Archive for the "V-Day" Category
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In an 4-part series originally published by ELLEUK.COM, Emma Watson interviews Eve Ensler for her Our Shared Shelf book club, which recently read The Vagina Monologues.
In Part 1 of Emma and Eve’s must-read conversation the pair discusses the activism the book helped to create, in Part 2 they speak about the dangers of patriarchy, a woman’s right to choose, plus Eve’s harrowing trips to Bosnia and Croatia to meet survivors of wartime rape, in Part 3 they take on life under Donald Trump, the importance of an artistic uprising, and why those who wish to cause a revolution, must dance, and in Part 4, Emma speaks to Eve on the ideological, and literal, assaults on women’s vaginas – from the Presidency down through to the ranks to everyday life.
READ the interview in full >
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RISING reports, videos, and images continue to be shared on the One Billion Rising News & Blog. Here is a look at some of the recent updates:
Indonesian
Migrant Workers Rising in Indonesia and Hong Kong on International Women’s Day
Led by Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, the former migrant domestic worker from Indonesia who was tortured by her Hong Kong employers and who won her case – migrant workers in Indonesia and their families held a Migrant Workers Rising for International Women’s Day last March 8th. Erwiana, whose case in 2014 became the focus of One Billion Rising for Justice protests in Hong Kong which helped sustain visibility and harness global solidarity for her case – has become the symbol of resistance, courage and hope for the millions of migrant and domestic workers around the world who still continue to face grave forms of abuse, violence and exploitation.
One Billion Rising South Asia Newsletter January & February 2017
This newsletter details the many exciting One Billion Rising (OBR) activities that took place across the region in January and February 2017 provided by regional organizers and activists.
OBR 2017 at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila Video & Report
For the fifth consecutive year, students and staff at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila rose to end violence against women and girls. This year their RISING call to action declared “Stop the Impunity! Revolt against women bashing, women shaming and women bullying! Dance and end the global practice of making women and young girls into sex objects!”
RISING at Aspen Port Elizabeth, A Women’s Forum Initiative in South Africa
A video was created in support of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children as an Aspen Port Elizabeth Women’s Forum initiative. The campaign consisted of three elements, namely a Flashmob at the Corporate Family Day, a photobooth where employees could make a statement and an on-site video production. The initiative provided a platform for employees to show their support and rise through dance to express community and to celebrate that we have not been defeated by the violence.
Nigeria RISING by Omodele Ibitoye Ejeh
“For OBR Nigeria we highlighted the OBR theme: ‘Exploitation of women at the workplace”. We also took an insight into exploitation of women in education and religion institutions. Organizations in my country give female employees specific targets to meet yearly which include the amount of customers they are expected to attract and convince to invest in these companies and huge amounts of cash expected for them to generate.”
Against Teenage Dating Violence Press Conference Hosted by the Garden of Hope Foundation in Taiwan
For International Women’s Day, The Garden of Hope Foundation in Taiwan held a press conference on dating violence. It has been a year since the Taiwanese government amended DV law to include intimate partner violence as a form of domestic violence. But awareness about the amendment is still pretty low, especially among teenagers.
RISING Across the Democratic Republic of Congo
“The rising was a call for a revolution against the exploitation of women in society, labor places, schools, churches, etc. It was a call for unity so as to prevent patriarchy from winning. It was a call for action to stop oppression, exploitation, and discrimination of women. The day was a day to start a new journey of solidarity on which selflessness and sacrifice should characterize risers.”
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Don’t miss the chance to attend an incredible event hosted by our longtime partner organization African American Policy Forum, helmed by V-Day Board Member Kimberlé Crenshaw:
Over the past two years of Her Dream Deferred, AAPF has sought to uplift challenges Black women and girls have suffered in silence–from the status of Black women veterans to sexual assaults at HBCUs. Yet Black women all around the world face challenges that extend beyond the United States: it is imperative to take an intersectional approach abroad.
Inspired by the work of our Fellow, Sara Ferrer-Valencia, whom we worked with in conjunction with One Billion Rising at our Bodies of Revolution event on intersectional state violence around the world in December 2015, this year, we elevate Afro-Colombian women, raising awareness around the consequences of civil war, displacement, and colonialism.
Featuring Afro-Colombian women from different backgrounds and experiences, this webinar will discuss topics such as intersectional discrimination, different facets of intersectional violence in contexts of war and widespread violence and governmental response, and the Afro-Colombian women’s movement. Furthermore, the conversation will explore similarities between the distinct forms of violence affecting Afro-descendant women in Colombia and the United States, as well as other countries with alarming rates of violence against Black and Afro-descendant women, such as South Africa and Brazil.
RSVP
to the webinar HERE >
Moderated by Sara Ferrer Valencia – Research Fellow at AAPF & CISPS; Afro-Colombian lawyer & human rights advocate & Featuring María Alejandra Cárdenas Cerón – Lawyer and human rights advocate; Danny María Ramírez Torres – Sociologist, Co-Founder of the Faces & Footprints Foundation in Buenaventura; Clara Inés Valdes Rivera – National Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations, Gender Equality and Afro-Colombian Women’s Rights, and Dora Inés Vivanco Julio – Psychologist & Coordinator of the Childhood and Youth Area from the National Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations (CNOA)
MORE information on the Her Dream Deferred: A Week on the Status of Black Women >
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“City of Joy, is as heartbreaking as it is uplifting, as
shocking as it is life affirming.” – This Week in New York
After its successful screenings at DocNYC (where it world premiered) and as the Centerpiece Film at the Athena Film Festival, the CITY OF JOY documentary continues on at film festivals across the United States, with more being added.
