UN, Diya FC collaborate for one-day event

Friendly match held to promote programme aimed at eradicating violence against women

KARACHI: The United Nations (UN) joined hands with Diya FC to hold a friendly match between Colours and Orange for the promotion of the UNiTE programme at St Patrick’s School on Thursday.

The programme, which aims to increase awareness about how to curtail violence against women, has been taking place since 2008 every year on February 25.

The match, meanwhile, took place between two teams comprising of players from Diya FC and students from St Patrick’s School, Learning Tree School, Aga Khan School (Kharadar), Karachi Women’s College and Asif Government School.





Colours defeated Orange 2-0 as goals from Nadia Qurban and Mariam Haji settled the tie and UN representative Henriette Bjoerge was delighted with the response the programme has been receiving since its inception.

“We’ve collaborated with Diya FC because they have been promoting the sport among women for quite a while and a lot of young girls play for them,” Bjoerge told The Express Tribune. “The message of this event is a very basic one; every time they score a goal, it promotes gender equality, equal rights and the eventual aim of eradicating violence against women. These girls are improving women’s rights one practice and one goal at a time.”



Bjoerge further added that the next phase of the programme would encourage women to pursue sports in safe places to avoid any form of harassment and the UN is working on a plan to take these women to such places themselves.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th,  2016.

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