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Moroccan organization “Women for Diversity and Peace,” based in Rabat, has recently partnered with German foundation “IIK – Initiative for International Cultural Exchange” to launch a digital exhibition titled “Women and Coexistence”.
The purpose of the joint initiative is to honor women and highlight their importance in building a society of peace and coexistence. Additionally, the program will provide support for civil society organizations in both Morocco and Germany.
The importance of this initiative cannot be overstated. While the United Nations declares gender equality to be both a fundamental human right and a key foundation for a prosperous, sustainable world, a multitude of facts demonstrates that women are still sorely underrepresented at all levels. Between 1992 and 2019, only three out of every ten peace processes worldwide included women mediators or signatories. Additionally, women only constituted 13% of negotiators, 6% of mediators, and 6% of signatories in major peace processes during this same time period. Such numbers are particularly shocking since women are often the primary victim of violence worldwide.
This lack of representation is often exacerbated by the pervasive existence of discriminatory laws and social norms throughout the world. In some countries, women still face legal discrimanation preventing them from participating fully in society. In other cultures, strict social norms and expectations place women in a box that stifles their abilities and talents. Many women are deprived of their fundamental rights because they are kept unaware of them.
The “Women and Coexistence” digital exhibition challenges these norms by asking and reflecting on a variety of questions. The exhibition encourages viewers to reflect on the ways gender equality, diverse realities, and the promotion of gender justice help women speak out and be the key to coexistence and dialogue. It also addresses how individual success stories can evolve from raising awareness about gender inequality to positively impacting local situations, and how storytelling can help engage men in transforming harmful gender norms and expectations.
By utilizing technology, digital spaces, and media, the exhibition spreads a message of gender justice, diversity, coexistence, and dialogue in a way that is both human and spontaneous. Its real, relatable form of expression offers a space to honor women and allows men to speak out as active participants in the fight for women’s rights and peaceful coexistence.
During the event, which started on August 1 and will run until September 2021, the Moroccan and German organizations will share their joint message with an international audience by showcasing banners from gender perspective, as well as publishing videos that tell the success stories of inspiring men and women.
The two organizations hope that the stories will spread the message that women are the key to diversity and coexistence, and that gender equality is essential for a healthy society. The initiative aims to open new channels of communication about gender justice in a cross-cultural context by stimulating passionate discussion online concerning the issues. Ultimately, they seek to create a lasting change by inspiring individuals and communities in Morocco, Germany, and the world to take an active, real role in addressing issues of gender inequality.
Nezha Sadik, co-president of Women for Diversity and Peace, stated: “Through the initiative “Women and Coexistence”, we wish to introduce to the international audience untold stories, to spread the culture of gender equality, [involve] men, [and] promot[e] dialogue and gender equality via media (videos and infographic productions)…. We believe that by exchanging expertise and creating synergy in civil society, we participate in promoting gender equality and dialogue”.
Lipi Mahjabi Ahmed, president of the German organization IIK, shared similar sentiments. In a statement to Morocco World News, they said, “It’s a great honour for us to work with the Moroccan organization “Women for Diversity and Peace” in the joint initiative “Women and Coexistence”, especially with the knowledge of the historical background of Morocco regarding diversity, coexistence, and peace. In addition, through this initiative we want to shed more light on the necessity of gender justice and women’s empowerment, all in creating peaceful, inclusive and developed societies”.
The coming together of the two organizations to advocate for women’s rights demonstrates how many small acts can be the beginning of something truly great. When organizations, cultures, and nations join together to promote human dignity and equal opportunity, society comes closer to building a world of peace and coexistence for all.
