By NNN-APP,
Islamabad : International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women will be observed in Pakistan on Dec 25 with an aim to fight against gender‑based violence in all its forms.
Public and private organizations have arranged several activities including seminars, rallies, fun fairs and interactive dialogues to mark the day, a private TV channel reported.
Violence against women persists worldwide, occurring in every region, country and culture, and cutting across income, class, race and ethnic groups.
It is one of the most heinous, systematic, and prevalent human rights violations and is a threat and obstacle to the efforts for development, peace and gender equality in all societies.
Since the birth of the United Nations (UN), there has been increasing recognition that the enjoyment of human rights is essential to the well‑being and development of the individual, community, and the world.
In 1993, the UN General Assembly adopted a Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which defined violence against women as “any act of gender‑based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such act, coercion, or temporary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
Since then the international community has recognized the efforts to confront gender‑based violence as central to human security and development.
Member states have enacted legislation banning violence against women, legislation, which covers the home, workplace, and society at large, and there are now protection services and trained professionals to take action on cases of violence against women.
Violence against women stands in the way of progress towards equality, development, peace, and human rights for all. Violence against women is a threat to all women, and an obstacle to all efforts for development, peace, and gender equality in all societies.