day also marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign, now in its sixteenth year.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign, is an international campaign originating from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991. The Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels. For more information on 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign please visit http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html

This rallying cry lasts between November 25th and December 10th, two significant dates in the Human Rights calendar. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day against Violence against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. The campaign is participated by over 2,000 organizations from over 130 countries.

In Malaysia, Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) joined this campaign in 1998. WAO began this campaign in Malaysia by working with The Star newspaper to produce a 16- day series on VAW.

This year’s theme “Defending Women; Defending Rights” conveys a message to all that defending human rights is not complete without defending women’s rights.

For this year’s activism, WAO in collaboration with Amnesty International (AI), Sisters in Islam (SIS), All Women Action Society (AWAM) and Empower is to experiment with online activism by setting a Facebook page. To be a part of this online activism please go to our Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45899991833

To be a part of our FACEBOOK ONLINE ACTIVISM, people are encouraged to:-

1. Join the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Facebook group and support the cause. Just search for “Malaysia’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence”.
2. Put up our specially designed logo as their Facebook profile photo.
3. View all the videos and information by various NGOs on the issues affecting women.
4. Be informed on all the ground activities held all over Malaysia by visiting our Facebook group everyday throughout the 16 days
5. Join our T-Shirt designing competition

JOIN FACEBOOK!!
DEFEND WOMEN; DEFEND WOMEN’S RIGHTS!!

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