#16Days of Activism

Source: mrulenasia.wordpress

RAPE, ABUSE AND MURDER – are the headlines that surface daily in the news. These words are associated with the injustices and violent behaviours affecting women and children every day.

So now that the President has launched the “16 Days of activism” NOW WHAT?

I feel like each one of these days should have an agenda since we only get 16, do they? There’s still a major gap. 16 days just swiftly go by without us truly magnifying and highlighting the significance of the cause. Truth be told, this is a 365 not a 16 day fight.

We need more online and offline campaigns! YES, campaigns are all about raising awareness right! Standing together and fighting for the rights of women and children. After the death of 17 year old Anene Booysen who was raped and mutilated in such a barbaric manner early in the year– we had a Black Friday rape awareness campaign (wearing black) in the hope of raising awareness of the ills committed against women and children. The campaign went viral online and triggered a massive response offline. Why did it end there?

Source: mishteryphotojournal/towncaptain-collage

Let’s mobilise our thoughts and use technology, and social media to raise awareness…Yes it works! I came across a hashtag (#) on Twitter #ididnotreport where victims of rape tell their stories across the globe. This encourages other women to speak out and stand up against abuse with the comfort of knowing that they are not alone.

The point is women are caged by society and are coached to believe that they are not good enough. They are told how to dress, look and behave (I WILL NOT CONFORM). In addition, some organisations still think certain roles are suited for men or women only – that’s sexist and ignorant. Anyone can do anything!

As per Dion Chang’s TED talk ”Born free or free fall”- he highlights how women need support and need to be nurtured in this broken society. He also suggests that absent fathers in the household contribute to an imbalance in society – dysfunctional families.  My “light bulb moment” from this talk was realising that if men played a “father-figure” role and served to protect every girl child/women – WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT WOULD MAKE. Meaning: instead of hurling insults to women dressed in mini skirts in the office or in the street, and rather choosing to care more about kids wandering and lurking the streets at night – They could then protect them and guide and STOP raping them in bushes, dark passages or even the back seats of their cars. We need men to support the fight against this animalistic behaviour! Men can stop violence against women.

Source: http://www.defenceweb.co.za

Parents should talk to their children about SEX, so that children know when their being violated – report it and understand that it isn’t their fault. This is a joint movement – everyones role is vital. RAPE is not acceptable; killings of young girls should not be tolerated in the human society. We need to stand up and fight this war on women’s bodies. Women are the foundation and gems of society – stop hurting them…start helping them.

Source: theliberiangirl.files