Article by Hareem Rehan, your VP Welfare
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Every year I tell myself that we must be nearing the moment when blogs about ending violence against women become unnecessary. Surely by 2025, we would be celebrating progress, not pleading for basic safety and dignity. Yet here we are, still recognising the painful truth that gender-based violence remains embedded in our societies, our politics and our daily lives. The world evolves rapidly, but humanity’s treatment of women too often stands still.
The United Nations still reports that one in three women globally will experience violence in their lifetime, and in England and Wales thousands continue to face domestic abuse, stalking and sexual assault. These are not distant numbers but the experiences of our own students and communities. Beyond the UK, the reality is even harsher: tens of thousands of women and girls have been killed in Gaza since 2023, and in Sudan women are surviving starvation, sexual violence and giving birth in the streets as hospitals are destroyed. Around the world, political instability and rising authoritarianism continue to harm women first, from attacks on reproductive rights to silencing women journalists and activists. And violence is not always physical; emotional manipulation, coercion and humiliation leave deep psychological wounds that often go unseen. All of this shows that violence against women is not a single issue but a global moral and political crisis that urgently needs attention.
Women are complete individuals on their own as they do not need a man to define them, support them, or validate their ambitions. Society often forgets this, reducing women to roles or relationships rather than acknowledging their full humanity. Women are capable, ambitious and independent, and the world will only thrive when we recognise and respect that.
As VP Welfare, I have the privilege of witnessing the incredible strength of women within our university community. The women of Essex work hard, dream boldly and lead with determination. They build societies, excel academically, support their peers and challenge unjust systems every day. They remind us that even in a world that can be unkind to women, their brilliance, resilience and ambition shine through. They deserve not only safety, but appreciation, opportunity and the freedom to shape their futures without fear.
Coming from Pakistan, I am deeply aware of the cultural, political and societal challenges women face. Yet in my own family, I have been surrounded by strong women who have defied these barriers. My mother is a teacher, and my sister is a software engineer at one of the largest banks in Pakistan. My cousin owns a well-known clothing brand. In my family, we believe that women have their own identities, and they can do whatever they choose, an ethos that should be universal, not exceptional. When women are supported instead of restricted, families, communities and societies thrive.
A powerful reminder of this came from a conversation with Subas Ali, a social psychologist and the first woman in her family to pursue a PhD abroad. Now studying in Hungary, she shared her experience with me:
“Studying abroad taught me that autonomy is rarely a sudden achievement. It is something built gradually: through learning to make decisions independently, through accepting uncertainty, and through allowing myself to imagine possibilities beyond what tradition had prepared me for.
Much of my experience was shaped by navigating subtle tensions between ambition and expectation, between wanting to honour family values while also expanding their boundaries, and between feeling grateful for new opportunities yet conscious of the structures that made them unusual for women like me.
There is a peculiar duality to the PhD itself. On the one hand, it is a formal recognition, a diploma, a title, a visible credential that society easily understands and rewards. On the other hand, it exposes an absence that feels more profound: there is no certificate, no official document, that records the generational labour that made my path possible. There is no diploma for my mother’s sacrifices, nor for her mother’s perseverance, nor for the quiet resilience of the women before them. Yet their unacknowledged work is the foundation upon which my academic achievements rest. If anything, this contrast reminds me that education is never an individual accomplishment; it is a continuation of histories that rarely get written down.
If there is any broader meaning to my experience, it might be this: when one woman steps into a new space, she quietly widens the path for others. Not through speeches or declarations, but simply by existing in a place where her presence was once unlikely, maybe even forbidden.
My hope is that over time, the idea of women pursuing education, travelling for knowledge, or shaping their own trajectories will no longer be seen as exceptional within our families or communities. It will become ordinary, a recognition that women’s autonomy is neither a challenge to tradition nor an act of defiance, but a natural part of human aspiration.” -Subas A. Ali, PhD Candidate in the JOINT INTERNATIONAL DOCTORATE IN SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS, CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION
Her words reflect a truth we must all recognise women’s autonomy and ambition are not threats to tradition. They are expressions of human potential.
And yet, somehow, society still struggles with the simple concept of respect. Appreciating women is treated as optional, as if equality is a luxury item on a political wish list. Imagine if we invested in women’s safety with the same energy used in campaigning for elections. Ending violence against women will require political will, honesty, and collective responsibility. It requires men to be allies, institutions to be accountable and all of us to challenge the norms that allow harm to continue. It is also vital to recognise the experiences of trans women, who face isolation, discrimination and violence in many parts of the world due to unjust policies and prejudice. Respecting and supporting all women, cis and trans, is central to creating a safer, more equitable society.
Most of all, it requires society to choose, every day, to value women’s lives. Because this truly should be the last time any of us needs to write this blog.