On November 2022, 11, third-year students from the Toyo Gakuen University Faculty of Global Communication International Cooperation and International Aid Research Seminar (Lecturer Chie Kawaguchi) held an educational event titled "Elimination of Violence against Women - What We Think Through the Movie Sonita." What you can do-” was held.The venue, Phoenix Hall, was attended by 25 people from inside and outside the university.
This enlightenment event was organized by third-year Kawaguchi seminar students as part of the global campaign for the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.With the aim of deepening understanding of the current state of violence against women in Afghanistan and support, preparations will be made in cooperation with Bunkyo Ward, UN Women (United Nations Women's Organization), and the international NGO JOICFP, which conducts awareness-raising activities for the elimination of violence against women. I have progressed.
On the day of the event, a presentation was given on the current situation and challenges of violence against women in Afghanistan.The background of gender inequality in the country is political reasons due to the Taliban's return to power, and poverty issues due to the prolonged drought and civil war. He explained that it is closely related to marriage and forced marriage.Next, we introduced the culture of Afghanistan, focusing on the music and clothes that appear in the movie, and held an appreciation party for "Sonita."
The movie I watched this time, "Sonita," is a documentary film about an Afghan refugee girl who is about to be forced into marriage for her family's sake.After watching the movie, in order to deepen the understanding of the story of the movie and the problems that are occurring in Afghanistan, there will be a quiz devised by the seminar students, an introduction to related movies and books, and an explanation of how we can support women and gender-based violence. did.
In addition, at the venue, dried fruits and nuts produced in Afghanistan were distributed, and the purchase of fair-trade products and the donation of goods such as school bags carried out by the NGO JOICFP were explained, and participants were also called for donations.The money collected on the day will be sent to the United Nations Women Japan Association by the seminar students at a later date and will be donated in full.
A student from the Kawaguchi Seminar, who planned an event for the first time as part of an international awareness campaign, commented, "I was able to learn as a student. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I want to spread the word not only in Afghanistan, but also in other developing countries and in Japan. I would like to learn about the case ofIn addition, after the event, I worked as an activist for “I LADY.”, a collaborative project between the international cooperation NGO JOICFP and Bunkyo Ward, in which the seminar students are participating. He explained the concept of the project, which aims to disseminate knowledge and information on health and rights to young people in Bunkyo Ward, and held a group discussion on the theme of "thinking about gender disparities in Japan."
