UN Women launces the HeForShe campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina

SARAJEVO, 11 June 2015 - UN Women in cooperation with the Handball Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) launches the HeForShe campaign with the team players declaring their commitment to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Handball Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina expresses a very strong commitment to gender equality by engaging in the global HeForShe movement. Together, the players showed their commitment to human rights and women’s rights, saying that gender equality is not only a women’s issue, but a human rights issue that requires their involvement.

UN Women Representative to BiH, Anne–Marie Esper Larsen, expressed her confidence that the Bosnian Handball Team will be great supporters of the HeForShe campaign and noted: “Our goal is to achieve a world in which men and women are truly equal. To succeed, we need a partnership in which men also take responsibility for change. It is of enormous importance that such important role models as the players of the Bosnian Handball Team join the campaign and it is my hope that it will inspire many other people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to involve themselves actively for gender equality in their daily lives.”

There are many ways in which men can decide to make a difference. Men can stand up against sexual harassment of women – on campus, in the workplace, on public transportation, and online. Men can stand up against videogames and entertainment that provide men and boys with opportunities for virtual violence against women. Increasingly, internet forums and social media sites are hosts to aggressive comments directed at women. Men can take responsibility for calling out such abuses to stop violence against women, refuse to be a by-stander, to denounce violence and reject impunity.

HeForShe is a solidarity movement designed to engage men and boys around the world to join the gender equality conversation. It calls on men to support women’s rights, and the need to give girls and women more opportunities to develop their potential, empowering them to participate more fully in economic and social development and thereby raising their quality of life. Globally, the campaign is supported by many celebrities, such as British actress Emma Watson, watch her speak about HeForShe.

Since the global launch, 320,443 people have committed to take a stand for gender equality on the global HeForShe website. UN Women encourages people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to take a stand, become active in speaking up for women’s and girls’ equal rights by joining the Handball Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina and sign up to the HeForShe movement here.