Watch UN Women Pakistan’s Powerful New #BeatMe Campaign Video

by Yesha Maniar 

U.N. Women Pakistan recently released a new video to fight against the domestic and sexual violence women face around the world and particularly, Pakistan. U.N. Women Pakistan’s new video and hashtag, #BeatMe, highlights accomplished Pakistani women such as Sarwant Gilani, Samina Baig, Sana Bucha and others, asking men to beat them professionally in their fields.

The video implicitly points out the cowardice of physical and sexual violence and shows that courage is not defined by your ability to hit another person. A particularly powerful moment shows a pregnant woman saying, “Beat me at life.”

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According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women around the world have faced physical or sexual violence. These rates are higher in South Asia. In a Human Rights Watch study in Pakistan, 70 to 90 percent of women reported experiencing some form of abuse. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 87 percent of women reported experiencing domestic violence. In India, the number of reported cases of domestic and sexual violence has increased 134 percent from 2003 to 2013. Every five minutes there is an incident of domestic violence reported in India.

In India, the number of reported cases of domestic and sexual violence has increased 134 percent from 2003 to 2013. Every five minutes there is an incident of domestic violence reported in India.

Domestic violence is very prevalent across South Asia, but in our generation, there has been an increase in education and outreach surrounding the issue. Physical and sexual violence against women has been brought to attention through social media and the voices of celebrities in videos like Kalki Koechlin’s, “Rape – It’s My Fault” and now, through U.N. Women Pakistan’s video, #BeatMe.

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The increase in education surrounding physical and sexual violence against women through outlets and movements such as these has impacted the sense of empowerment women feel in fighting back against these crimes thereby helping us to support survivors and prevent future domestic violence.

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Yesha Maniar graduated from Dartmouth College in 2014 and spent a year working at a charter school in Boston. She enjoys reading a variety of genres and spends her free time in Boston cafe hopping. She currently attends Boston University School of Medicine with hopes of working with young children and adolescents in the future in the field of community health.