Lahore: December 6, 2012. (PCP) Mumkin Alliance (an alliance of civil society organizations working to ending gender based violence in Punjab) organized a Panel Discussion and Theater Performance to commemorate 16 days of Activism against gender based violence at FC College Lahore on December 5, 2012. This program aimed to raise awareness among youth on the importance of their role to eliminate violence and discrimination against women. The participants of the program included approximately 230 students from different departments of the FC College. Ms. Neelam Hussain (Simorgh), Salman Abid (Strengthening Participatory Organization) and Nadeem Fazil (War Against Rape) were the panelists. Ms. Shazia Shaheen was the moderator while Mr. Javed Pasha briefed the history of the 16 days campaign against gender based violence. Suneha Theatre presented a theatre performance to highlight various types of discrimination and violence against women in the Pakistani society and the importance of resistance against violence at all levels. Ms. Neelam Hussan briefed about the women’s rights movement during the dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq and particularly shared about the struggle of Women Action Forum against discriminatory laws and the violence in the name of religion which affected women at a large scale. Mr. Nadeem Fazil briefed about the recent legislation to end violence and discrimination against women. Particularly he put an emphasis on the law against harassment at work place and asked the students to be aware of these laws. "We need to put an eye against the anti-women practices prevailing in the society and should contribute at our best for the elimination of these inhumane practices, Nadeem Fazil added. Mr. Salman Abid said that the issue of violence in the Pakistani society is very important to address because unless we don’t give a peaceful environment to women, the violence against women cannot be eliminated. We should struggle against all types of violence prevailing in the Pakistani society and youth, particularly should play a very proactive role in this regard. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the dates November 25- International Day against Violence against Women- and December 10- International Human Rights Day- in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. This day was chosen to commemorate the death of the three Mirabel sisters who were detained, tortured and assassinated in 1960 during the dictatorship of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. The 16 Days Campaign for 2012 under the main theme ‘From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World’ has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels; strengthening local work around violence against women; establishing a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women and providing a forum in which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies.