The Zonta Club of the Adirondacks in New York, USA, District 2, collected 302 bras and raised US$350 to donate to Free The Girls, a nonprofit organization devoted to coming alongside sex trafficking survivors with a path to true freedom.
The bras will be used in Mozambique, El Salvador and Costa Rica to help women rescued from sex trafficking reintegrate into their communities with a viable business opportunity: selling gently used lingerie.
The Zonta Club of Beirut, Lebanon, in District 14, worked with the Lebanon Scout Association to organize a parade to create awareness for ending violence against women and child marriage.
The Zonta Club of Parker County, USA, District 10, has been actively promoting the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign in their community.
The club has installed signs around the downtown square in Weatherford, Texas, and placed banners at different locations throughout the county.
The club is also posting daily photos to their Facebook page of prominent members of the community holding signs to support their campaign.
The Zonta Club of Martigues Etang De Berre in France, District 30, worked to illuminate in orange several local buildings and monuments to attract attention and spread awareness of violence against women during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
The Zonta Club of Bradford, USA, in District 4, challenged 16 other organizations to join them in their 16 Days of Activism Challenge by donating items to the Victims Resource Center at the YWCA.
The challenge began on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and will end on 10 December, Human Rights Day.
The Zonta Club of Bradford is also spreading awareness of violence against women by posting videos to their Facebook page each day during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
FACT: Child marriage continues to exist because of gender inequity.
Most countries already have strong laws against child marriage, but if these laws are not more strictly enforced, the practice will not end.
Test more of your knowledge on child marriage by taking the Zonta Says NO child marriage quiz here.
To launch the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign, the Zonta Club of Siegen Area in Germany, District 29, organized for the Apollo Theater, the town hall and historic city wall to be lit in orange.
Before a sold-out concert and at the break, Zonta club members informed concert visitors about Zonta Says NO in the foyer of the Apollo Theatre. A video on the stage screen before the beginning of the concert pointed out the orange lighting.
Teachers, Zontians and students from the Z clubs of True Light Girls College, St. Paul’s Convent, St. Stephen’s Girls College, St. Mary’s Canossian Girls’ Co, Hong Kong International School, and Good Hope School
Approximately 180 teachers, Zontians and students from the Zonta Club of Hong Kong’s six Z clubs—each armed with an orange balloon—gathered for an aerial photo to launch the club’s Zonta Says NO to Child Marriage campaign to commemorate Zonta’s 100th birthday.
To advertise the campaign, the club distributed “Say NO to Child Marriage” stickers to its Z and Golden Z clubs and challenged students to submit photos that best demonstrate the use of the stickers to enhance public awareness of the campaign.
Inspired by the ZontaSaysNo campaign, the Danish District 13 Zonta clubs of Viborg, Silkeborg, Aarhus and Aarhus II invited upper secondary schools in their respective cities to discuss the topic of equal rights and respect between the sexes.
More than 150 students at seven upper secondary schools said yes to the invitation. During the course of November, they spent
many lessons in English, Danish, social studies or drama working on subjects such as how to say no to physical or mental abuse, how to have ethical behavior on social media, and learning about bullying and mental terror. They also learned about sexist stereotyping and other related topics.
The result was a series of inspiring essays, poems, short stories, video productions, social studies papers and plays. The students presented many of these products on stage to an enthusiastic audience on 24 November at VIA University College in Aarhus.
The Zonta club members said they are grateful to the students for their thought-provoking responses and reflections. Members said the contributions from the students strengthen their faith in humanity and show them clearly just how aware young people are about these issues and about how important it is to say no to physical and mental violence and to fight for gender equality.
90 percent of girls in the developing world who are pregnant are already married.
Child brides face higher risks of death in childbirth and are vulnerable to pregnancy-related injuries. These complications are the leading cause of death in girls 15-19.
Join us in saying NO 