16 Days Activism Against Gender Based Violence
The 16 days Activism against Gender Based Violence began amid a rally in Kathmandu on 25 November 2012. Amnesty International Nepal along with several other organizations took part on the inaugural rally which was coordinated by National Women Commission.
Hundreds of people from different walks of lives including Ministers, Secretaries, Civil Servants, Human Rights Activists and Civil Society Organization representatives participated in the rally. The main national slogan in Nepal for this year’s 16 days Activism is “Zero Tolerance Against Gender Based Violence.”
AI Nepal’s plan around the 16 days Activism is to promote the key message “end impunity for the cases of human rights violations and abuses against women during armed conflict”. Through the rally, activists associated with AI Nepal demanded Truth, Justice and Reparation in the case of grave human rights abused occurred during past conflicts.
The rally was led by band of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force. It was started from NWC office Singh Durbar and concluded at Hanuman Dhoka. Before the concluding ceremony, the rally went through Putalisadak, Bagbazar, Ratnapark, Bhadrakali, Shahidgate and New Road.
In the concluding ceremony, Badri Prasad Neupane, Minister of Women, children and Social welfare, Shekh Chand Tara Chairperson of National Women’s Commission, Durga Ghimire, Chairperson of ABC Nepal and Bandana Rana Chairperson of Saathi shed light the importance of the 16 days campaign. A street drama related to violence against women also was performed.
Rights organizations and activists around the world have been celebrating November 25th as an International day to end Violence against Women. In 1981, Feminists from Latin America and the Caribbean first chose November 25th to commemorate the violent assassination of the Mirabel sisters (Patria, Minerwa and Maria Teresa), in 1960 by the Dictatorship of Rafel Trujillo in the Dominican Republic for their resistance to dictatorship. To denounce such gender based violence from domestic battering to rape and sexual harassment to state violence including torture, abuse of female political prisoners and violent assassination of activist; women all around the world continued to commemorate November 25th as the day against Gender Based Violence. Later on in 1999, UN officially recognized November 25th as a Day of Elimination of all Forms of Violence Against Women.
In order to build awareness about gender-based violence and facilitate networking among women activists around the world, 16 Days Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign was initiated in 1991. Women Activists chose symbolically 16 Days; linking November 25th (International Day Against Violence Against Women) and December 10th (International Human Rights Day) to refer and assert that “Women’s Rights are Human Rights”. 16 Days Activism is a platform being used by women activist from around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and advocate for women’s right to live in equality.