Elimination of Violence Against Women-Beyond Legal Reforms

November 29, 2006

“ …… Be angry and you confuse your mind, you forget lesson of experience. Forget experience, you loose discrimination and you loose life’s only purpose” – Bhagvat Gita

Dear Frineds,

Can we solve this problem at spiritual, moral, psychological & physical platform: simultaneously?

Can we solve it at level of root cause?

Very much thanks to Ms Farida Vahedi ( National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India)for sharing this article at groups.

Warm regards & thanks...

Ajay Singh Niranjan ……. [ajay_uor ]

Blog: http://o3.indiatime s.com/Learning_ Creation_ Innovation

and Sharing timeless wisdom of universal prayer : GAYATRI MANTRA.

“O supreme Lord! Thou art ever existence, ever conscious, ever blissful.

We mediate on thy most adorable glory, may thou guide and inspire our intellectual, on the path of highest divinity! May we be able to discriminate between truth & falsehood”- Rig 3 .62 .10

External Affairs <oea (AT) bahaindia (DOT) org> wrote:

UN Secretary General's in-depth Study on all forms of Violence against Women :

The Secretary General's in-depth study gives high visibility and acknowledgement for the first time from the highest level of the United Nations that violence against women is an egregious human rights violation that is both a cause and consequence of deeply embedded inequality between men and women. Furthermore, the report calls all member states and UN entities to fulfill their obligation to protect women by various means.

The simultaneous release of the statement of the Bahá’í International Community, ' Beyond Legal Reforms: Culture and Capacity in the Eradication of Violence Against Women and Girls'; the Secretary General's in depth study on all forms of violence against women; and the celebration of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November 2006) and the 16 days of activism that follow (till 10th December, Human Rights Day), provide us a special opportunity to network with you, in order to ponder upon the importance of culture and capacity building efforts in addressing issues of violence against women and girls to the core.

'Beyond Legal Reforms' - Abridged:

The status of women and girls has improved significantly over the last 50 years but still a relentless epidemic of violence against women and girls continues. As the International Community and National Government struggles to implement laws to protect women and girls, there is a massive divide that still separates the legal apparatus and the culture embodied in the values, behaviors and institutions required to stem the epidemic.

The alarming violence against women and girls takes place against the backdrop of two simultaneous processes that characterize the present global condition. The first is a process of disintegration: chaos and decline in the social order; moral vacuum due to religious deterioration; exploitative economic order; ethnic conflicts; and violence within the family.

The second is a constructive and unifying process which has succeeded in putting the issue of violence against women and girls on the global agenda such as: growing solidarity of women's efforts around the world; the definition of violence by UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women; appointment of a Special Rapporteur on violence against women.

Change of approach to violence from 'reactive' to 'preventive' in order to create the social, material and structural conditions in which women and girls can develop to their full potential. From the Bahá'í perspective, the essence of any program of social change is the understanding that the individual has a spiritual or moral dimension as the development of individuals' moral and spiritual capabilities is an essential element in the as yet elusive quest to prevent the abuse of women and girls around the world.

Moral capabilities represent a key element of the kind of transformation required for a non-violent society to take shape. Such capabilities must be anchored in the central social and spiritual principle of our time namely the interdependence and interconnectedness of humanity as a whole. The goal of moral development, then, is shifted from individualistic notions of 'salvation' to embrace the collective progress of the entire human race.

Among the moral capabilities identified by Bahá'í educational institutions include the ability to: participate effectively in non-adversarial collective decision-making (this includes the transformation of exploitative patterns of behavior based on the use of force and falsely rooted in the idea of conflict as a mainstay of human interaction); to act with rectitude of conduct based on ethical and moral principles; to cultivate one's sense of dignity and self-worth; to take initiative in a creative, disciplined form; to commit to empowering educational activities; to create a vision of a desired future based on shared values and principles, and to inspire others to work for its fulfillment; to understand relationships based on dominance and to contribute towards their transformation into relationships based on reciprocity and service. In this way, the curriculum seeks to develop the individual as a whole integrating the spiritual and the material, the theoretical and the

practical and the sense of individual progress with service to the community.

It is the family environment in which children grow and form views about themselves, the world and the purpose of life. In the family, the child learns about the nature of power and its expression in interpersonal relationships; it is here that she first learns to accept or reject authoritarian rule and violence as a means of expression and conflict resolution. In this environment, the widespread violence committed by men against women and girls constitutes an assault on the foundational unit of the community and the nation.

The state of equality in the family and in the marriage requires an ever-increasing ability to integrate and unite rather than to separate and individualize. It is imperative, then, to help men as fathers understand their responsibilities in a family beyond economic well-being to include setting an example of healthy male-female relations, of self-discipline and equal respect for the male and female members of the family. This is a complementary role to that of the mother, who is the first educator of her children and whose happiness, sense of security and self-worth is essential to her capacity to parent effectively.

What children learn in the family is either confirmed or contradicted by the social interactions and values that shape their community life. All adults in the community educators, health workers, entrepreneurs, political representatives, religious leaders, police officers, media professionals and the like share a responsibility for the protection of children.

Across the world, religions have traditionally played a defining role in cultivating the values of a community. Today, religious practices and doctrines in flagrant violation of international human rights standards must be subject to deeper examination and scrutiny, bearing in mind that all religions contain the voices of women, which have often been absent from the evolving definition of what religion is and what it requires.

The individual, her family and community environment are ultimately under the protection of the state; it is at this level that enlightened and responsible leadership is desperately required. Many states continue to hide behind cultural and religious reservations to international treaties condemning this violence further perpetuating a climate of legal and moral impunity rendering the violence and its victims largely invisible.

From a budgetary perspective, prevention involves the deliberate adoption of gender-specific measures to ensure that an adequate proportion of resources is allocated towards the provision of accessible social services and law enforcement. Such efforts must be reinforced by clear definitions of violence, as well as comprehensive data collection methods in order to evaluate national efforts in this area, and to raise awareness among men and women of the gravity and prevalence of violence occurring in their community.

It is imperative at future meetings of the UN Commission on the Status of Women that decisive language with regards to the elimination of violence against women and girls be adopted as agreed conclusions, setting out not only the legal but moral tone befitting of this global epidemic.

In order to deliver on its many commitments, the international community needs to dramatically increase the power, authority and resources dedicated to women's human rights, gender equality and women's empowerment. To guarantee a voice for women at the highest levels of decision-making at the UN, such an agency should be led by a director with the status of Under Secretary-General. To effectively carry out its mandate, the institution requires a sufficient national presence as well as independent women's rights experts as part of its governing body.

The inner and outer dimensions of human life are reciprocal-one cannot be reformed without the other. It is this inner, ethical and moral dimension which now stands in need of transformation and, ultimately, provides the surest foundation for values and behavior which raise up women and girls and, in turn, promote the advancement of all of humankind .

Warm Regards,

Farida Vahedi

Secretary for External Affairs

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India

23386458, oea (AT) bahaindia (DOT) org

AJAY SINGH NIRANJAN

[ If Problem exists .....Solution can not wait ...Think & Try ]

NEW DELHI "I AM STILL LEARNING" .....Peter Senge