At an Oneida Common Council meeting on 1 December, Zonta Club of Oneida Area President Cindy Thurston “shed light on the subject and point residents in a direction to help.”

“Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation no matter where you are. There’s no national or cultural barriers; violence can take place at any time, anywhere,” she said.

Early/forced marriage, domestic abuse, and human trafficking are only a few of the many ways gender-based violence can manifest, Thurston said, and it can take both physical and psychological forms. Gender-based violence affects both men and women publicly and privately worldwide. It can also find its way into small towns like Oneida and the surrounding area where the issues may not get the attention they deserve—this is where the Zonta club steps in. 

The Zonta Club of Oneida Area has chosen to heighten awareness through signs on the Kallet Marque and reminders of violence against women on the electronic sign in front of city hall.

At a Zonta meeting this month, Oneida Mayor Helen Acker gave the Oneida Zonta club a proclamation regarding this initiative.

Action is also a powerful step the Oneida Zonta club takes against gender-based violence. The club says that it routinely donates sweatpants to the Oneida Health Emergency room for victims of violence.\

“We also advocate and have given money towards Liberty Resources,” Thurston shared. In particular, Liberty Resources’ Help Restore Hope Center, which provides education and training for prevention of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and child and elder abuse, has been a focus of the local Zonta club, Thurston said. “And they empower the survivors with support and resources. It’s a vital resource we have right here in our community,” she remarked.

https://www.oneidadispatch.com/news/local-news/zonta-club-of-oneida-area-raises-awareness-for-gender-based-violence/article_ca75dbf4-3428-11eb-adac-1fa2199262f1.html

As part of the Zonta International and Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka’s 16 Days of Activism campaign from November 25 to December 10, a webinar was arranged on Monday where the speakers called for unified, gender-neutral actions to stop violence against women.

The webinar, titled “He for She”, virtually took place on Sunday evening, in co-partnership with University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). Imran Rahman, former vice-chancellor and currently a special advisor to the board of trustees and Dean of ULAB Business School, alongside Akhter Matin Chaudhury, renowned industrialist and philanthropist, joined the webinar as panelists.

President of Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka, Ztn Dr Simeen M Akhtar was present at the webinar moderated by Advocacy Chairperson Ztn Tootli Rahman.

“To quote Stalin, ‘A single death is a tragedy, but when ten thousand people die, it is a statistic’ – and violence against women in history has been so massive that incidents have been lost as statistics. In most cases in history, rape has not even been counted as a crime. Unfortunately, we see the reflection of history is still present even these days, though the narratives started to getting changed,” Akhter Matin Chaudhury said addressing the history of violence against women in the webinar.

When Dr Simeen asked if is there any cultural context of violence against women, he described: “The inferiority and lack of worth for women were actually formalised by the law as we see in history. Men, of course, believed in it, unfortunately, a large group of women also did the same. Over the period of the time, the perception of thinking women as ‘inferior’ has been embedded in the male psychic as well as for the women; and surprisingly, women have also thought that the nobility of their gender depends through submitting to this inferiority as a ‘noble gesture.’

“This notion of male superiority leads to rape, which is the ultimate form of violence where women are not only assaulted but also stripped of their dignity. Laws are easy to make, but attitudes take generations after generations to change.”

When asked about the necessity of the death penalty as punishment against the crime of violence and rape, he said, “Death penalties are not the ultimate solution to this problem. However, a quick legal process must be applied in these cases and as for the offenders, I suggest that they should be chemically castrated before imprisonment as they deprived the victim’s dignity. That would be the ultimate punishment for the rapists.”

The second panelist, Imran Rahman, focused on providing adequate justice to the victims when asked about his perspectives regarding the rape violence. “I remember there was a so-called student, also a political leader at the Jahangirnagar University who boasted about his hundred rapes – and the harshest punishment he got is only suspension of his studentship. Even so-called educated and young people still blame the rape victims, which resulted in many victims believing that they have done something wrong, thus they got raped. The media, in many cases, are objectifying and exposing the privacy of the victims describing the gory details, not caring about the victim’s sensitivity. Also, there is marital rape, which is not even being considered as rape to many men and women. These issues need to be brought to justice.”

Adding that many parents and families often do not get sided with the victims molested by relatives, Imran said, “We have to learn to parent, we have to read books on good parenting, we have to know about child psychology. Parents need to speak out against the molesters, no matter how dearest they are.”

When asked on what the religious leaders can do regarding the situation of violence against women in Bangladesh, Imran said, “Many religious leaders are getting away with all kind of things such as spilling out medieval concepts on relationships and not believing the rights of marriages. They have a huge influence and I wonder how they get away with almost sanctifying rape and objectifying women. They have a huge role to play and somebody from the leaders need to step up and say that this is not what Islam says.”

News agency United News of Bangladesh (UNB) is the media partner and Cosmos Foundation was the technology partner of the webinar, which was broadcast live on UNB’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The webinar was part of the Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka’s three webinars and a TV talk show and radio programme from November 25, celebrating the 16 Days of Activism campaign. The TV talk show will be held on December 5 (Saturday) on Channel 71 on gender equality which will be participated by Ztn Dr Zareen Delawar.

