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Violence against women not a feminist issue
International Women’s Day celebrates and recognises all the political, social, and economic achievements made by women. But it is also a day to acknowledge and raise awareness about the important challenges women across the globe still face.
When you sacrifice women's rights, when you negotiate women's rights away, the entire society suffers. You need strong women — at the grass-roots level — to build a strong society. Women are the barometers. Violence often starts with women and is an indicator of what will happen to the rest of the society.
This is according to Zainab Salbi, (right) president and founder of non-profit organisation Women for Women International, speaking at the third high-powered “Women Leading the Way: Health, Wealth and Peace” conference and forum event hosted by the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) on International Women’s Day 2007.
Sharing gripping,first-hand, and compassionate stories of joy and terror, Iraqi native Salbi challenged South Africa’s top businesswomen to extend their compassion to the obvious and invisible victims of violence.
Women’s rights continue to be violated the world over, because we are conditioned to tolerate violence against women,” says Salbi.
Taking a leap of faith
In writing and publishing her haunting memoirs, Between Two Worlds, Salbi says her biggest lesson was learning what it means to be courageous.
“In the end there was a point at which I felt that I had to take ownership of my voice, my truth, and my story,” Salbi says. “I felt I had lived through other women's stories and through their courage in breaking their truths. Perhaps, it was my turn to take that jump and to speak up. So, here I am, taking ownership of my story and telling it."
Salbi only admitted recently that her first marriage was pre-arranged and that her former husband had raped her.
Salbi’s courage in sharing her own rape story gives women across the globe the courage to start owning their voice and fear. Salbi says by not breaking the silence, women condone and perpetuate acts of violence against women and violations of human rights.
Through sharing with, learning from, and providing emotional support to other women, the conditioned global silence about violence against women is being challenged.
 
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