ALTHOUGH we are nearing the end of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, a period that cast the spotlight on abuse of against women and children, we should not back down on our efforts to keep women safe from harm.
We should at all times fight the rape of teenage girls, whether they are out for a jog, or on their way to the toilet, or at home asleep. Rape is never acceptable. Ever.
Boys and men, and members of the LGBTI community have also fallen victim to rape this year. This too is never acceptable. Ever.
The violence against women and children is an ongoing issue, and won’t change unless we change our mindsets about women and children and how they are seen.
As we like to say, “There can be many paths to the same goal. We do not need to form an absolute consensus in order to make progress.”
Every day and in every nation, women and children are victims of violence; today we say no more.
The aim of the campaign is to create a system of equality, peace and freedom among men, women and children.
It’s also to ensure that our future generations do not grow up in communities where there’s violence against women and children.
We want to put a stop to this.
Women are supposed to be cherished and loved, as well as children, and they should be treasured.
Why do we always have to read in newspapers stories about women and children whose lives are torn apart by an act of violence?
Every single one of us is waiting for violence to end, but we are so sick and tired of waiting. It is time to stop waiting and to start getting angry; to speak out and demand that this violence should end.
We cannot accept this as an ongoing thing.
The awareness of these horrible events should not just be noticed now, it should be noticed throughout the year .
Every 20 minutes, a woman suffers violence at the hand of her husband, partner, boyfriend or father; beating them.
Imagine if that was your mother, daughter, aunt or sister. There is always a feeling of relief when one of your relatives has not been through any of this.
It’s heartbreaking to see our fellow sisters being treated this way, everyone has a right to a safe home. If your home is not safe, it is not a home.
The only way we can keep the campaign running is if we keep encouraging and showing young people to stay safe, to show how women and children should be treated.
If we build great leaders in our communities, and believe in ourselves, we can bring great change.
There is so much we can add to the list of being safe, ways to treat and women and children, the advice given to men to help support the campaign. But if it doesn’t start with us leading the next generation and showing them the right way to safety, we would be letting numerous people down.