During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the Zonta Club of Toowoomba Garden City Inc, Australia, made headlines and grabbed attention on social media in their local area due to their numerous actions saying no to violence against women.

Bringing orange
The club lit a local bridge orange throughout the 16 Days. On 25 November, club members marched back from that bridge to the downtown area. They also hung a ‘Zonta Says NO’ banner across one of the main streets and displayed Orange Ladies in businesses across town.

Engaging the youth
Club President Charmain Searle visited the Toowoomba State High School to inform the students about gender-based violence and Zonta’s mission.

Market stall
In collaboration with the Zonta Club of Toowoomba Area Inc and the Zonta e-Club of Queensland Inc, the club held a Zonta Awareness market stall to spread Zonta information and merchandise. Zontians Ansmarie Van Erp, Vanessa Priebe and Marie Cameron were also involved.

Campaign letter
Tarsh Francis, Advocacy Chair of the club, proposed conducting a letter-writing campaign to house local women experiencing domestic violence, which was touted in the local shopping centers. The letter garnered many signed letters and increased awareness in their community about Zonta and its mission.

Human Rights Day ceremony
On 9 December, the club participated with local authorities to hold a Human Rights Day flag-raising ceremony in the village square.

The Zonta Club of Herzogenaurach, Germany, was interviewed by Herzo TV, a local international television station, regarding the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

Click here to watch the entire interview

During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, Zonta Clubs in Area 5, District 30, Bulgaria and Romania, did multiple actions to say NO to violence against women. Some of these actions included flash mobs, holding an art gallery and more.

Watch this video to learn more about how the clubs took action to say NO.

On the final day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley, USA, hosted a screening of Crushed Wings at the Santa Clarita International Film Festival (SCIFF). Written, directed and produced by British filmmaker Lalit Bhusal, Crushed Wings portrays the lifelong nightmare of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

The club has been associated with the film festival since last year through its Zonta’s Wome in Film initiative. When selecting the films for the festival, Lisa DeSousa, Founder and CEO of SCIFF, immediately thought of Zonta when she viewed Crushed Wings. She understood Zonta’s mission to fight violence against women and girls, including international initiatives against FGM. 

Zontians Cherise Moore and Lois Bauccio sat on a panel following the film to interview Lalit, who virtually joined the event from the United Kingdom. During the discussion, Lalit explained that he wanted to make a film about child abuse. People kept telling him about FGM as the ultimate example of abuse entrenched in certain cultures and wrongly attributed to religion. He has created the story of Ria, an innocent and happy seven-year-old village girl who is led to her nightmare by her mother in ignorance. The film goes through her childhood, adolescence, marriage and ultimate metamorphosis into a brave and independent woman. Some actresses in the movie are actual survivors of FGM.

Cherise and Lois explained the importance of ending global FGM and child marriage, which also addresses medical conditions such as obstetric fistula, crushing emotional health disorders and suicide and the social problem of keeping women in a subservient permanent under-class in cultures that practice them. 

To kick off the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Makati and Environs, the Philippines, presented an art exhibition featuring the paintings, sculptures and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of the artist Carlos from 24-27 November. The exhibition took place at the Power Plant Mall, and a portion of the proceeds was donated to the Zonta Foundation for Women.

Carlos is a painter and sculptor whose career has spanned 40 years. He is best known for his vibrant colors, which are just as much a subject as the idyllic scenes he paints on his canvases. His work focuses on the joy of life, depicted in his subjects. His color palette encourages his viewers to savor and relish life’s moments of beauty, romance and love.

In honor of the 16 Days, several paintings and sculptures featured women as the subject of the works, together with their different roles. Beyond their roles in the family, which are usually depicted in art by renderings of mother and child, and which Carlos takes as a subject that goes beyond the literal, the artworks also offer depictions of their chosen professions, with some sculptures touching on figurative meanings rather than literal translations of their chosen roles.

This year, all 25 Zonta clubs and Golden Z club members in District 26, Japan, promoted the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign all over the country to raise awareness of gender-based violence. Some actions that the clubs took this year included public demonstrations such as lighting up local landmarks in orange, marching through their cities, handing out flyers and more.

Through the initiative of the Zonta Club of Makati and Environs, the Philippines, Zonta clubs across District 17, Area 5, came together for a Solidarity Walk to culminate the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign on 10 December. More than 300 women, girls and men gathered together and stood as one to say NO to violence against women and girls.

The club invited 25-year-old Katya Lichauco as the Solidary Walk’s guest speaker. Katya is the editor of Big Deal: An Anthology of Filipino Women’s Stories and Art and co-author and managing editor of Fearless Filipinas II. She is currently a Content and Social Media Associate at Kindred Health, the first hybrid women’s clinic in the Philippines. In her simplicity and honesty, Katya inspired the audience.

