“Say NO to child brides, NO to child marriage. Say NO to crimes committed in the name of honor. NO to femicide. NO to impunity. But we say YES to prevention. YES to protection. YES to punishment of perpetrators. YES to peace. YES to development. YES to human rights. And YES to justice and equality.” – Lakshmi Puri
On March 8th, 2013, The UN Women for Peace campaign, held a demonstration to end violence against women in honor of International Day of the Women. Hundreds of passionate young girls and women (and a handful of men) marched along 45th street. Wind nor snow could hamper these determined minds. Advocates for women’s equality such as: Mrs. Ban soon- Taek (wife of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon), Lakshmi Puri (Deputy Executive Director of UN Women), UN Youth Champion Monique Coleman, Christy Turlington (director of the documentary “No Women, No Cry”), and more were all present. Sofia Payano ’15 and I were given the incredible opportunity to interview and attend the march and interview these advocates. I left the rally feeling empowered to help the millions of women and children who are trafficked, raped, abused, or mutilated across the world.
As I marched alongside other fighters, I felt a rush of chills. It was not a result of the bitter-cold air blowing in my face, but a response to the thought that I was giving girls my age, some younger and some older, a chance to speak. Although I’m just one single girl in a movement of millions of people, I knew that I was helping voiceless girls have a chance to share their pain, their ideas, and their hope.
As speakers reiterated the unacceptable acts against women that happen every day across the world, I thought, how is it be possible that I attend an all girls school, and live in a place where education for girls is valued and is seen as the norm, while in other countries, girls my age who attend school are looked down on and violence against them is seen as the ordinary? The only answer I could come up with as to what distinguishes me to other thousands of 14 year olds that are abused, was geography. It’s a frightening thought, that by chance, I wasn’t born into a country where women are not even considered citizens, and the risk of violent abuse is drastically higher than it is for a girl living in the US.
Malala Yousafzai, the courageous Pakastanian 12 year-old who once spoke out against the oppression of girls and declared, “I have the right to an education. I have the right to speak” spoke out once again after an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Malala’s second declaration was read out loud by actress Susan Sarandon. I was empowered by this brave young girl’s sacrifice to help women gain equality and end abuse against those who have struggled to stand up for themselves.
Through March on March, I was able to take my first step in helping end this fight. I wasn’t the only one taking steps; President Barack Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act on March 7th. Obama commentsed on the bill, saying, “This is a country where everybody should be able to pursue their measure of happiness, and live their lives free from here, no matter who you are.” As the US takes stronger action to protect women, other countries are miles behind. As we celebrate International Day of the women we must remember that there are many women out there, young and old, waiting to be rescued. It’s “time for action to end violence against women.”
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