Throughout Europe in famous football leagues such as the English Premiership, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, before the start of any match players walk out with “Say no to racism” banners as part of a campaign to counter this phenomenon in that continent.
And here in Guyana violence against women has become a major social problem in recent times.
In that light, the Kashif and Shanghai organization has teamed up with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFA) and the Men’s Affairs Bureau to use this year’s tournament as a vehicle to promote the “Sexual Violence Deserves A Red Card” message to everyone – especially the men who will be attending this year’s 22nd annual tournament throughout Guyana.
At the head table at a media briefing at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street yesterday were Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) CEO Kashif Muhammad, K&S Secretary Sonia Stanislaus, UNFPA Assistant Representative Patrice La Fleur, Men’s Affairs Bureau Administrator Reverend Patrick Findlay and EDC Manager at IPED Darren Torrington.
In his opening remarks the Kashif and Shanghai CEO stated that it was a proud day for his organization and they were extremely grateful that the UNFPA and the Men’s Affairs Bureau will be using their competition as a vehicle to promote this message throughout the country for the next month.
Speaking on behalf of the Men’s Affairs Bureau
Rev. Findlay said he had approached Muhammad about a year ago with the idea given that the Kashif and Shanghai tournament was the most prominent local sports event in the country for more than two decades.
“As a football fan all my life that has followed the Kashif and Shanghai tournament with great interest over the years, I’ve always been of the view that this tournament provided one of the greatest vehicles to get this message out to a large portion of men all over Guyana.
“This is why when one year ago, when the UNFPA came to me, I highlighted that Kashif and Shanghai was easily the best partner we could find and here we are today,” said Findlay who is the father of five girls.
Meanwhile, Muhammad who is the father of four girls stated in closing that before every match in this year’s tournament patrons will be sensitized by posters of “RED CARD” against women’s violence and he is hoping that the message would sink into the minds and hearts of the estimated 100,000 plus men who will be at the tournament.
The teams that get to the final eight in the competition will be spoken to by a UNFPA representative.
