Established by the United Nations in 1999, this day of awareness globally calls attention to all manifestations of gender violence. World Renew is committed to fighting against gender violence in all its forms, and their peacebuilding and justice work in Bangladesh is an evident display of that undertaking.
Yeasmin Akter was a housewife living in Dhaka City, Bangladesh who received many kinds of leadership and livelihood trainings because of her secretarial position with the Machranga Women Group of SATHI, one of World Renew’s partners in the country. One such training focused on Conflict Transformation and Family Relationship, and she was inspired to work as a peace agent in her community. She was quickly able to put that training to use.
World Renew is committed to fighting against violence against women and girls in all its forms.
Violence against women takes on many different shapes. The violence may be physical, sexual, psychological, or economic. These kinds of violence are interrelated, and they affect women of all ages. In fact, according to the UN up to 70 percent of women experience some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In certain communities, human rights violations against women are remarkably common. Women are subjected to domestic abuse, genital mutilation and cutting, sexual assault, human trafficking, early marriages, honor killings, systematic neglect and female infanticide. They are harassed, threatened and oppressed, and many are left without a voice.
In December of 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. In its opening lines, this document expressed concern “that violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of equality, development and peace” and recognized that this violence “is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men to the prevention of the full advancement of women.”
This is certainly true in Bangladesh, where public sexual harassment is recurrent and uncontested. Here it is called “eve-teasing,” a deceptively harmless euphemism for a serious problem that most women face daily. This “teasing” includes anything from lewd comments to groping, and there are many instances where it may escalate into attempted rape or even murder. Many of the eve-teasing victims are girls on their way to and from school.
Last year, eve-teasing was declared the most pressing issue of injustice by an assessment conducted by the Garo Baptist Convention (GBC), another one of World Renew’s partners in Bangladesh. With the support of World Renew, this year the GBC is working to implement a project called “Campaign against Eve-Teasing.”
In June, those working with this campaign facilitated a workshop about eve-teasing in which nearly forty adolescent boys and girls participated. While it was very difficult for these youth to talk about the issue at first, they were eventually able to open up and share about their experiences, or stories they had heard. This was the first time they had talked about this issue.
Among the participants, 94% of them had been the victim of eve-teasing or knew someone who had been a victim. 51% said that they personally knew a perpetrator, and 49% knew of a case in which sexual harassment happened within a close family relationship. Only 16% had ever raised their voice against eve-teasing.
Through this workshop, participants learned that gender inequality is both a cause and effect of the harassment of women. It is also the reason why women tend to accept eve-teasing without a fight. They began identifying locations in their village where the teasing happens most often, as well the most common perpetrators. Furthermore, they identified their own roles and responsibilities in the prevention of this harassment. By the end, they had increased their awareness, recognized personal responsibility, and developed action plans to fight for the safety of women and girls in their community.
Because gender violence stems from the perpetuation of unequal power dynamics from one generation to the next, this kind of education for youth is indispensable. Another vital way in which World Renew works to combat violence against women is by training “peace agents,” or members of the community that are able to intervene for their neighbors in situations of violence.
Yeasmin Akter, the woman who received training in conflict transformation, quickly found an opportunity to use her new knowledge. There was a couple in her neighborhood that had been fighting almost every day. The husband beat his wife, and though everyone in the neighborhood knew, no one dared to step in. Rather, the community avoided and did not talk to them.
One day, when the husband started to beat the wife, Yeasmin nervously decided to take a bold step and intervene. When she stepped into their house, the husband stopped beating his wife. Yeasmin sat down and spoke gently to both the husband and wife. She encouraged them to talk about their problem and find a solution without resorting to violence. She helped them to see the negative effects of this fighting for their family and for their neighborhood. When she left the house, there was peace.
In a world where domestic abuse is rampant, there is a great need for more peace agents.
The next day, that peace continued. No one heard any fighting from that house. Yeasmin befriended the family, and her own family congratulated her actions. When she shared this story with her women’s group, they rejoiced, saying, “A peace agent has been born.”
In a world where domestic abuse is rampant, there is a great need for more peace agents.
While the United Nations established this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in 1999, November 25 has been recognized by women’s activists since 1981 to honor the Mirabel sisters. Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa were political activists in the Dominican Republic. Like Yeasmin Akter, they took bold steps against what they knew was wrong. They openly opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, and were ultimately assassinated in a brutal attack on November 25, 1960. It was the outcry from their deaths that served as a catalyst for the movement that would end the Trujillo dictatorship. Today we honor their memory while focusing our attention on the elimination violence against women worldwide.
You can help end violence against women and girls by supporting World Renew’s community development programs in Bangladesh and around the world. Donate now.
