Daily Times

LAHORE: United Nations (UN) Women, the UN’s entity for gender equality, and the Empowerment of Women launched a campaign titled ‘#BeatMe’, a campaign with an unusual twist on women’s rights advocacy on Thursday.

The motive behind observing this day was to provide information to the people about women rights and highlight their importance in the society. The 2016 theme for International Women’s Day was “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”.

In a compelling paradox, the campaign showcased a woman inviting a man to beat her – but at things she was good at. The campaign, aimed at inspiring women to reaffirm that they were stronger than they were led to believe, focused on shattering the perception that a woman was weak – taking her from someone who was ‘beatable’ to being ‘unbeatable’.

UN Women Pakistan Country Representative Jamshed Kazi, Head of Communications and Partnerships Faria Salman and Global Strategic Development Advisor Fiza Farhan were panelists at the press briefing, with supermodel Cybil Chowdhry conducting the event.

Discussing the campaign, Jamshed Kazi said, “The #BeatMe campaign poignantly drives home a universal message that verbal and physical violence against women in Pakistan and beyond is unacceptable – this is not normal, and it cannot continue. If men treat women as badly as they choose to – beating, burning, abusing or killing them – with little or no consequence, it negates all efforts to build a safe world in which women and girls can flourish. In every country, we have very resilient, resourceful, talented and brave women and girls. This campaign celebrates their strengths and achievements as being ‘unbeatable’, and acknowledges women’s equality as a driving force for successful societies and nations.”

The press briefing was attended by prominent personalities, who have lent their support to ending violence and discrimination against women, included Musarat Misbah, Naz Mansha, Maheen Kardar Ali, Nickie, Nina, Hamza Tarar and Hina Butt.

The campaign coincides with 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, a global initiative led by UN Women on behalf of the UN Secretary-General’s global campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women, from November 25 (International Day to End Violence against Women) to December 10 (International Human Rights Day).

The campaign puts emphasis on stories of women who have reached their goals despite the patriarchal mindset they face every day – their stories are featured online as well as in print. Additionally, people from many walks of life (social influencers, parliamentarians, personalities and celebrities) inside Pakistan and beyond have come forward at the opportunity to express how this issue is of personal importance to them and shared messages of support for the campaign.

The ‘#BeatMe’ campaign juxtaposed every means of abuse against strength of each woman. Verbal abuse was addressed by challenging men to beat women with their voice and words from the likes of Meesha Shafi (singer) and Sana Bucha (journalist). Physical abuse was challenged by women mountaineers and athletes such as Samina Baig (only Pakistani woman and third Pakistani to climb Mount Everest) and Naseem Hameed (fastest woman in the South Asia games) who invited men to beat her 100-metre race time. The message focused on the strength of women no matter where they are from and debunks the erroneous notion of women being inferior to men.

The speakers said that violence against women and girls is an infringement of human rights taking place with alarming frequency and severity not only in Pakistan but around the world sparking public outrage, though justice for victims tends to be more elusive. The campaign mobilizes women and men to demand an end to violence against women, a gross violation of women’s human rights that affects at least 1 in 3 women and girls globally. It is a pandemic that must be stopped.