2025-08-23

No woman should be afraid of violence

The international organization Zonta International invites you to open lectures at Uppsala Concert & Congress. The lectures are about violence against women and girls, child marriage, and climate and food. Zonta's vision is that no woman should be afraid of violence. Today, one in three women has been subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once in her life.

“Violence against women and girls knows no national borders. It knows no cultural borders. It knows no borders at all,” says Christina Rylander Bergqvist, chair of the international Zonta Says NO committee. Christina Rylander Bergqvist will talk about Zonta’s work against child marriage. One in five girls in the world under the age of 18 is married.
– There is a child marriage every two seconds. Child marriage is a violation of human rights, Christina states. 38% of all women in the world have personal experiences of violence online, Christina says and notes – Violence against women and pockets happens more often than you think, closer than you realize. It happens every day and every night. All year round.

Irina Schoulgin Nyoni, Ambassador for Human Rights at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, will lecture on human rights from the perspective of women and girls. Other speakers include Petra Blom, Development Manager at the County Administrative Board of Södermanland, who will talk about honor-related violence and oppression with a focus on abducted children, and Elin Röös, researcher at SLU. Elin teaches at SLU about sustainable food production and consumption. Zonta also works to stop climate change.

Zonta in Uppsala invites everyone who wants to create a better world for women and girls to participate in the free seminar at Uppsala Concert & Congress on Friday, September 5th, 1-5 p.m. Registration is done in link to simplesignup.se.