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Participants at the painting competition to mark the violence against women fortnight in Kohima on November 26.[/caption]
KOHIMA, NOVEMBER 26: Marking the observance of 16 days activism against gender violence from November 25 to December 10, the North East Network (NEN) organised a painting and photography competition on the theme ‘From peace in the home to peace in the world- Make education safe for all’ for students and youth at TT Stadium, Kohima, on November 26.
With eleven participants from Mount Olive College and Bethel Higher Secondary School, Kohima, the photography and painting competitions were conducted on the theme ‘Gender stereotyping/transforming gender relations in the 21st century,’ ‘Challenging gender inequalities’ and ‘Safe public spaces and structures.’
A collective of young people from different walks of life and NEN came together to organised the awareness raising event with a hope to bring together youth, educational institutions, government, women organisations, representatives of CSOs, NGOs to create awareness to address violence against women.
Hraveine David, member of NEN presenting a concept note, stated though violence can happen to both men and women, said the preset conditions such as misconceptions, belief systems and the patriarchal set up of the society places women and girls at a larger vulnerable situation than that of men.
She went on to state that for a very long time the concept of human rights did not favourably applied to women- women were not given voting rights, education was denied to women, political rights were secluded from women and so forth. It was in such scenario that a collective uprising led to re-strengthening of the idea that human rights are also women’s rights.
The 16 days activism against violence against women is an international campaign that was started by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) in 1991. The 16 days runs from November 25 (International Day against Violence Against Women) to December 10 (International Human Rights Day) to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasise such violence as violation of human rights.
David maintained ‘only a radical shift in consciousness, braver, bolder and more creative and determined actions can bring about change.’
In this regard, she said ‘we must do everything in our power to have their voices heard and make them visible whether that is through political, social, cultural or artistic actions.’
‘Change can happen if we harness our creativity and energy. There is nothing more powerful than art as a tool of social transformation,’ said Hraveine David in her concluding remarks.
