STOP DHUNËS!

By Nicoletta Baldo, EU Aid Volunteer

Every year, on 25 November, we all remember the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Every year it becomes more and more obvious how much weight this issue has on our existence and how difficult it is to eradicate the patriarchal and violent culture behind this issue and its dramatic consequences.

As NCCS, we have carried out many different initiatives to raise awareness and educate as many people as possible about this issue. Indeed, “education” is the key word when we talk about “violence against women” and the first step to bring about a change in society as a whole is to talk to and confront young people, especially students. For this reason, we organised a meeting at the Fushë Arrëz high school on 22 November. With the help of a power point presentation and a confrontation with the students, we were able to discuss this issue and explore their point of view on it: seeing their involvement and feeling their desire to change things was really powerful for me and I confirm the previous thought about education, which I consider the first step towards a more equal and safer society for everyone.

I also shared my personal volunteering experience with the students and, as during the previous session in the school in Berat, I tried to convey is that volunteering and spending your time for others can be challenging sometimes (most of all if you’re abroad and far from you loved ones) but it can be a lifechanging and exciting experience. Through a Power Point presentation, I talked to the students about my experience here in Albania which is linked to the programme of the EU called Humanitarian Aid. It is co-financed by the European Commission and after an online and in presence training, it gives you the possibility to apply for projects even beyond the EU borders.

Moreover, Melih (a volunteer from Turkey) and I made orange flowers out of fabric: the idea was to wear these flowers as a symbol of the fight against violence against women. It is important to have a symbol that could be seen and shared by many people attending the events organised by NCCS.

The colour orange was chosen by the UN to represent a brighter future for women, a future free of violence.

In particular, we thought about some specific occasions to wear these flowers. First of all, during the fair called “Taste of Success” where women supported with technical and financial assistance from the villages of Peza, Farkë, Zallherr and Baldushk had the occasion to sell the goods produced in small family economies. Seeking for economical independence is a huge and fundamental step for women looking for their own emancipation and being part of an NGO, which give them the essential help to reach this goal is really important to me and makes me feel in the right place.

The second occasion was the march that took place in Fushë Arrëz the 5 of December and that saw the participation of the municipality and of the students of the Gymnasium of the city. It was great to be part to this event which had such a great involvement of young people, with billboards spreading words of support and at the same time of denounce against violence on women.

The activities to raise awareness on the topic of violence against women do not end here and we are already preparing the next activity to be shared with the citizenship. A society where women are victims of violence just for the fact that they are women needs to change and to do this we need as much help and participation as possible. That is why I think that talking, sharing and never shutting up in front of the discriminations is what will contribute the most in creating a better and safer society for everyone.