MONROVIA, November 25 (LINA) - President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has declared Tuesday, November 25, through December 10, 2014, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence to be observed throughout Liberia as Working Holidays.
The President calls on all Ministries, Agencies, local and international organizations, the Children's Parliament, the United Nations system and the general public to join the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in collaboration with the Gender-based Violence Taskforce, women organizations, and men's groups to carry out programs befitting the occasion.
In a proclamation issued Monday, the President said the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection being cognizant of the close proximity do agree to jointly observe the above occasions, through specially planned programs to further raise and strengthen the concepts being expressed for public consumption and participation.
A Foreign Ministry release quoting the proclamation said issues to be featured are International Day of Violence Against Women, International Human Rights Day, International Human Right Defenders Day, World AIDS Day, International Day of Disabled Persons and the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.
The 16 Days Activism against Gender Violence will highlight other significant dates such as November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day; December 1, World AIDS Day; December 3, International Day of Disabled Persons; December 6, Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre; and December 10, International Human Rights Day.
The 2014 Campaign will be celebrated under the Global Theme: "Call to Action: Intersection Between Violence Against Women and Health", and the National Theme: "For the Health of Women and The Nation, Take Action To End Ebola and Violence Against Women."
Gender inequality is prevalent and manifested by high levels of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy among youths, women and girls as well as high incidences of sexual and gender-based violence which, according to statistics, revealed that children are the most vulnerable in terms of these practices.
The proclamation states that during the First Women's Global Leadership Conference sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) in 1991, the 25th Day of November was set aside to be observed each year as the International Day for the Elimination of violence against Women and December 10, 2014, International Human Rights Day, in recognition of the violence against women as a human rights violation and called on governments to work towards its elimination, as a working holiday.
LINA