Blinken on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women: The U.S. is Committed to Creating a Future Free of 'Gender-Based Violence'

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a statement on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, emphasized the United States' commitment to employing a wide range of policies and diplomatic resources to prevent and address gender-based violence worldwide. November 25 has been designated as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations to focus on the issue of violence against women and girls and to call for more effective actions to combat it. In the statement released on Saturday, November 25, Blinken highlighted the implementation of the United States' 'updated' strategy for preventing and responding to gender-based violence globally in 2022, stating that the U.S. State Department has recently introduced a new $3 million program for 'preventing, reducing, and addressing online gender-based violence in South and Central Asia.' Blinken noted that the escalation of gender-based violence is alarmingly high and spares no country, community, or socio-economic group. He also promised that the United States would continue to work with its partners towards a future free of online gender-based violence. The Iranian Writers' Association also issued a statement on Friday, November 24, ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, criticizing the 'systematic misogyny' and 'mandatory hijab' imposed by the Islamic regime in Iran. Nationwide protests in 2022 following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police began, with several women burning their headscarves and cutting their hair in protest against the mandatory hijab. In part of the Iranian Writers' Association's statement, the 'protest against mandatory hijab' on March 8, 1979, is mentioned as the first public step of the 'women's resistance and freedom movement' after the 'establishment of the Islamic regime.' The Iranian Writers' Association described the 'governmental murder of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini' as the cause of the 'ignition' of the 'women's resistance and freedom movement' and its transformation into a 'public movement.' In this statement, the Islamic Republic's actions to counter this public movement and 'control women's anger and protests and subjugate them,' 'continuous repression of protesters across the country,' 'widespread arrests,' 'imposition of heavy prison sentences,' 'use of the age-old weapon of rape,' 'poisoning in girls' schools and dormitories,' and 'insanity-inducing and suicide-inducing actions' are assessed as unsuccessful. Amnesty International last month criticized mandatory hijab in Iran as a tool for 'widespread and systematic violations of the human rights of women and girls' in a statement on social media. This organization called on countries around the world to hold Iranian officials accountable for 'ordering, planning, and committing widespread and systematic violations of the human rights of women and girls' through the enforcement of mandatory hijab using international legal mechanisms. Forbes magazine also published an article on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, stating that approximately 736 million women worldwide, or about one in three women, have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives. These acts of violence include beating, psychological abuse, rape including spousal rape, femicide, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual acts, sexual abuse of children, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber harassment, trafficking, slavery, sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, and child marriage. Recent global estimates from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime indicate that, on average, more than 5 women or girls are killed by a family member every hour (or one every 11 minutes). In 2020, nearly 47,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members. Asia accounted for the highest number of victims with 18,600 murders. Africa also has the highest number of victims in the world relative to the female population. The Iranian Writers' Association stated that 'the imposition of mandatory hijab' was the first step of the Islamic regime in suppressing women. The European Parliament called for the Islamic Republic to end 'discrimination against women and girls' and 'hostage diplomacy.'