United Nations: India’s iconic India Gate and the Delhi Metro will join hundreds of monuments across the world that will be illuminated as part of a UN effort to galvanise support for global action to end violence against women and girls.
India Gate will be illuminated in orange and messages of ending violence against women will be displayed on panel boards in two high-traffic lines of the Delhi Metro as part of the UN’s ‘Orange the World’ campaign that includes parades, soccer matches, school debates and the lighting up of hundreds of iconic monuments.
“Violence against women and girls remains one of the most serious – and the most tolerated – human rights violations”, said UN Under Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka in a statement.
“It is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality and discrimination. Its continued presence is one of the clearest markers of societies out of balance and we are determined to change that”, she said.
Violence against women and girls affects one in three worldwide. The call to action is part of the UN Secretary-General’s’ Unite to end violence against women’ campaign, led by UN Women, the UN’s agency for gender equality.
The colour orange, which has come to symbolise a bright and optimistic future free from violence against women and girls, will help unify the large-scale social mobilisation. It will be carried out during the civil society-driven ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’, which will run from Wednesday commemorated as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women until Human Rights Day on December 10.
This year’s ‘Orange the World’ initiative will focus on the theme of preventing violence against women and girls, in the specific context of the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which includes targets on ending violence against women and girls.
Globally, during the fortnight under the ‘Orange the world’ call, over 450 events are planned in more than 70 countries throughout the 16 days.
They include the lighting of major monuments and numerous activities involving civil society such as dialogue sessions with faith-based leaders, film screenings, theatre and dance performances, rallies, marches, marathons and digital activism via social media platforms.
Events will include the orange lighting of major landmarks including the Niagara Falls (Canada/USA), the European Commission building (Belgium) and Council of Europe building (France), the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen (Denmark), the archaeological ruins at Petra (Jordan), and the Palais de Justice (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
PTI