Petra lights up in orange to raise awareness on gender-based violence

AMMAN — On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Wednesday, the UN Country Team in Jordan lit up the ancient city of Petra and Amman's Le Royal Hotel in orange. 

The initiative is in response to the call to action of the UN secretary general’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign "Orange the World: End Violence against Women and Girls", which encourages governments, civil society and the private sector to light up iconic buildings and landmarks in orange to showcase efforts to end the pandemic of violence against women and girls, according to a UN statement released Thursday.

The lighting of the archeological site of Petra was conducted in collaboration with the authorities of the Petra Archaeological Park, within the framework of the UNESCO-led "Unite for Heritage" campaign — a global movement to protect and safeguard heritage and to claim the importance of heritage for all, individually and collectively, the statement said.

Other major landmarks in the world were part of this campaign, including Niagara Falls (Canada/USA), the European Commission building (Belgium) and Council of Europe building (France), the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen (Denmark), and the Palais de Justice (Democratic Republic of the Congo). 

The ‘orange event’ is also meant to inaugurate the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in Jordan, which the UN Country Team in Jordan is implementing in collaboration with the Jordanian National Commission for Women, the USAID Takamol Gender Programme, and the Dutch embassy in Amman, the statement said.