Let's Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women!

25th November 2014-

It has never been more imperative to take action toward ending gender-based violence and militarism.  From the terrorism of the likes of ISIS and Boko Haram, to the threats of Western-led imperialism, down to personal lives marred by cultures of masculinist violence, women all over the world face insecurity owing to patriarchal and militaristic violence.

Women Living Under Muslim Laws, in partnership with Shirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre and the Institute for Women’s Empowerment - will be launching a blogging series as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, featuring rising women leaders from their joint programme Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Development for Democratisation (WELDD).  Each day, a new blog will be posted on WELDD’s Public Square blog space.  You can also watch WLUML's Twitter and Facebook accounts for each day's blog.
 
Beginning on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Tuesday 25th November) and concluding on International Human Rights Day (Wednesday 10th  December), the 16 days blogging series is in solidarity with all our brave women leaders who have joined the WELDD programme through partner projects or workshops. The bloggers - from across Asia and Africa - will be emphasizing how gender-based violence violates human rights within their countries, how militarism intersects with gender-based violence, and how women are standing up to these violations.
 
Covering a range of topics including sexual violence in conflict, authoritarianism, military spending, and women’s experiences of conflict, this year’s series of blogs is dedicated to Yara Sallam who yesterday spent her birthday falsely imprisoned under Egypt’s unconstitutional protest law. Activist, blogger, and WLUML Council member Fatma Emam will be kicking off the 16 Days with a piece about Yara and the threats to WHRDs in Egypt.
 
As part of the 16 Days #GBVTeachin, WLUML will also be sharing resources on culturally justified violence against women (CVAW) on Tuesday 9th December. We invite you to retweet, ask questions, or share your thoughts using Twitter handles (@16DaysCampaign, @WLUML) and the hash tags #16Days and #GBVTeachin! For more information, visit the 16 Days Campaign website.