A National Campaign “#AbKoiBahanaNahi” was launched today in New Delhi. It is a collaborative effort between the Ministries of Women and Child Development and Rural Development, with support from UN Women. The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Annpurna Devi, Union Minister for Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Kamlesh Paswan and Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications were present on this occasion.

While addressing the gathering the Minister Smt. Annpurna Devi said that the purpose of this campaign being launched today is to advance the rights of women and individuals of diverse genders, and to free their lives from fear and gender-based discrimination. This aims to empower women to break free from shame and societal constraints, enabling them to report the atrocities they have faced and fight for their dignity.

This year, building on the Global Campaign of the United Nations of #NoExcuse, which draws attention to the alarming escalation of violence against women to revitalize commitments, call for accountability and action, the Government of India launched #AbKoiBahanaNahi with the aim to highlight the message of urgency of ending violence against women and girls, and underscoring zero-tolerance stance of central India towards any and all forms of gender-based violence.

The Government of India, implementing the paradigm shift in governance to women-led development, has created enabling provisions for women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in all spheres of life and the economy, such as several large scale interventions to reduce women’s drudgery and  poverty, building public care infrastructure and universal access to healthcare, to reduce women’s disproportionate care work, improving access to formal financial systems, bridging the gender digital divide, ensuring safe mobility, safe accommodation, and building a robust service delivery infrastructure for the prevention and redressal of all forms of violence against women and girls. 

Highlighting the good work already underway the Union Minister for Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said that if women are to be completely empowered, then women empowerment, social empowerment, political empowerment, and educational empowerment must be achieved. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, women empowerment initiatives are being implemented as a campaign.

Gender-based violence inhibits women and girls from living with dignity and contributing as equal partners in the development process. As India aims to become a developed country by 2047, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, this dream will not be possible without women’s full and equal contribution, which, in turn, is hindered if women continue to face violence or the threat of violence. The Union Minister for Women and Child Development reiterated the importance of female participation in the economy to make Viksit Bharat, as envisioned by Prime Minister, a reality.

Hence, in order to urge all stakeholders to take decisive steps towards addressing violence against women and girls, the “#AbKoiBahanaNahi” (#अबकोईबहानानहीं)  campaign commenced with a national Call to Action. To ensure a wide reach on spreading the call to action on ending gender-based violence, leaving no one behind, the campaign was launched in conjunction  with the ‘Nayi Chetna 3.0 campaign,’ organized by the Ministry of Rural Development, reaffirming the national commitment to end all forms of gender-based violence.

At the launch event, a film on #AbKoiBahanaNahi was showcased, highlighting the need for accountability from all stakeholders, including citizens, to pledge against ending gender-based violence.

The primary objective of the campaign is to foster advocacy efforts and inform policy directives concerning the safety and security of women and girls. Furthermore, this campaign serves as a critical and urgent call for systemic change, emphasizing the imperative for justice, equity, and transformation. The campaign aims to catalyze a ripple effect, where each action and initiative contributes to reinforcing the message of women’s safety as a fundamental and non-negotiable priority for national growth and development.

The launch event was attended by women leaders from Self Help Groups across the country, staff from service providers for redressal for survivors of violence against women and girls, such as One Stop Centres, and Aanganwadi workers, amongst others.  To spread the awareness of the campaign to the remotest corners of the country, the launch was telecast live through the Webcast link and  Ministry of Women and Child Development’s YouTube channel.

Globally, every year, from 25^th November, which is observed as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10^th December, which is observed as the Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism campaign is observed by civil society to raise awareness on ending gender-based violence.

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