On the 8th of March (tomorrow) we celebrate International Women's Day worldwide to pay tribute to women for their engagement in the development process. Once again we will be celebrating women's day but sure we are called upon to reflect whether we should really celebrate while millions of women are subject to inhuman treatment and violence which is a gross violation of human rights. While violence against women is universal, there is variation in its nature and manifestation across societies at different times, for different groups of women, and even for the same woman at different times in her life. Violence against women (VAW) is also an obstacle to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, despite progress made at the policy and political levels.
In 2013 in our modern world violence against women persists, unabated, in all parts of the world. Intimate partner violence is the most common type of violence against women, but VAW takes many other forms, as well. Violence against women also includes violence in times of war or when governance systems have collapsed ; the systematic use of physical, emotional, verbal, psychological and sexual violence to terrorize and antagonize the whole communities or ethnic groups. It is a scary feature of conflict and oppression that has been acknowledged by development partners.
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