Niloufar Pourzand: International Conference on Gender and Vilence 24-26 October 2019

The U of Helsinki - Gender Studies - organized an International Conference on Gender and Violence 24-26th of October 2019.

 There were approximately 350-400 participants from all corners of the world. The Conference included three Keynote Speakers - I heard two of them speak - and up to 25 Workshops each day on various issues related to gender and violence. 

 I spoke at one of them on Child Marriage, Conflict and the MENA Region: Challenging Euro-Centric Perspectives on the 26th of October. This was based on the work I had done as a consultant for UNICEF MENA two years back and my own interest in the topic. It was well received and we had an engaging discussion subsequently. Some of the other topics covered included - Violence & Shelter, Anti-Feminist Currents in Latin America, Gender-based Violence and Urban Spaces, Online Violence against Women, Trafficking and Violence, the Media, Cinema and Gendered Violence, Narratives of Masculinity and Violence in the MENA Region, Social Movements Fighting Against Gender-Based Violence, Transviolence and the Global South, Gender Based Violence in New Migrant Communities, Violence against Non-Human Animals, Narrativizing Gendered Violence in African Contexts and many others.

The Conference was opened by the former President of Finland, Ms. Tarja Halonen who referred to the UN, CEDAW and the SDGs. The first Keynote Speaker was Prof Swati Parashar (of India but now teaching at Gothenburg University) on “Ordinary Lives and the Certitudes of Violence: Rethinking Accountability and Justice". She was very articulate and impactful in challenging all to consider not only the more evident/spoken aspects of GBV and violence but also those that we don’t hear or read about in the context of violence- such as famines. 

 The second Keynote Speaker was Prof Sima Shakhsari (of Iran but now teaching at the University of Minneapolis). The title of her talk - also very good - was "Violence of Freedom: Loaned Life and Rightful Killing”. She too spoke about the global/local unequal power relationships that perpetuate gender-based and other violence. She referred to - for example - the impact of the US sanctions against Iran which contribute to many people dying from lack of medication - including her own sister. 

 There was also a final session on Climate Change attended by a Sami activist (the indigenous minority hope of Finland), a representative from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affair and others. The inter-linkages between climate change, the private sector & profit, gender and other inequalities, climate change related activism etc. was discussed.

There is of course much more to say about the Conference but I hope to have provided a brief snapshot for my dear X-UNICEF friends. If anyone of you are interested to know more - please let me know and we can exchange bilaterally.