IIMSAM Official Observed International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Doha, Qatar, November 27, 2009 --(PR.com)-- While marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women Dr. Naseer Homoud Goodwill Ambassador and Director of Middle East office for the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina against Malnutrition (IIMSAM), the Permanent Observer to the United Nations Economic and Social Council while addressing the media said “Fighting violence against women means promoting peace and human security on the international stage and is an important moment to reiterate our opposition to all forms of gender-based violence and to underline our support for the international movement for women’s empowerment and gender equality”. He further contended that today, we pay tribute to the women and men in every country who are bringing these issues to the forefront and demanding justice. We express appreciation to those who have established programmes for women and girls affected by violence. We acknowledge the governments that are taking action. In every region, laws are in place to address violence against women and we urge those responsible to ensure their implementation. Today, we call on all governments and parliaments that have not yet done so to adopt laws and establish programmes to address violence against women. He called upon the world community to pledge on this day to work together to raise awareness that violence against women and girls is unacceptable.

On the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, IIMSAM is concerned that violence against women persists throughout the world in a wide variety of forms. While addressing the media gathering on the occasion Dr. Homoud said “As we are fighting against torture, crime against women, summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, it is evident that gender has a significant impact on the form that torture takes, its circumstances, consequences, and the accessibility of remedies.”

Over the years there has been significant evolution in making the scale of violence against women widely known and in developing legal and practical instruments to strengthen the protection of women from violence. Nevertheless noteworthy gaps in protection remain. Many countries fail to recognize some forms of violence against women as crimes. Cultural or religious paradigms are still invoked to condone female genital mutilation, the execution and murder of women, marital rape and other forms of violence. On the other hand, the application of international instruments and the development of strategies to condemn and punish torture have been slow to take into account gender based aspects of torture, such as sexual violence, and have treated severe pain or suffering inflicted on women in the private sphere as a domestic affair. Consequently, avenues for redress have been limited and women have not been adequately protected from all forms of violence against them.

Dr. Homoud called for zero tolerance to crime against women and urged that our collective success in achieving peace and security and making poverty history depends on our ability to end discrimination and violence against women and girls. Without achieving a just and egalitarian society- free of crimes against women and girls, the accomplishment of crime free world cannot be targeted and in order to achieve sustain development we must unite to curb this prevailing tendencies of crime against women and by doings so “I am confident that our world would be a better place to live both for men and women- and this is the basic concept of egalitarianism”. Dr. Naseer said while concluding his address on the occasion.

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