by Raymond Brandes, UNV Programme Specialist / Marwan Idris, UNV Project Associate
The banner says "Laki-laki sejati tidak melakukan kekerasan" or "Real men don't commit violence". (Photo: UNV)The
banner in the center says "segala bentuk kekerasan" or "Stop all forms
of violence" and on the left, "Ayo bersihkan diri dari segala bentuk
kekerasan" means "Let's clear out all forms of violence". (Photo: UNV)
05 December 2011
Aceh, Indonesia: PULIH
Aceh collaborated with the New Men’s Alliance, Rifka Annisa and the
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
(UN Women) to initiate the project, Working with Men and Boys to Prevent
Violence Against Women in Indonesia. It is supported by Partners for
Prevention, which is a regional joint programme on the prevention of
gender-based violence for Asia and the Pacific implemented by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA), UN Women and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
programme.
The project’s goal is to prevent and eliminate
gender-based violence and to strengthen the involvement of men in the
gender justice agenda. Through this project, speech contests for high
school students are held and a peaceful rally against violence was
organized with the Community Alliance Against Violence.
Speech
contests for students have become a way to build and strengthen
partnerships with educational institutions and increase the awareness of
students on gender-based violence. Now more students participate in
activities on gender equality.
A peaceful rally reinforced the
voluntary participation and contribution of men in promoting gender
equality. As a result, the spirit of community involvement in gender
equality and women's rights issues was awakened.
Marwan Idris, a
national UN Volunteer deployed at UN Women Aceh as a UNV Project
Associate, has been supporting this collaborative project. Marwan
incorporates and promotes the spirit of volunteerism into its
activities.
As a result of this project, the personal commitment
and voluntary spirit of gender activists is strengthened. The knowledge,
skills and understanding of young men are enhanced through information
sharing and training sessions, which empowers them to become more
involved in preventing and eliminating violence against women. A
bi-monthly discussion forum among all gender equality activists in Aceh
has been created.
In Aceh, people express the spirit of
volunteerism through a tradition called “meusaraya” or mutual aid. This
voluntary tradition based on reciprocity has become a social-cultural
identity of the Acehnese society. This form of mutual self-help creates
collaborative and mutually supportive communities. Communities organize
themselves and build on solidarity and empathy to form the foundation
for solving public affairs, supporting community progress, and
sustaining societal harmony.
Women’s rights activists have
established women’s organizations and put the elimination of
gender-based violence on the agenda and men are gradually joining the
women’s rights movement. (Male) volunteers continue to play an important
role in promoting women’s rights and assisting gender activists and
organizations in implementing programmes to end gender-based violence
and achieve gender equality.
