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The
report coincides with the occasion of the International Day
for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, November 25
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GENEVA,
November 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – As the world
celebrates the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women on Monday, November 25, a newly released report by the
World Health Organization (WHO) reveals some shocking statistics.
According
to the report nearly half the women who die due to homicide are killed
by their current or former husband or boyfriend. Violence accounts for
approximately 7% of all deaths among women aged 15-44 worldwide.
This
is one of the findings of WHO’s world report on violence and health.
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of lives destroyed, the
report shows that violence against women has been linked to a number
of immediate and long-term conditions, including physical injury,
chronic pain syndromes, depression and suicidal behavior.
Partner
violence can also affect a woman’s earning, job performance and her
ability to keep a job.
“We
need to voice the violence, to hear the stories of all those affected
by violence. Spreading the word, breaking down the taboos and exposing
the violence that takes place among us is the first step towards
effective action to reduce violence in our own societies,” said Dr
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the WHO on the occasion of
the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Massive
differences in homicide rates among women show that there is nothing
inevitable about violence.
For
example, female homicide rates in a number of developing and
transition countries exceed 6 per 100,000 population. This is 10 to 15
times higher than in countries with the lowest female homicide levels
(Japan, United kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Greece) where the rates
are 0.4 to 0.5 per 100,000.
By
identifying and modifying the factors that drive these difference,
female homicides can be prevented.
Young
age, low income, low academic achievement and involvement in
delinquent behavior as an adolescent have been linked to a man’s
risk of physically assaulting an intimate partner. Furthermore, a
history of violence in the male partner's family as well as excessive
alcohol use are important factors.
The
report added that women are particularly vulnerable to abuse by their
partners in societies where there are marked inequalities between men
and women, rigid gender roles, cultural norms that support a man’s
right to inflict violence, and weak sanctions against such behavior.
The
report highlights a number of promising prevention programs, including
social development programs, reducing alcohol availability, reducing
access to weapons such as firearms, reducing inequalities and
strengthening police and judicial systems.
Rather
than simply accepting or reacting to violence, the field of public
health must work together with the police, criminal justice systems,
education, welfare, employment and other sectors, to prevent it,
said the report.
“These
findings challenge us,” said Brundtland. “Forty years of work to
improve women’s lives have given very uneven results. The majority
of women in the world still suffer from poverty, discrimination and
violence. Yet some countries have overcome this situation, and there
is no reason why we can't replicate these successes.”
The
release of the report initiated a Global Campaign for Violence
Prevention with the objectives of raising awareness about violence as
a major public health problem and the role that public health can play
in the prevention of violence.
Many
countries including, Belgium, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, the
Philippines, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique and South Africa
have committed to hosting events to discuss the impact of violence and
to implement the recommendations of the report.
The
report represents the first comprehensive, global review of current
knowledge on violence. Its main message is that violence is
preventable.
Recommendations
include the development of national and local plans of action, review
and strengthening of the services being provided to victims of
violence and greater investment in primary prevention.
WHO
has already started to implement the recommendations of the Report
through its Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic
Violence, which will be released on the 8th of March 2003, through the
development of guidelines to strengthen services for victims of sexual
violence and through the provision of technical support to several
countries.
On
17 December 1999 by resolution 54/134, the U.N.’s General Assembly
designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women, and has invited governments, international
organizations and NGOs to organize on that day activities designated
to raise public awareness of the problem.
Women’s
activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence since
1981. The date came from the brutal 1961 assassination of the three
Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on
orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).
IslamOnline’s
Fatwa Editing Desk said that Islam is keen to maintain a healthy
relationship between the husband and wife. According to the Qur’an,
this relationship is based on mutual love and kindness.
The
Qur’an urges husbands to treat their wives with kindness and
benevolence. In the event of a family dispute, the Qur’an exhorts
the husband to treat his wife kindly and not to overlook her positive
aspects.
Dr.
Muzzamil Siddiqi, President of the Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA) said that “it is important that a wife recognizes the
authority of her husband in the house. He is the head of the
household, and she is supposed to listen to him. But the husband
should also use his authority with respect and kindness towards his
wife.
“If
there arises any disagreement or dispute among them, then it should be
resolved in a peaceful manner. Spouses should seek the counsel of
their elders and other respectable family members and friends to batch
up the rift and solve the differences.”
However,
in some cases a husband may use some light disciplinary action in
order to correct the moral infraction of his wife, but this is only
applicable in extreme cases and it should be resorted to if one is
sure it would improve the situation. However, if there is a fear that
it might worsen the relationship or may wreak havoc on him or the
family, then he should avoid it completely.
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