This year marks the 25th year of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, initiated in 1991 and coordinated by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership.
From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.
Given such insecurity and lack of safety in relation to education, and informed by the results of a global survey, the theme of the 16 Days Campaign is “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All”.
This theme recognizes that structural discrimination and inequality is perpetuated in a cycle of violence that does not end even when girls and young women are in the act of gaining an education.
Gender-based violence with respect to the right to education is a consistent threat in public spaces, schools, and homes and is a detriment to the universal human right to education and it is our obligation to focus on the precarious situation of education for girls and boys, young women and men this year through the 16 Days Campaign.
Education is a public good and fundamental human right recognized in Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and upheld in various international and regional human rights conventions and treaties. The right to education is subject to political, economic, and social shifts and upheavals, consistently leaving women, girls, people with disabilities, migrants, and indigenous people particularly vulnerable and liable to being denied this crucial right.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 on education makes it clear that education will lead to skills and knowledge for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship, as well as gender equality, culture of peace and non-violence, and appreciation for cultural diversity.
Higherlife Foundation has, since its inception, strived to contribute to the mitigation of violence against women and girls through education.
