Gender, violence and the post-2015 framework

Violent attacks on girls and women are nothing new. But two particularly shocking attacks on young women in 2012 have not only sparked widespread condemnation, they are also shaping the discussion on what follows the Millennium Development Goals. The shooting of 15-year old Malala Yousafzai in the head in Pakistan – punishment by the Taliban for her vocal support for girls’ education – was condemned immediately in her own country and around the world. However, that a 15-year-old girl could be seen as such a threat also revealed the sheer power of social norms that deny girls their rights and exposed huge vested interests in maintaining a status quo that is weighted against women’s rights. More recently, the brutal rape and murder of 23-year-old ‘Nirbhaya’ in India provoked widespread horror and inspired almost instant mass demonstrations, with thousands of people taking to the streets to demand change in the treatment of women...