National News

ISLAMABAD, (MILLAT+APP): The international day for the elimination of Violence Against Women (VAW) was observed here on Friday as an annual feature as else where in the world.
The day was first marked as a day to combat violence and raise
awareness in 1981 by activists. The United Nations General Assembly gave the day its official designation in 1999. The date is based on the 1960 assassination of three Mirabal sisters who were political activists in the Dominican Republic who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.
Every year from November 25, the International Day for the
Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, the
International Human Rights Day, 16 days campaign titled, Activism
against Gender-Based Violence is being celebrated to raise public
awareness and mobilizing people everywhere for bringing a change in
society.
Women rights activists and civil society representative
sharing their remarks on the occasion stated that violence against
women was a human rights violation.
Violence against women is a consequence of discrimination
against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting
inequalities between men and women, they remarkied.
It impacts on progress and prosperity of the country in many
areas, including poverty eradication, combating HIV/AIDS, and peace
and security.
Violence against women and girls is not inevitable, they
shared adding that prevention is possible and essential.
Civil society representatives in their messages on the day
shared that one of the major challenges to prevent and end violence
against women and girls worldwide is the substantial funding
shortfall.
Violence against women and girls, a gross human rights
violation, devastates lives, causes untold pain, suffering and
illness. It also incurs high economic costs, they opined.
Beyond the direct medical and judicial costs, violence against
women takes a high toll on household and national budgets through
lost income and productivity.
They further said, deep-rooted inequality in the roles, rights
and opportunities of men and women, and attitudes and social norms
that condone or normalize such violence, have made the problem
tenacious, but not inevitable.