The third webinar “Strokes against Violence” in partnership with Gallery Cosmos will take place at 8pm on December 9 (Wednesday) which will showcase three prominent artists. “Their artworks will speak for them, and viewers will get an insight into how art can be used as a powerful tool for the expression of violence suffered by so many,” according to Gallery Cosmos Director Tehmina Enayet.

The campaign of ‘Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women’ was launched in 2012 to raise awareness of Zonta’s efforts to end violence against girls and women, and also has been focused on child marriage. The 2020 campaign cycle encourages Zonta clubs and individual members to engage with their communities with new ideas for a wide variety of actions.

https://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/unified-actions-essential-to-stop-violence-against-women-speakers/61316

The Zonta Club of Ashtabula Area kicked off the 16 Days of Activism on Nov. 25 at the historic lift bridge in the Ashtabula Harbor.

The Lift Bridge Community Association (LBCA) supported this international and local organization event by lighting the lift bridge with orange lights – the color that symbolizes the Zonta International campaign of “Zonta Says NO to Violence against Women,” said Linda Coblitz of Ashtabula, a Zonta member, in a prepared statement.

“This campaign, which began nine years ago, unites Zonta clubs and members around the world as they raise their voices to bring awareness to this issue and advocate on behalf of gender-based violence survivors and victims,” she said.

As the world faces the COVID-19 pandemic, instances of violence against women and young girls are on the rise.

“Now, more than ever, it is essential that we work together, with our communities, partners, and future generations, to end gender-based violence,” Coblitz said.

Zonta International partners with the United Nations in their UNITE campaign, also working to stop gender-based violence.

Annually and internationally, the following dates are part of Zonta’s 16 days of Activism: Nov. 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; Nov. 29, International Women’s Human Rights Defenders; Dec. 1 World AIDS Day and Dec. 10, the end of the 16 Days of Activism, Human Rights Day.

https://www.starbeacon.com/news/local_news/zonta-club-of-ashtabula-kicks-off-16-days-of-activism/article_a89784bc-ea41-5585-a1b0-c259202e8721.html

Let by Club President Chalida Anuntarumporn, the Zonta Club of Bangkok X—together with the deputy chief physician, faculty of nursing and executive management—held a campaign to stop violence against women and girls at One Stop Crisis Center at Police Hospital on 27 November.

Throughout the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Bangkok X, Thailand, organized multiple activities to raise awareness and prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls by not accepting, not ignoring, and not violating women in any form.

Zonta Club of Cebu II in the Philippines, in collaboration with its local government unit (LGU) partner, the City of Mandaue, continued with its commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism to eliminate violence against women in the community. An integral part of the communication drive was a massive information dissemination campaign calling the public to stop violence in all forms.

To widely disperse the message that it is imperative for everyone to say NO to gender-based violence, Zonta Club of Cebu II installed more than 50 banners measuring 3ft x 5ft in all 27 districts (barangays) of Mandaue City. The tarpaulins, visibly mounted in the government centers of each district, featured the message Stop Violence Against Women with photos of 100 women calling for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls in their respective communities and neighborhoods.

Mayor of Mandaue City, Jonas Cortes, gives full support for a more inclusive City promoting equality among all constituents. “Until the violence stops, we will continue to focus all our resources for Gender and Development programs in Mandaue and push for equality for all,” he said.

Since 2014, the Basque organization, Harituz, in Spain has been working on the project – Balls of Yarn Against Gender-Related Violence. The artistic symbol in the form of a giant and ever-growing scarf travels around the world from city to city with the goal that the kilometer-long knitting will one day dress the European Parliament in Brussels. Today, the knitting measures about 5 km. The whole project is about raising awareness and spreading knowledge of violence against women.

At Kalmar Art Museum in Sweden, 2.2 km of the scarf has hung in the museum’s stairwell for a couple of months in 2020, with a standing invitation to everyone to contribute to it. Anyone has been able to contribute to the scarf – anyone who in any way wanted to contribute to raising the issue of and counteracting gender-related violence. When Kalmar Zonta members heard about the project, they wanted to participate. Many Zontians knitted, and it became an 18 meter long knitted scarf! The knitting project ended with all the knitting being sewn together and in total Kalmar contributed just over 144.3 meters! The project attracted a lot of attention and has now spread to other cities.

The Zonta Club of Santa Clarity Valley, California, joined forces with their Z club at Golden Valley High School to host a Zoom workshop, “Recognizing Unhealthy Relationships.” Experts discussed characteristics of a healthy relationship, recognizing an unhealthy relationship, preventing dating violence and how the community can help. The workshop was open to students, parents, educators and members of the community.

The club also launched a new project, “Human Trafficking Survivor Backpacks,” which has already gained support from Zonta members and the community. Supporters purchase personal care items from an Amazon Charity Wish List. The items are then packed into backpacks, which are carried by law enforcement to be given to rescued survivors of human trafficking.

For the 16 Days of Activism, the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley, California also launched a social media campaign. Each day, the club posts about violence against women, including bullying, murdered and missing indigenous women, the Red Dress Project, female genital mutilation, human trafficking and human slavery, domestic violence and child marriage. Club members also wrote a series of articles on the club website to mirror the social media campaign.