13-12-2022 | di COOPI

Chad. Poetry Slam Fighting Violence Against Women

On 9 December, in the Chadian capital, N'Jdamena, COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale organised an awareness-raising activity entitled "Together we say NO to violence against women and girls for the reconstruction of Chad", as part of the "16 Days of Activism" - the international mobilisation linking the 25 November celebration against violence on women to 10 December, World Human Rights Day.

During the awareness-raising day, representatives of the Ministry of Gender and National Solidarity of the Republic of Chad, the Union of Associations Working in Child Protection (UAPET), the Delegation of the European Union to Chad, the Association of Women Lawyers and the Liaison and Information Unit of Women's Associations (CELIAF) spoke, reaffirming their position against violence against women. Then, it was the turn of the next generation: the girls and boys from the orphanages supported by COOPI. Their intervention showed once again the intense will for change of the youngest generation towards the achievement of gender equality. Ten children, through the poetry slam, expressed their position against female genital mutilation, sexual violence, early or forced marriages and verbal and psychological violence: the most widespread forms of violence against women and girls in Chad.

The eradication of violence against women and girls can only include coordinated and multi-sectoral actions by governments and civil society. In this sense, COOPI's action aims to be part of a matrix of mobilisation and awareness-raising, advocacy and lobbying. Thus, on 9 December 2022, COOPI encouraged people to take a stand against practices and dynamics that favour the persistence of social inequalities, and invited them to become allies of the cause.

The protection system towards women and the most vulnerable groups in Chad is extremely weak; in fact, the social reality remains rather dramatic and poorly documented. In this context, since 2019, COOPI has been implementing the "Project for the prevention and care of children in difficult situations in the city of Ndjamena and its surroundings", with the support of the European Union. The project's implementation methodology allows for constant interaction with local civil society organisations: the aim is to respond in an integral and appropriate manner to the needs identified and to detect the challenges that remain to be addressed in the country. At the same time, COOPI is committed to supporting women's community movements, such as CELIAF, whose mission is to contribute to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, and to the promotion of the socio-economic, legal and political situation.

Since 1976, COOPI has been at the forefront in Chad in the fight for the elimination of violence against women and girls, maintaining a constant dialogue with communities and political institutions, stimulating and supporting change and the equitable distribution of human rights among all social groups.