Dubai: Almost 5,000 people visited an orange container set up by the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWAC) to raise awareness about violence against women and encourage victims to speak up.
The three-day interactive platform set up at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) on December 10 to 12 invited visitors to a dark, cold room to listen to a five-minute heart-wrenching soundtrack of a woman who is abused by her alcoholic husband.
The touching and emotional soundtrack was part of the Orange Campaign and was held for the first time in the UAE under the slogan, “Speak Up! Silence Covers Violence.”
Afra Al Basti, Director General of DFWAC said the campaign joined hands with the UN international campaign to end violence against women and children, which is held every year over 16 days starting from the November 25. She added that the foundation is working to link its activities to the UN activities agenda, especially that which is related to women and children.
“We recognise that spreading awareness of violence against women and to change the culture of the community through encouraging its members especially women to seek assistance from the concerned authorities in the event of violence, and this campaign is the first step that will be followed by other steps,” she said.
She pointed out that the main objective of the foundation is to end the causes of violence against women and provide a healthy environment for raising children and not differentiate between women subjected to violence and their life partners, where DFWAC is working on the rehabilitation of the couple psychologically and socially to stop the violence and overcome its effects, and where separation is the last resort in such cases.
Meanwhile, Colonel Mohammad Ali Al Shehhi, Deputy Director of the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Interior, the strategic partner for the campaign, said that the ministry is working together with the various authorities in the country to enhance the status and role of women in society, and in implementation of the goals of the ministry and vision in this area, it has created organisational units concerned of promoting human rights, and protection of all victims, including victims of violence.
He added that the Ministry of Interior is cooperating with the bodies, institutions and civil society organisations in the protection of human rights in general and women’s rights in particular.
