On 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the entire parliament of Maldives with  77 members signed on to Say NO - UNiTE, a global call to end violence against women. At another  historic ceremony to mark the International Human Rights Day, the Austrian Government and Members of Parliament signed on to Say NO on 10 December 2009.

In Maldives, in addition to the signing, a resolution on the Elimination of Violence against Women was adopted by the People’s Majlis, the main legislature body in the country. The signing, organized in cooperation with UNDP and UNIFEM, was led by Secretary General of the People’s Majlis Ahmed Mohamed: “I am pleased to announce that all Members of Parliament have signed on to Say NO in support of UNIFEM’s noble cause. With adopting this new resolution we are calling for an end to violence against women”.

The signing in Vienna was led by the President of the Austrian Parliament Barbara Prammer, a long-term supporter of Say NO, in cooperation with UNIFEM. All Members of the Government, headed by Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice-Chancellor Josef Pröll, as well as 79 Members of Parliament signed the initiative. A total of  189 signatures were collected.

To send a clear message that all political parties are united under a common goal to  to ban all forms of violence against women,  Mrs. Prammer also organized a joint press conference on violence against women with the parliamentary spokespersons for gender equality of the different parties  in parliament. In her statement, Prammer stressed the importance of action on a national level: “The fight to end violence against women has to be a top priority for us. I believe that effective action has to start on a national level. I encourage especially my male colleagues to act as examples and to take legislative action on this issue.”

To see a list of signees, view the Maldives Say NO action page here

View the Austrian Say NO action page here