Tens of young people gathered on Human Rights Day to observe a vigil to climax the 16-Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence in Accra. The event which was organised by the Youth Fellows of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA-Ghana) was marked to add the voices of young people to the fight against sexual and gender-based violence.
The young people were clad in orange T-shirts in solidarity with the #orangetheworld campaign, symbolising the official colours of the 16 Days of Activism. Participants of the vigil marched from the UNFPA-Ghana office at Cantonments to the Danquah Circle at Osu holding lanterns and placards with inscriptions such as ‘I have Rights Too’ and ‘Female Genital Mutilation, Not Culture but Crime’.
Addressing his colleagues, UNFPA Youth Leaders Fellow Jean-Philip Lawson encouraged the youth to amplify their voices in the fight to end violence against women and girls and take action to promote the rights of women, girls and victims of abuse.
”We need you to amplify your voices and speak out against SGBV! Our voices can make a huge difference because we would be forming a strong public opinion against it; just like we did with
Mr Lawson cited examples of instances where women have been abused in Ghana and described such acts as dehumanizing. He cited female genital mutilation, the rape of female head porters and sexual abuse of some female students as some of the worrying cases of sexual violence perpetrated in the country. He also noted some cultural practices that affect the rights of women and girls such as female genital mutilation that need to be halted.
The 16 Days of Activism is marked from 25th November every year which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, which is Human Rights Day. These 16 days come with various forms of active campaigns against gender-based violence around the world.
