by George Papandreou & Ouafa Hajji*
ATHENS – On Valentine’s Day,
countless couples will celebrate romance by candlelight. On the same
day, one billion women and men worldwide will stand up to shine a light
on the darker side of gender relations.
According
to the United Nations, one in three women worldwide will be raped or
beaten in her lifetime. In some countries, up to seven in ten women will
be beaten, raped, abused, or mutilated. Often, the victims of such
abuses are treated as criminals – dishonored, brutalized, ostracized,
imprisoned, and even executed – while perpetrators remain free. Millions
of women suffer in this way, but their stories remain untold.
Last
December, the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in
India – two months after Pakistan’s Taliban shot 14-year-old Malala
Yousafzai for advocating education – triggered large-scale public
protests. This outcry should mark the start of a global movement to lift
the veil of silence that shrouds violence against women – which often
begins at home – and protects the perpetrators.
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