“Silence will only give power to violence”
Dimapur, Dec. 11 (EMN): The North East Network (NEN) conducted a public awareness campaign at Chizami village on the theme “Reimagining a World without Gender-Based Violence” in collaboration with Chizami Town Women Welfare Society, Sumi Women Society and Chizami Women Society to the mark the conclusion of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence on December 10.
According to an update from NEN Nagaland, its director Seno Tsuhah told the participants that ‘to build a world free from gender-based violence, it must start from home. This is where we must learn the universal human rights values of fairness, equality, justice, dignity and respect’.
She stated that Covid pandemic has disrupted all aspects of lives and livelihoods, and women have been affected the most. Citing reports suggesting an increase in domestic violence by five times during this pandemic, she stressed on the need to eliminate violence against women while asserting that it is not just a women’s problem but a community problem, thus needing concerted efforts of diverse stakeholders to address it.
Guest speaker Kezevino Krome, General Secretary of Chakesang Mothers, Association (CMA), in her speech, highlighted various forms of violence faced by women in both private and public spheres, which remain unreported in most cases. She observed that “women are often conditioned to believe that it is our fate to face such violence; instead of reasoning and resisting it, we accept it as the will of God and choose to remain silent. Violence get normalised when we accept it”.
She further asserted that violence against women “is not the will of God, and therefore we must change our mindsets and attitudes. Silence will only give power to violence”. She noted that ‘majority of men in the world are good but if they remain silent, they contribute to the growth of violence. Therefore, it is essential that we engage boys and men in conversations on issues of gender-based violence’.
Emphasising on the importance of men and boys as key stakeholders in addressing gender-based violence, Colo Mero said that ‘no matter how much women have made progress or have achieved, violence against women cannot be stopped until men and boys change. And the surest way to end it is to raise our sons to fear God’.
A football match between members of Chizami Town Women Welfare Society, Chizami Women Society, Sumi Women Society and NEN staff was held at Chizami Local Ground during the programme. There was also a volleyball match between NEN staff and 14 Assam Rifle Chizami.
