‘CREATING SAFE SPACES FOR EVERYONE’: Cebu-based Zonta Club’s Walk for Women eyes safe spaces for women, girls

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Zonta Club of Cebu II will hold its 1st ever virtual “Walk For Women” from November 25 to December 12, 2021, with the goal of raising awareness on current issues during the 18-day national Campaign to End Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC).

In this event, participants can choose to walk or run anywhere – be it on the road, the treadmill, at the beach, wherever they may be, at their own time, place and pace, as long as they walk the distance they indicated in their registration for one day within any of the dates.

Each of the distances (in kilometers) that participants sign up for corresponds to a specific cause, aligning with the theme to “Create Safe Spaces for Everyone”:

• 3 km (Say NO to Teenage Pregnancy);
• 5 km (End Child Marriage);
• 10 km (Break the Chain of Inequality and Abuse);
• 15 km (Stand Up Against Trafficking of Women and Children); and
• 21 km (Say NO to Violence Against Women).

The event’s Organizing Committee Chair, Atty. Regal Oliva, says anyone in the country or around the world can join the said virtual walk.

“With this virtual walk, participants can walk or run their own race, at their own time, place and pace. Anyone can join from anywhere in the world – they can be at the beach in Cebu or in New York’s Central Park, on the streets of Manila or Paris or inside their own homes on a treadmill”, Oliva said.

Elaine Bathan, Zonta Club of Cebu II’s Advocacy Chair, said that the Walk for Women hopes to empower women and girls not just in the country, but also around the world.

Bathan cited data from the United Nations (UN) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which indicated that 750 million women and girls alive today were married before the age of 18, over 131 million school-aged girls are out of school, young women aged 15-29 are more than three times as likely as young men to not be in employment, education or training, and 1 in 5 women has experienced physical or sexual violence in the last 12 months.

“These statistics show a world in which women and girls alike endure some form of discrimination, inequality and violence. We at Zonta believe that if we all work together, we can affect real and lasting positive change. The world can be made a better place by empowering girls and women and investing in their well-being,” said Bathan.

The club’s Service Chair, Odette Jereza, says that not even the current pandemic cannot stop their steadfast endeavor to see a safer world for women and girls.

“All these because Zonta Club of Cebu 2 will forge ahead and make headway towards a world where all are equal and all are free from violence and abuse, ” said Jereza.

Participants can register online via the event’s official website (https://zontacebu2walk.myruntime.com/) starting from September 25, and will run for 2 months.

Registration fee is at P750.00, regardless of the distance, and will entitle each participant to a Gratuity Bag containing a customized dri-fit shirt, sun visor, tumbler, and drawstring bag.