We keep being told that women can do anything. We see them start their own businesses, run for parliament, travel to space or even choose to take time off and start families. But usually, narrative and reality are two different things. Sadly, gender-based violence is still something women all over the globe have to constantly contend with and navigate. The pandemic put an even bigger highlight on the issue, since so many women found themselves trapped in homes and spaces where they were not safe from physical, verbal or mental abuse.
This makes the work of organizations like Soroptimist Kuwait even more urgent and imperative. The local nonprofit organization aims to Educate, Empower and Enable women and girls in Kuwait. This year, they organized the “Orange Kuwait” campaign by establishing 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
The campaign was born from an international movement launched by the United Nations called “Orange the World”. Every year, it takes place in the period between International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on the 25th of November and Human Rights Day on the 10th of December.
The campaigns aim to raise global awareness on the importance of ending violence against women and girls. Organizations like the UN and Soroptimist want to encourage people to not only understand the devastating effects of violence against women, but to also take action towards securing their safety and rights.
The statistics on abuse from within the region are sobering. According to a Soroptimist study, 61.92% of participants reported that they had been exposed to some form of violence. Violence is an abnormal behavior that threatens the security of humanity. Soroptimist has classified 11 types of violence according to social and psychological studies and the United Nations guide. The survey respondents showed that 91% of said violence was verbal, 72.4% was emotional, 46.8% physical, and 22% was economic violence. The victims also shared that two-thirds of the attacks were instigated by men, 42.3% of whom they were closely related to. However, Dr. Amar Behbehani, past President of Soroptimist Kuwait, pointed out that violence is not defined by age, gender, nationality, or social class, in a statement.
One of the more visible activities that are part of the campaign has been to light up local landmarks and major city buildings in the color orange to show their support and remind communities that they can and should do
something about the issue. The color orange symbolizes a brighter future without violence against women and girls.
Soroptimist Kuwait, along with the help of the then Minister of Social affairs and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Maryam Al-Aqeel and Dr. Lubna Al Khazi, Head of the Women’s Research Center at Kuwait University, brought a beautiful and hopeful orange glow to Kuwait. More than twenty buildings adorned their facades with orange light to show their support
for the issue. Most notably, The Kuwait Towers shone bright orange for the duration. Medical institutions like the Dasman Diabetes Institute, Qutaina Medical Clinic and the Jaber Hospital showed their support. Bank Headquarter Buildings like NBK and Gulf Bank also went orange. Other local landmarks like Al Hamra Tower, Sadu House and 360 Mall were also
eager to help raise awareness.
Soroptimist Kuwait joined forces with The Body Shop and Royal Pharmacies and ran a fullfledged social media campaign. The body shop donated 7 fils from each sales transaction from the 4th of November to the 19th of December to Soroptimist Kuwait. This furthered the cause’s ability to raise funds while increasing awareness of the issue in order to support
even more victims of abuse and violence.
Violence against women and girls is a complicated and deep-rooted issue, but with perseverance and the long-term work of organizations like Soroptimist Kuwait and our support as a community, it is one that we can tackle and hopefully end soon.
You can see all the posts that supported the movement by checking out the following hashtags: #breakthesilenceq8, ,اكسروا حاجزالصمت# #hearmetoo, #orangetheworld, #orangeisforsafety, #evaw, #kuwaitagainstviolence, #eliminateviolenceagainstwomen and #unwomen on Instagram. For more information, please visit @SoroptimistKuwait on Instagram, and soroptomistkuwait.org. You can find out more about the campaign by following @orange.kuwait and @unwomen on Instagram.
