Sunday was International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, held every year on November 25 as the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. The annual event, which was first marked at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, has since become a key day for those around the world working on protecting women and girls, especially those who work at the UN and other major international institutions.
I give this context to highlight how powerful this day is and could be. Instead it is the pointless international moment when global institutions pick and choose exactly which women and girls they seek to protect. On October 7, Hamas raped, killed and kidnapped women and girls in Israel. Those of us who have worked on violence against women and girls know this is a crime against humanity.
