Intersecting Pandemics and A Time for Action
| This year will be defined by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also be defined by the global, exponential growth of violence against women and girls who were forced to shelter with their abusers. It is a year where the influence of frontline leaders and activists made a huge impact. Heads of State are making moves to create change - like South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa who called for an African Union and continental-wide treaty to end the violence. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari made an even bolder call: for a Global Treaty to End Violence Against Women and Girls. This is a watershed moment. For seven years, along with thousands of frontline advocates, survivors, and citizens, we have made this our central mission - and we are grateful for your support every step of the way. But we cannot rest. We must secure support from every African Union nation and from every corner of the globe. The former President of Malawi, Joyce Banda now serves as our Special Envoy. Her Excellency is leading conversations with former and current African leaders including with Liberia’s former President, Nobel Peace Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. This is a moment unlike any before. 2020 brought great challenges but it has also brought us this historic opportunity to create the change necessary to create a life free from violence. Together. You were essential in getting us this far. Now, it’s all hands on deck! Here’s what you can do.
With warmest wishes for an exceptional 2021 and with profound gratitude, All of us at Every Woman Treaty |
From Zainab Ali Khan: Pakistan in Focus
As women and girls across the globe have been forced to shelter with their abusers, reports of violence increased, and we are reminded that the frontlines exist in our own homes, communities, and nations.
In Pakistan, violence against women is again in the headlines: a lawyer and mother of six was abducted, raped, and tortured for four days by three unknown men after she attended court hearings. After a video of the survivor was circulated online, a social media movement calling for the end of rape culture in Pakistan trended.
The online treatment of female journalists increasingly worsened for Pakistani women. 36 female journalists signed a statement, accusing their online abusers for morphing their photographs and making sexual slurs and threats towards them. Online attacks have been speculated to be instigated by government officials due to the female journalists’ criticism of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pakistani women are tired of the dangers they face in all areas of life. Whether it’s doing their jobs or being the voices for those less vulnerable, they deserve to live a life free of violence and abuse in all forms.
Our colleague Zainab Ali Khan reminds us that standing up to misogyny is a heroic act all by itself.
This week, she analyzes the mistreatment of women in Pakistan, but also why hope still remains.
“The rape, torture, and abduction of a woman doctor in the time of COVID-19, the honor killing of another that's conveniently been dubbed a suicide, and the harassment of women who speak their mind online - THIS from a nation whose founding father, Mohmmad Ali Jinnah, recognized that the power of the sword and the pen both pale in comparison to the power of women! However, even in these dark times, hope remains! Stories such as that of Tabassum Adnan remind us that the women of Pakistan have traded their bangles for fists. Kudos to Academy Award-winning Director, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, for shining a spotlight on these stories! In violent times, showing a mirror that reflects the misogyny of your culture is a heroic act in itself!"
This year, your support will ensure that frontline activists can continue to be the champions for global systems change necessary to create a life free from violence.
MORE TO READ: Justice demanded for Female lawyer abducted and raped
Pakistani women journalists face online abuse
Zainab Ali Khan, Founding Working Group Member of Every Woman Treaty, is a Gender Specialist with over 10 years of work experience in the Development and Corporate sectors of Pakistan. Belonging to a conservative family, Ms Ali Khan had to fight for her right to a foreign education. She is the first woman in her family to be sent abroad for further education. Ms Ali Khan’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine (USA) in English Literature with a minor in Women’s Studies. She also holds a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto (Canada) in Women and Gender Studies. Ms Ali Khan was awarded full scholarships for both degrees. During her time at the Women and Gender Institute of University of Toronto, Ms Ali Khan extensively researched honor crimes in Pakistan for her dissertation entitled, “Honor Crimes in Pakistan: A Critical Analysis of the Zina and Qisas & Diyat Ordinances.”
Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman Named Aurora Prize Laureates
(Seattle, WA, USA) The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative named Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman of the Elman Peace Center in Somalia as the 2020 Aurora Prize Laureates. Adan is a Founding Board Member of Every Woman Treaty, and Elman currently serves on our Steering Committee. The following is a statement from Every Woman Treaty CEO Lisa Shannon, who cofounded the Sister Somalia program at Elman Peace – the first rape crisis center in Somalia.
“Gratitude in Action. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative advances and recognizes this principle as central to humanitarian work, and as the world will now see: it is central to the world-changing work my sisters Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman continue to do in Somalia.
“In 2011, Fartuun welcomed me to Mogadishu. We met with sexual violence survivors, and I supported the launch of Sister Somalia - the Elman Peace Center's program for rape survivors. While post-conflict and conflict-related sexual violence disproportionately affects women and girls, Fartuun and Ilwad persevere, undaunted by statistics or the constant threats.
“For many women around the world, there is no easy path to justice. Laws, government systems, and social norms favor perpetrators. In courtrooms, media, communities, and homes across the world, female victims of violence are often blamed, ignored, and not believed, entrenching the world in a system of silence and impunity.
“I have had the great privilege of watching, up close, Ilwad's extraordinary life work unfold, as she shunned the comfortable life, trading it for courage beyond measure, stepping into being a fierce advocate for the world's most marginalized, combating violence at its roots, through Elman's extraordinary work ending violent extremism, and violence against women.
“Ilwad is the African leader of the future: Bold, compassionate, unrelenting in her work for every human being to realize human dignity and flourishing.
“I have also seen first-hand these women grapple with the deepest loss: That of daughter/ sister/ partner Almaas Elman last November. They carry on her spirit, and that of their father, through their tenacious commitment to human rights, safety, and dignity for all.
“Their family's work stretches back over nearly 30 years - work that transforms the lives of Somali youth and embraces nonviolence and peacebuilding. Thankful to see recognition of their leadership and their generosity with the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.”
Pakistan in Focus: From Zainab Ali Khan, Founding Working Group Member
Zainab Ali Khan, Founding Working Group Member of Every Woman Treaty, is a Gender Specialist with over 10 years of work experience in the Development and Corporate sectors of Pakistan. Belonging to a conservative family, Ms Ali Khan had to fight for her right to a foreign education. She is the first woman in her family to be sent abroad for further education. Ms Ali Khan’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine (USA) in English Literature with a minor in Women’s Studies. She also holds a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto (Canada) in Women and Gender Studies. Ms Ali Khan was awarded full scholarships for both degrees. During her time at the Women and Gender Institute of University of Toronto, Ms Ali Khan extensively researched honor crimes in Pakistan for her dissertation entitled, “Honor Crimes in Pakistan: A Critical Analysis of the Zina and Qisas & Diyat Ordinances.”
Ali Khan’s work in the development sector of Pakistan includes working as a Documentation Specialist for a USAID funded Gender Equity Program worth USD 38 million – one of the biggest gender equity initiatives in the country. She has also worked for Women on Board, an initiative of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges that aims to address the acute imbalance of women professionals on corporate boards and higher management in Pakistan. She has also worked with AASA Consulting, a firm that specializes in social policy and human resource management.
She is the author of a number of publications including case studies, success stories, reports, and a magazine. As a women’s rights activist who feels very passionately about gender equality, Ms Ali Khan has had the opportunity to speak about women’s empowerment in Pakistan and internationally.
This week, she analyzes the mistreatment of women in Pakistan, but also why hope still remains.
“The rape, torture, and abduction of a woman doctor in the time of COVID-19, the honor killing of another that's conveniently been dubbed a suicide, and the harassment of women who speak their mind online - THIS from a nation whose founding father, Mohmmad Ali Jinnah, recognized that the power of the sword and the pen both pale in comparison to the power of women! However, even in these dark times, hope remains! Stories such as that of Tabassum Adnan remind us that the women of Pakistan have traded their bangles for fists. Kudos to Academy Award-winning Director, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, for shining a spotlight on these stories! In violent times, showing a mirror that reflects the misogyny of your culture is a heroic act in itself!"
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