The Zonta Club of Central Tuguegarao, Philippines, planned an activity for each day of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.

Day 1

The club kicked off the 16 Days of Activism by releasing a special episode about ending violence against women and girls in their “All About Eve” podcast.

Day 2

The club conducted the Zonta Info Caravan in a local neighborhood to capacitate barangay officials in preventing and responding to gender-based violence through a series of lectures on laws focused on women’s rights, redress of violence against women and girls and human trafficking. 

Day 3

The club put up orange-themed tarps and social media profiles and expressed their stag against gender-based violence on social media.

Day 4

Partnering with the Department of Trade and Industry and the University of Cagayan Valley School of Business Administration and Governance, the club conducted a seminar on consumer patron and anti-violence against women and children and the Consumers Act. The seminar aimed to spread awareness of consumer rights and the salient provisions of the law in the Philippines against gender-based violence.

Day 5

In honor of the women and girls who died due to gender-based violence, the club released a video montage of members wearing red dresses as a part of the Red Dress Campaign.

Day 6

In collaboration with the Tuguegarao City Cagayan Dental Chapter and Rotary Club of Tuguegarao Rainbow, the club brought “Kalinga Kay Juana” to the Tuguegarao City District Jail’s female dormitory. The activity aims to raise mental health awareness and oral hygiene among 20 participating female inmates. At the end of the talks, two female detainees had one-on-one counseling sessions, and the club passed out hygiene kits for all inmates.

Day 7

On Giving Tuesday, the club donated US$3,600 to the Zonta Foundation for Women and attended the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women Online Summit.

Day 8

As a Day of Advocacy, the club created a video featuring local leaders, such as Mayor Maila Ting Que, to show their support against gender-based violence.

Day 9

Through its Fundraising Committee, the club partnered with the Young Moms Empowerment Program to cook delicious chicken longganisa. The program is an-ongoing livelihood program to help young mothers with their financial needs.

Day 10

The club released an article about the pervasiveness of gender-based violence, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/zccentraltuguegarao/posts/pfbid0hPjH4Bs4t2aAYHbpKZmaTo86ot9TVBgSAC5yyZHf66X8keNiBXLVbSD54Wujs7Kml .

Day 11

Standing in unity and paying tribute to all survivors of gender-based violence, the club invited strong women who bravely share their stories of pain, survival and healing. 

Day 12

The club conducted a seminar on cyber violence with the Cagayan State University’s College of Business Entrepreneurship and Accountancy Golden Z Club and the school’s student council. Zontian Maria Milagros “Mitoy” Cayosa lectured the students about cyber violence, its impact on the victims and how to address and reduce cyber violence. 

During the open forum, students share their experiences, both personally and as a bystander. 

Day 13

As a day of outreach, the club reached out to their local legislators to regard gender-based violence as a social problem and to urge them to pass and improve anti-violence against women ordinances. They also collected letters from their Z and Golden Z clubs and delivered them to their local representatives.

Day 14

The club launched its 2022-2023 “Search for the Most Violence Against Women (VAW) -Responsive Barangay” program in Tuguegarao City. About 29 Barangays will be participating in the year-long event to shed light on issues concerning the approach to VAW and make the city move towards a 100% VAW-responsive community.

Past Area Director Mila Catabay Lauigan also proposed a women’s shelter for the area. Zontian Maria Milagros Cayosa gave an update on the establishment of a permanent gender and development center.

Day 15

As the Day of Service, the club donated birthing kits to multiple birthing centers and clinics in the area.

Many birthing centers have good facilities, and the donated kits ensure a clean and safe experience for low-income expecting mothers. The kits include underpads, receiving blankets, sterile gloves, maternity pads, sterile gauze pads, sterile scalpel blades, biodegradable plastic bags, bar soaps, umbilical cord clamps, alcohol pads, bulb syringes and diapers. 

Through this project, the club promotes the well-being of newborns and the equally important health of marginalized women who enter motherhood, for they will take on a great responsibility as they hold their babies for the first time.

Day 16

On the last day, the club gathered with the Z Club of Cagayan National High School and members of the soon-to-be-established Golden Z Club of Cayan State University – College of Engineering and Architecture to visit the Zonta Forest and Garden. 

Everyone planted 576 Narra wildlings have a higher survival rate as they are being transplanted from the wild and into more conducive parts of the forest. 

This event is one of the many tree-planting activities in the 5-hectare area under the club’s care in partnership with the Metropolitan Tuguegarao Water District. To date, more than 2,000 trees have been planted.