GUWAHATI, Nov 30 � North East Network, a women's human rights organization working in the States of Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland has launched �16 days of activism� - an international campaign to stop violence against women in Assam which would continue till December 10.
This fortnight encompasses several significant days related to human rights. Marking the day of �violence against women� the campaign began on November 25 and is going to end on December 10, which is the Human Rights Day, symbolically linking violence against women and Human Rights.
�In North East India, NEN was the first organization to initiate the Campaign in 2002 and it is organized every year since then. Now, both government and non-government groups have taken up observing the campaign at different levels,� a statement from NEN mentioned.
�This year, the highlight of our campaign is �women�s safety in public places� with the message that women and girls have the right to live without fear and insecurity. The campaign will focus on creating awareness towards ensuring safe public places for women and girls. One of our strategies will be to mobilize youths for doing a street survey on safety issue of women,� the statement added.
NEN works on a range of issues including violence against women (VAW), conflict, health, participation of women in governance, livelihood and natural resource management through research, advocacy and training.
The survey, aimed to interview 1,000 women in public places, would attempt to bring forth the various forms of harassment experienced by women in public, understanding how women respond to harassment and the role of different stakeholders in safeguarding the rights of women.
�This year NEN is starting the survey with mapping women�s safety in Guwahati city. Through this survey we will be identifying factors that would make women feel safer in the city. We are hopeful that this study will bring out recommendations that our government will take up seriously to make Guwahati city more inclusive for women and make it safer for them and other vulnerable groups,� the statement further added.
