UN calls for the ending of violence against women - 25 Nov 09

Ban Ki-Moon, the secretargy general of the United Nations, has called on men and boys around the world to help end violence against women.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Ban Ki -Moon unveiled a newly created network of men to execute his plan.

He wants prominent male leaders to act as role models, to get more men to condemn violence against women.

The UN also revealed figures from South Africa which say that a woman is killed every six hours by her husband or partner.

In India, at least 22 women were killed every day over arguments about wedding dowries in 2007.

Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous places to be a woman, almost 90 percent are believed to suffer from domestic abuse.

And in Jordan, the UN says 43 per cent of women are victims of abuse. Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh met some of them.

Also providing her views on the issue was Hibaaq Osman, the chairwoman of Karama, a women's rights organisation based in Cairo, the Egyptian capital.

Osman says the reason women have become victims of such abuse is due to their role in the family, which has remained a private issue most especially in Arab world.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• aljazeera
• al jazeera
• hibaaq osman
• ending violence against women
• Nisreen El-Shamayleh
• United Nations
• Karama
• women's rights