Masks Off – A Challenge to Men

On 25 November, the Zonta Club of Punta del Este- Maldonado marched through the streets of the city of Maldonado to the central square. Other organizations joined the march and together they advocated for NO MORE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS.

From the UNICEF Report: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change:

“The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights was a landmark event in which two important developments occurred. First, ‘female genital mutilation’ [(FGM/C)] became classified as a form of violence against women (VAW); second, the issue of VAW was for the first time acknowledged to fall under the purview of international human rights law.

With FGM/C considered as a form of violence against women, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) can be invoked.

The abandonment of FGM/C is framed not as a criticism of local culture but as a better way to attain the core positive values that underlie tradition and religion, including ‘doing no harm to others’. We have found that, addressed in this way, efforts to end FGM/C contribute to the larger issues of ending violence against children and women and confronting
gender inequalities.”

Read UNICEF’s full report here:
UNICEF: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change

A Zonta club from District 30, Area 03 that is in the process of being chartered in 2014 has already begun to take action against violence against women.

Watch their video about their actions for Zonta Says NO:

To promote the 16 Days of Activism, The Zonta Club Kathmandu, Nepal, premiered the Jhola (Bag) movie. The club had an overwhelming response from an audience of five hundred and was attended by the Minister for women, children and social welfare, Constituent Assembly members, Chief of the Army, Chief Secretary and Secretaries to the government of Nepal, private sector, civil society, academicians, diplomats and the media.

The movie Jhola effectively lifted the veil on a practice that has plagued countries like Nepal. Young women are being made to end their lives prematurely and in a horrific manner. Though this most cruel form of violence against women (self immolation), has been abolished, it has manifested in different inhuman forms such as dowry, girl trafficking, forced marriage to name a few.

The Zonta Club of Austin embraced the Zonta Says No message to create bookmarks.

The bookmarks have the Zonta Says No image on one side and a list of local service projects and contact information on the other side. The bookmarks were used at the club’s fundraiser where they had four different local authors sharing the story of their latest books.

The club’s advocacy committee also contacted the Austin Public library and the bookmarks were made available in all 22 branches of the Austin Public library.

The Zonta Club of Kitchener-Waterloo wanted to mark the 16 days in a way that might resonate with the community. Sixteen members of the Club are hoping to make a difference by speaking out on an aspect of violence against women and children that is particularly meaningful to them.

Make a sound that will be heard around the world: Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women and Girls.

Girls from New Rochelle are working hard in post production on a Zonta Says NO short film on Domestic Violence that will premiere December 7 at the Ossie Davis Theater New Rochelle Public Library and on film channel Zonta Network Films http://vimeo.com/user4902281.

The girls age 11-16 composed, directed, filmed, edited and produced their own film for the 16 Days Awareness and the Zonta Says NO campaign. The film will be shown live at the local theater and will be uploaded to vimeo 12/7.  A short documentary film by ECPACT, “What I have been through is not who I am” about trafficking will also be shown. The event will serve as a kick off for further action on this issue in the area.

See more about the event here: Zonta_Says_No_event

Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area kicked off the Zonta Says No campaign a few days early at the November 20th meeting of the club.  Held at the Colorado Springs Country Club, the group heard from Erica Laue from TESSA, the club’s local domestic violence and sexual assault agency.  Erica shared the current statistics from our community as well as fascinating research about how the brain develops and responds to traumatic events.  Members we

re encouraged to learn that a compassionate and supportive response can go a long way toward helping survivors heal.

Showing off their orange “Zonta Says No” bracelets, members committed to getting the word out to others during the upcoming 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.  The activity for the evening was a collection of products for use at the TESSA Safehouse to assist women, who are currently in residence seeking shelter from an abusive situation.

“Violence is not daily bread” : A strong slogan entrusted to the most symbolic food that comes to the table every day at home, where violence must remain outside, and is often covered by a wall of silence.

According to the Zonta Club of Saluzzo’s president, Alessandra Rinaudo, over 1,500 paper bags with the Zonta Says NO campaign information were given to all the bakers in the town. 

This action is meant to denounce domestic violence, create awareness, and above all, let women know that there are instruments and people ready to help women in difficulty. A woman who is experiencing this situation should know that there is a network ready to help her, and among these associations, is Zonta, said Club Vice President Nelly G. De Fazio.