Listen to Nasrin's voice on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Globally, around 1 in 3 women have been subjected to physical and / or sexual abuse at least once in their life. That is an estimated staggering 736 million women. 

Many women and girls in Lamp Lifeboat Ladder have also experienced violence, either in the country from which they fled, or during their migration. Our program provides survivors with safe housing, health care, access to psychological and other social support and community, as well as securing for them legal pathways to protection. 

At Lamp Lifeboat Ladder, we stand in solidarity with women and girls around the world who have experienced, and continue to experience violence and will work towards creating a world free from such violence. 

We are in the midst of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which began on 25 November on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

To mark this process, Nasrin, one of the women in our program, wrote a very powerful call to action about ending violence against women and girls she wants to share: 

It should never happen and we won't be bowed.

• The first slap came from the dearest person in their life, someone they thought would be the only one to support them in times of mistakes—their father.
• The second slap, from someone they believed could be a close companion, sharing pain and hours of conversation without any fear—yes, their brother.
• The third slap, from someone meant to be a lifelong partner, facing every problem together and providing solace for their wounds—indeed, their spouse, amid various slaps from society and acquaintances just for being a woman.

Truly, how can they inflict such delicate and shattering strikes on the creation of God, who is so fragile? From birth until they set foot on the earth, enduring taunting words, manipulative behavior, physical abuse, lustful glances, and everything they believe can break her. They forget that they themselves spent nine months in the womb of this very woman, who nurtured them in her arms.

Years of silence and turmoil, silent cries, deep internal scars, years without savoring the taste of freedom, and years of hiding themselves and feeling ashamed of being a woman are enough. No one should have the right to condemn us for being women.

It’s time to stand up, to scream in a way that even those who are asleep awaken and realize that we are no longer the women of their imagination, ready to be struck with a blow. Now, the voice of each of us is the voice of all women, and breaking one silence is the beginning of shattering other silences, initiating a stand against any form of violence against women and girls.