The Zonta Club of Offenburg, District 30, took part in this year’s international campaign to say no to violence against women. From 16 to 26 November, the historic town hall in Offenburg, a city located at the brim of the Black Forest and close to the French city of Strasbourg, was illuminated in bright orange and attracted a lot of visitors and passers-by.
As in Offenburg, the Christmas lighting and the Christmas Market started 26 November and the Zonta club had to organize the campaign before that date. At the same time, a cooperation with the bakers’ association was initiated and 40,000 bread bags were printed that were distributed to all the local bakery shops. They had the slogan “Zonta Says NO” printed on one side and “Gewalt kommt mir nicht in die Tüte” on the other side. “Das kommt nicht in die Tüte” is a German saying meaning “this is an absolute no-go”, so the inscription reads “Violence is an absolute no-go”.
On 25 November, the international day against violence against women, various local celebrities distributed bags filled with pretzels for free. Among these were the Mayor of Offenburg and Christina Obergföll, gold-medalist in javelin throwing.
The press coverage was excellent. All in all, the fourteen club members of the Zonta Club of Offenburg were very content with the outcome of the campaign and would like to repeat the campaign in 2020.
The workshop was conducted by the Counselor Ms. Reshma and her team and it focused on sexual harassment at home and outside the home, as well as legal and social recourse to combat the issue. A few Bolllywood songs were shown to the girls and questions were asked and they were made to understand the reality of violence against women and girls. The presidents of the clubs shared the importance of changing their point of views or understanding of the situation in the community.
