In 1999, November 25th was proclaimed the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations General Assembly. Since then, this date marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism initiative, concluding on Human Rights Day (December 10th). During this period, awareness campaigns led by governments, international organizations, and NGOs are organized to emphasize the importance of combating violence against women.
The Importance of Combating Violence Against Women
The 1993 United Nations General Assembly Declaration defines violence against women as any action directed at them, causing or likely to cause physical, sexual, or psychological suffering. This includes threats, coercion, and infringements on their freedom, whether occurring in the public or private sphere.
The devastating repercussions of this violence are felt throughout women’s lives, affecting them psychologically, sexually, and reproductively. Educational disadvantages, for example, not only hinder their access to education and higher learning but also restrict their opportunities in the labor market.
While gender-based violence can affect anyone, certain individual characteristics such as sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic origin, along with contextual factors like humanitarian crises, including conflict and post-conflict situations, increase women’s vulnerability to such violence.
On this year’s celebration, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared, “Violence against women is a heinous human rights violation, a public health crisis, and a major obstacle to sustainable development. It is persistent, widespread—and is getting worse. From sexual harassment to femicide to trafficking, this violence takes many forms. But all these forms of violence share roots in structural injustice, cemented by millennia of patriarchy […] We all pay the price: our societies are less peaceful, our economies less prosperous, our world less just. But a different world is possible.”
Overview of Violence Against Arab Women:
Violence against women in the Arab world has reached alarming levels in recent years, both in terms of brutality and media coverage.
In Egypt, for example, a 2021 survey conducted by the Foundation for Development and Equality, using media and prosecutor general data, identified 813 cases of violence against women and girls, a significant increase from the previous year’s 415 incidents. Lawyers and victims reported that many women seeking help from authorities did not receive a response, according to a Reuters report.
In Algeria, the initiative “No to the Murder of Women – Algeria,” launched in March 2022 by activists, highlighted nine cases of women murdered in less than three months that year. In 2021, approximately 55 women of all ages were killed, often by members of their own families, according to Agence France-Presse.
The murder of Noura Ashraf in Egypt, stabbed in broad daylight in front of her university in Mansoura, deeply shocked the Egyptian population and reignited the debate on violence against women. Shortly after, Iman Arsheed, a Jordanian student, was shot by a man she had refused to marry on the campus of the University of Applied Sciences north of Amman. A few days later, Salma Bahgat, an Egyptian student, was stabbed seventeen times by a classmate in the entrance of a residential building in the Sharqia province, also for rejecting her assailant’s advances. Observers noted that Noura’s murder encouraged the crimes of Iman and Salma, as the perpetrators of the latter made similar threats to those received by Noura’s assailant.
In the United Arab Emirates, Lobna Mansour, of Jordanian-Palestinian origin, was stabbed in her car by her husband as she tried to separate from him due to their disputes, according to media reports. In Egypt as well, presenter Shaimaa Jamal was killed by her husband. The prosecutor general charged the husband with premeditated murder with the complicity of another individual.
In Algeria, the body of Chaima (19 years old) was discovered in an abandoned gas station in the eastern suburbs of the capital in October 2020. The mother revealed that her daughter had been sexually assaulted again by the same criminal who had publicly attacked her in 2016. Although she had filed a complaint at the time, the assailant had only been sentenced to three years in prison.
Human rights activists point out several reasons behind this escalation of violence against women in Arab societies, including the lack of deterrent laws, the underestimation and women’s dependence, as well as the mentality and culture that always assumes the man is right.
In this context, the Executive Secretary of the Arab Trade Union Confederation (ATUC), Hind Ben Ammar, stated: “The issue of violence against women has mobilized all trade unions throughout the Arab region. This issue has transcended traditional male heritage; today, there are imperfect but effective legislations to reduce this scourge, provided they are applied. About a year ago, we launched the Tawq application to report, track, and advise on all cases of violence against women, whether they occur in public spaces, workplaces, or homes. Our goal is to develop and extend this application not only to the countries covered geographically by the ATUC but throughout the region because these are fundamental values that tolerate no exceptions.”
The union leader mentioned the statement of the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, who revealed that “11 women lose their lives every minute at the hands of family members, especially their partners. Homicides of women by their spouses account for 38% of all murders worldwide,” asserting that the cited indicators are worthy of the assessments of the greatest global armed conflicts.
Addressing recent ATUC initiatives to combat violence against women, the Executive Secretary explained that the secretariat had developed an integrated policy to combat this scourge at the organization’s headquarters. The text of this policy was validated during the last session of the General Council held in Tunis on November 11th and 12th. Hind Ben Ammar emphasized that this document was designed to be used by all member trade union organizations, with the possibility of adapting it to their respective internal systems.
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