White Ribbon marked the White Ribbon Day for Elimination of Violence against Women and launched a nationwide pledge campaign in connection with International Day on Violence against Women falling on November 25.

White Ribbon launched its official theme of the year #iPledge. The purpose of launching this theme is to engage the maximum number of people especially men and boys to take the pledge; Never to Commit, never to support and never to remain silent about Violence against Women.

At the launch CEO, White Ribbon Omer Aftab showed solidarity with victims of violence. Expressing concerns over current condition of Pakistani women, he stressed on the need of immediate steps for the eradication of violence against women. 1 out of 5 women in Pakistan faces domestic violence and the ratio has alarmingly increased by 20% in recent years.

Omer Aftab explained that the objective of the campaign is to raise awareness of women’s rights, strengthen support mechanism for victims of violence and advocate for pro-women legislation. Fulfilment of women rights is an ongoing struggle and all the stakeholders must join hands for this cause, he added.

White Ribbon is men’s movement to end violence against women with a unique approach of addressing the patriarchal mindset of individuals and the society. We believe it is not sufficient to create awareness about women rights among women only but it is necessary that men join along with them; to encourage norms of consent, respect and gender equality; to challenge the unfair power relations which promote gender-based violence.