The United Nations Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Africa, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, the European Union Ambassador, Ambassador Samuela Isopi, and the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria Mr. Mohammed Malick Fall, during the week, hosted a private screening of ‘Deafening Silence’ movie to a select audience of the international community comprising Country Representatives and Business Executives.
“Deafening Silence” movie, currently showing in cinemas across Nigeria and beyond, is a result of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative that advocates for gender equality and women empowerment in Nigeria. The Spotlight Initiative aligns strongly with the Government of Nigeria’s gender priorities as well as the European Union’s and the United Nations’ Gender Action Points. The intervention is on gender equality, women’s empowerment, and combating SGBV and Violence Against Women (VAW).
“Deafening Silence” produced by the UNDP within the framework of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, leverages the power of storytelling to explore themes of Gender Equality, Gender Empowerment, and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Nigeria. The film aims to foster deep and honest conversations around these critical issues, with the goal of incentivizing social change.
This transformative initiative is part of a broader gender norm result-chain intervention developed by the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative in Nigeria. This film seeks to raise awareness and inspire action to combat GBV, promoting a society where gender equality and empowerment are fundamental values.
Fielding questions to journalists about the victims of gender-based violence, Emanuela Claude Del Re, European Union Special Representative for the Sahel, said that “Some people don’t understand that they are victims. They think it is normal to treat people in that way. Our aim is to protect victims and make people understand that the victims are suffering from a crime.”
She commended ‘Deafening Silence’ movie for its remarkable impact in the fight against gender-based violence. According to her, “The film is not only for Nigeria. The film is for the world. In this moment tonight Nigeria is the Centre of the world,” she added.
She further remarked that “European Union has been funding projects to support women, especially funding for the rights of women and for the advancement of women. Nigeria also brings some things to the European Union and I want to say that UNDP is particularly committed to supporting women projects. I’m on the side of women. Everyone’s contribution is very vital,” she affirmed.
Speaking at the event, Elsie Attafuah, Resident Representative, UNDP Nigeria, said “The story tonight is that Three out of every 10 women have experienced gender-based violence. These are people in our family who are being impacted by gender-based violence. It is your brother, your sister, mothers, cousins, aunties, etc. Therefore, it is a collective responsibility for all of us to be able to take action. She added that there is need for partnership with the private sector, partnership with the creative industry, and partnership with the media – to help in the story telling and to help the United Nations. “We at United Nations are particularly intentional in bringing stakeholders together to help in telling this story. We are hoping that we would all take it further. It’s an opportunity to challenge this gender-based violence and I believe this is the beginning of the conversation,” she said.
According to Mohamed Malick Fall, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, there is nothing more important than the essence of the gathering at the Deafening Silence screening event, which is about development. For him, “The role of women in development is a critical issue. The movie reflects the reality of what we see on a daily basis. It is not only about Nigeria or Africa but it’s about the world. We have done the comparatives to understand the full participation of women in the development process. It’s a wakeup call for all of us to join hands together to address issues of gender-based violence, gender inequality, discrimination against women, address societal norms and economic barriers or limitations that they face in the dynamics of power within society. I think that’s why the gathering this evening is very important.”
Speaking further, he said that, “The male child in the modern-day society should be raised with the understanding of equality between the male and the female child (girls and boys), each one having a role to play in the society. It is good to start the transformation of the mind from the roots so that they will grow with the value of equality and the value of standing against discrimination and the value of empowering women. The government has a role to play through the right policies, and institutions; but I think it shouldn’t be about government alone but through something that provokes the entire society with all the units and institutions playing their roles.”
“Deafening Silence” is in three components; film, limited series (8 Episodes) and television series.
The joint EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, funded by the EU, is a global, multi-year partnership between the European Union and United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence and harmful practices against women and girls by 2030. It sought to pull together substantive work that has been done around GEWE and SGBV, leveraging on the power of storytelling and media to create a transformative impact in Nigeria, a country where gender-based violence and harmful gender norms persist.
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