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Dakar, 22 July 2020- In this period of the coronavirus pandemic, violence against women and girls is on the rise. "This must stop!" It is to alert the populations of the Sahel region that 11 African celebrities in partnership with the association Lumière pour l'Enfance de Coumba Gawlo and the Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project are launching "The Cry of silence". A single that advocates for the respect of the barrier measures against Covid-19 and the prevention of violence against women and girls during the coronavirus.

The SWEDD governments, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank, the West African Health Organization (WAHO) in collaboration with The Sanitation & Hygiene Fund /WSSC and Youth organization AfriYAN and AfriYAN Girls have initiated a campaign with the theme #StrongerTogether: "My empowerment, my future. Even in times of crisis! ». The objective of the regional multimedia campaign integrating a range of services is to support interventions in the areas of health (family planning, menstrual hygiene, access to water and sanitation) and schooling, distance education, girls' return to school, as well as the fight against gender-based violence such as child marriage, excision, and domestic violence, among others. Through this campaign, the commitment of all, especially men, to a shared responsibility within the household and the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable people, women and girls are more than ever a priority in these difficult times.

It is in a spirit of solidarity that Zeynab Habib (Benin), Alif Naaba (Burkina Faso), Daphné (Cameroon), Serge Beynaud (Ivory Coast), Manamba Kanté (Guinea Conakry), Mouna Mint Dendeni (Mauritania), Binta Torodo (Niger), Fatoumata Diawara (Mali), Sidiki Diabaté (Mali), Coumba Gawlo (Senegal), and Mounira Mitchala (Chad) raise awareness on the urgent need to curb acts of violence in various forms, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic which, beyond its health dimension, has multiple consequences, at the economic, cultural and social levels.

Join us in defending the dignity of women and girls in their time of greatest need. The single "The Cri du Silence" is set to music by Senegalese diva Coumba Gawlo and produced by Guélongal, in partnership with the SWEDD project #StrongerTogether #PlusFortsEnsemble.

To see the video clip, The Cry of silence, click here

Contacts :

Céline Adotevi : adotevi@unfpa.org

Maretou Kebe : lpecoumbagawlo@gmail.com

 

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