Almas Jiwani, President of UN Women Canada National Committee attended the Istanbul International Crime and Punishment Film Festival. As an invited guest lecturer of the University of Istanbul and its Faculty of Law, Ms. Jiwani provided a keynote address examining the relationship between the justice system, disempowerment, and violence against women. A particular focus of Ms. Jiwani’s speech was the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and its emphasis on addressing gender-based violence at the grass roots level.
In addition to her address focusing on strategies, Ms. Jiwani presented an overview of the status of discrimination and violence against women in Canada, including the Canadian legislative framework pertaining to violence against women, the need for gender-aware policymaking and programming at all levels of government, and the key role of civil society in providing support services to marginalized communities. Commenting on her participation at the festival, Almas Jiwani stated: “Violence against women is a silent pandemic that threatens the lives of thousands of girls and women across the world. Tragically, 1 in 5 women are either raped, assaulted, or killed at the hands of their domestic partner, relative or a stranger. The global community cannot stand by and watch this gross injustice and violation of women’s rights occur each and every day and not take action. The Istanbul International Film Festival on Crime and Punishment provides an excellent venue to raise awareness and encourage discussion and information sharing because it brings together people from diverse industries and communities from around the world. I believe that film can be a very powerful vehicle for examining and publicizing the plight of the underrepresented and disempowered.”