As part of its ongoing ‘16 Days of Activism’ campaign against gender-based violence, Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka conducted a handful of activities on Monday in the capital's Baridhara. The activities included tree plantation in the Baridhara Lake Park, which was followed by a special rickshaw rally. Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka executives and members joined the activities alongside the local rickshaw pullers wearing orange dresses, as a unity against violence against women and children.  Read more: Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka launches 16-days activism campaign against gender-based violence

Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, The Zonta International, a globally acclaimed service organisation, has launched its ‘16 Days of Activism’ campaign on Friday against gender-based violence. Starting from November 25, the campaign will feature several events and activities on eradicating violence against women and girls in society and advancing women's rights, continuing till December 10, the International Human Rights Day. Six Zonta Clubs in Dhaka and Chattogram organised a rally at the Gulshan Society Lake Park in the capital on Friday afternoon to kick off the activism programmes, which was joined by the distinguished and eminent Zontians to celebrate their unity against gender-based violence.

Featuring three of the leading female artists in Bangladesh, an online art camp titled ‘Strokes Against Violence’, organised by Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka was virtually held on Wednesday - marking the 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender-based violence which reflected on the necessity of mass awareness regarding the issue. Noted painter Afroza Jamil Konka, eminent indigenous artist Kanak Chanpa Chakma and leading performance artist Nazia Andaleeb Preema showcased their mesmerising crafts based on the topic of violence against women at the event, which was moderated by Zonta’s Advocacy Chairperson Tootli Rahman and also joined by Dr Simeen M Akhter, President of Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka. News agency United News of Bangladesh (UNB) was the media partner of the camp, while Gallery Cosmos was the gallery partner. “I’ve been painting women for a long time. When I was at a very tender age, I saw my mother struggling to raise her four daughters as the situation was very hard for her in the male dominated society. I closely saw her joys and sorrows and she was very joyful when she used to be with us, to make us feel happy. Those things encouraged me to paint women and all their emotions,” painter Afroza Jamil Konka, the inaugural artist of the camp, shared her thoughts behind drawing paintings of women. Answering a question on why she thinks child marriage should be banned, Konka said, “I draw a lot of paintings on child marriage as I think it’s the root of all the violence against us, women. A little girl, when she is supposed to go to school and explore, enjoy and learn about life - society pushes her to do something which she is neither capable of nor ready to take over. A healthy and educated mother is a blessing for our society, and that can only be assured if we can stop child marriages.”

As part of the Zonta International and Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka's 16 Days of Activism campaign from November 25 to December 10, a webinar was arranged on Monday where the speakers called for unified, gender-neutral actions to stop violence against women.

The Zonta Club of Greater Dhaka has chalked out plans to celebrate 16 Days of Activism campaign from November 25 to December 10 with a goal to globally develop advocacy actions with a focus on preventing violence, protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators.