September 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The spokesman for UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric has “strongly” condemned the murder of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei – a participant in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympic Games – who succumbed on Thursday to injuries caused by her partner, who set her on fire on Sunday after pouring a flammable liquid on her.
“Today in Kenya, 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei died in hospital. Her death comes days after her boyfriend reportedly set her on fire. (…) Today we join the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women in strongly condemning her violent murder,” Dujarric said during a press conference.
She stressed that gender violence is one of the most frequent human rights violations in the world, citing figures from UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which indicate that on average every 11 minutes a woman or girl dies at the hands of her partner or family member.
“We, of course, believe that the real numbers are much higher. As the Secretary-General (António Guterres) once said, we continue to live in a male-dominated culture that leaves women vulnerable by denying them equal dignity and rights. We all pay the price: our societies are less peaceful, our economies less prosperous and our world less fair. But another world is possible,” she added.
Cheptegei, who finished 44th in the last Olympic marathon, was attacked by her boyfriend in Kenya. Neighbours extinguished the flames and took both the victim and the attacker to hospital, although the athlete suffered burns on 80 per cent of her body.
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