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| A campaign hoarding put up by North East Network. Picture by Biju Boro |
Nov. 13: The city is out to prove that the fortnight-long international campaign against violence on women and girls, beginning November 25, is more than an annual ritual.
Leading the campaign will be the North East Network (NEN), a non-governmental organisation that symbolises the new-found confidence of women across the region to speak out against violence.
The campaign has been part of the global calendar of women-specific programmes since the early 1990s. The continuing theme is, “Yes, I speak out against violence on women and the girl child”, and the NEN is putting up hoardings and pasting posters throughout the city to spread the message.
The campaign against all forms of violence against women and girls originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991.
The programme appropriately begins on November 25, which was officially recognised as the International Day against Violence on Women by the United Nations in 1999, and concludes on December 10, which is International Human Rights Day. The idea is to symbolically link violence against women with violation of human rights.
Anurita Pathak, a NEN functionary, said this year’s campaign would focus on the legal rights of women. “We will try to raise awareness about the legal rights of women in the event of rape and other forms of sexual violence, trafficking and custody violence. Violence against women refugees and ‘internally displaced’ women will be highlighted, too”.
Most women victims of crime hesitate to lodge complaints with the police for fear of being harassed.
“The police routinely refuse to register complaints and hospitals do not issue certificates after medical examination of rape victims. This deprives a woman of vital records to build up a case against her aggressor. Court employees are just as intimidating,” Pathak said.
In a bid to create gender-sensitive police stations, a two-day workshop for police officers on gender sensitisation will be conducted at the police headquarters in the city from November 14. The National Commission for Women will sponsor the programme.
The NEN is a member of the South Asian Convention on Eliminating Discrimination against Women.
“We emphasise on the role and responsibility of men in preventing violence against women and the girl child. We believe that collective action by women will bring about and contribute positively to societal change,” Pathak said.
Stressing the importance of the media role’s in disseminating such information, she said: “There has been a lot of media coverage of these issues in the recent past, which is a positive sign. On the flip side, there is a tendency to sensationalise cases, increasing the trauma of the victims. The media has to act responsibly and focus on punishing the offender.”
One of the hoardings to be put up in the city will depict the documentation of women’s rights in the media.
“Most of these will be newspaper clippings on violence against women. The hoarding will be a huge collage,” Pathak said.
The tools of the campaign last year were films, poster exhibitions, plays, rallies, street plays and presentations.
The NEN Resource Centre was established in 1998 to strengthen the knowledge base vis-à-vis women’s rights through sharing of information and facilitating access to development programmes that various agencies offer.
On the perception of women as silent sufferers, Pathak said: “We do not regard anyone as a victim. We prefer to see her as a survivor who has fought and will keep fighting till she wins.”