Dear friends,
Every year from 25 November (International Day Against Violence Against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day), thousands of organisations around the world, run the 16 Days Campaign to End Gender Based Violence. Launched in 1991 by the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute, held by the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University, the campaign marks its 30th Anniversary this year.
The multi-year campaign theme began in 2018 to end gender-based violence in the world of work continues this year with a special focus on the link between domestic violence and the world of work. In addition, there is a 30th Anniversary theme of femicide or the gender-related killing of women. These themes are timely because there has been a surge in domestic violence and femicide during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and their negative impact on the work, livelihood, and well-being of millions of women is clearly visible.
During this year’s 16 Days campaign, our colleagues at DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era) in partnership with the International Network to End Violence Against Women and Girls (INEVAWG) have highlighted the link between gender-based violence and the geopolitical powerplay, corporate domination of international trade, structural inequality between countries, and the on-going vaccine apartheid. Reiterating the data that the external debt of low-income countries has grown by 12% and that more than half of the 453 million people who could be thrown into poverty by 2030 are women, they urge us to look at the macro-economic aspects of GBV.
Many GAATW members, partners, and allies work to address violence against women. They work with women affected by violence as a result of trafficking, unsafe and unfair migration, and exploitative working conditions. Many of our colleagues also work with women and girls impacted by various forms of domestic violence. Their work includes awareness raising for women and girls and the public, training and organising women workers and girls, providing psycho-social and legal support to victims of violence, and advocating for formulation and implementation of rights-protective policies.
For this issue of Our Work, Our Lives, we have started by acknowledging that violence is a part of the lives of many women and girls. So we requested our colleagues to focus on their resistance to and rejection of violence. We asked them to analyse the factors that enabled them to say NO to GBV. As we read the life stories that reached us, we realised that saying no is a challenging task. While some sisters have been able to walk out of violence, often it has happened only after much suffering and harm.
Some of them have wondered why they could not get any support from people around them:
“Because I am a woman? And a poor woman at that? Why do people look down on someone like me who has actually showed courage to face life by herself? Why do employers in rich countries mistreat their domestic workers who do all their housework? Because we are from poor countries?” (Dalia)
“Why did I experience so many bad things? Am I gullible? Unlucky? Why did people break the faith that I had in them?” (Farida)
Many sisters have been able to access legal remedies with support from local organisations and these are indeed much needed changes. But as Ruth Odela, the 19-year-old from Uganda, points out “much more than legal action is needed”. Attitudinal change still has not happened. Family members and employment agencies still advise women to “be patient”, “to obey men”, and to “put up with abuse”.
“Addressing GBV needs involvement of all but most importantly the recognition by women and girls themselves that they are different but equal in dignity, deserving of respect and the enjoyment of their full rights”, our colleagues from Girls’ Power Initiative in Nigeria tell us. The importance of training is echoed by Gomathi from EKTA, India and Cristine and Meg from Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association.
“What is important in handling the GBV case, be it at home or related to work, is we should support each other and stand united”, says Rima Astuti from the Home-Based Women Workers Group in Central Java. “GBV can’t be treated as isolated instances. We need to have safe spaces and the time to discuss it”, Musinem from the Women Porters Association in Jogjakarta points out. But “how can we do that when neither our employers nor the government recognise the importance of workers organising”, she wonders.
This issue features twenty-four stories from twelve countries – Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Nigeria, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Thailand, and Uganda. As in the previous issues, our authors are domestic and garment workers, both local and migrant, weavers, daily wage workers, community workers, worker organisers, case managers, and activists. The process of “writing”, as before, has been supported by colleagues who transcribe and translate into English the spoken or written words of women workers in their local languages.
Despite their difficult lived experiences, the stories are testimonies to the courage of our authors. “The consequences of saying no to violence are almost always better”, says Sarktelu Teshome, an Ethiopian migrant worker activist in Lebanon. “Despite the rollercoaster journey in my life, I am strong enough for myself. I believe that if I respect myself, then other people will also respect me”, concludes Muna Buda Magar, now a board member of WOFOWON in Nepal.
The vision that emerges from these stories is of a “world where women realise their value and power”, where “all women are living their lives with respect and dignity.”
We hope you feel inspired by reading these stories as much as we did. You can write to us with your comments, suggestions, or stories for upcoming issues at