In Dallas and Cleveland, Madeleine Gavin, the film’s director, will appear for the screening or a post-screening Q&A. In Ashland, City of Joy Director Christine Schuler-Deschryver will appear. See tour dates below for details.
CITY OF JOY follows the first class of women at a revolutionary leadership center in Congo, weaving their journey with that of the center’s founders (2016 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Denis Muwkege, women’s rights activist Christine Schuler-Deschryver, and writer and activist Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues) – three individuals who imagined a place where women who have suffered horrific rape and abuse can heal and become powerful voices of change for their country.
A story about the resilience of the human spirit, CITY OF JOY witnesses Congolese women’s fierce will to reclaim hope, even when so much of what was meaningful to them has been stripped away.
WATCH the CITY OF JOY teaser >
CITY OF JOY Film Screening Schedule Includes:
Atlanta Film Festival
Sunday, 26 March – 2:30pm
» Purchase Tickets & Passes
Vail Film Festival
Friday, 31 March – 1:00 pm
Saturday, 1 April – 8:30 pm
» Purchase Tickets & Passes
Dallas International Film Festival
Saturday, 1 April – 5:00 pm
Talkback immediately following the screening with City of Joy Director Christine Schuler Deschryver and Director Madeleine Gavin
Sunday, 2 April – 7:15 pm
Talkback immediately following the screening with City of Joy Director Christine Schuler Deschryver
» Purchase Tickets
Cleveland Film Festival
City of Joy Director Christine Schuler Deschryver to attend both screenings
Monday,
3 April 3 – 6:30 pm
Followed by a FilmForum Panel featuring City of Joy Director Christine Schuler
Deschryver and Madeleine Gavin, among other panelists
Tuesday,
4 April – 2:25 pm
Followed by a Talkbacks immediately following the screening with City of Joy Director Christine Schuler Deschryver
» Purchase Tickets & Passes
Denver Film
Society
Saturday, 8 April – 7:00 pm
Followed by a Skype Q&A with Eve Ensler
» Purchase Tickets
Ashland Independent Film Festival
Thursday, 6 April – 3:00 pm
Talkback immediately following the screening with City of Joy Director Christine Schuler Deschryver
Friday, 7 April – 12:00 pm
Saturday, 8 April – 9:30 am
» Purchase Tickets & Passes
MORE Dates & Locations to be Announced
FOLLOW the Film Online & on Social Media
Website: www.cityofjoyfilm.com
Facebook: @cityofjoyfilm
Twitter: @cityofjoyfilm
Instagram: @cityofjoyfilm
LEARN more about City of Joy, the revolutionary revolutionary leadership center for women survivors of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the heart of the film >
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OBR Philippines/Gabriela March 8th Rise/Strike action outside the US Embassy in Manila featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal (Europe Edition). Rise and Strike Against Imperialism, Facism, Feudalism and Bureaucrat Capitalism. Rise and Strike for Jobs, Land, Justice and Peace!
One Billion Rising activists and organizers took to the streets in force for International Women’s Day. In a time that requires radical resistance and revolutionary love we saw the call for Solidarity Against the Exploitation of Women in action as workers, youth, artists, and community members and leaders RISE. Take a look at some of the events in their local context:
Bali
Activists in Bali, Indonesia held a “Women Strike Against Discrimination, Corrupt Systems and Exploitation” event in commemoration of International Women’s Day with a demonstration in front of dozens of activists at the Bali governor’s office. The action was led by students, mothers – many of who are members of the National Student Front as well as members of the Alliance of Women Bali and One Billion Rising Bali.
Croatia
OBR Croatia, led by OBR Croatia and OBR Europe coordinator Rada Boric, held a Women Rising Against Poverty Action on International Women’s Day in Zagreb. The protest highlighted the tougher socio-economic conditions that women of all ages are now facing in Croatia. The protest is “a reminder that neo-conservative ideology needs to be fought stronger than ever, as they are diving deeply into the fundamental rights of women and girls”
Guatemala
OBR Guatemala Rising on International Women’s Day “Because the Rising celebrates our achievements and our lives!”
India
OBR India coordinators Sangat and Jagora Grameen, lead International Women’s Day efforts in Delhi, together with other leading women’s and people’s organizations – Rising to resist Patriarchy, And Rising Against Hatred and Violence!
Jamaica
On March 11, 2017 the Tambourine Army hosted Jamaica’s first Survivor Empowerment March, organized and participated in by One Billion Rising Jamaica organizers and activists. Along the route there were four stops that allowed women who are survivors of violence to speak their stories of survival and triumph. The women were supported in their stories by a spirit-centred drumming group and empowering and uplifting music from Tanya Stephens, Keisha Fimm and Etana. At the rally in Half Way Tree, the Tambourine Army presented their 20-Point Action Plan for Change to end sexual violence and violence against women and girls.
Mexico
Cancun celebrates International Women’s Day with a huge Rising, led by long time OBR advocate and acclaimed singing star Manoella Torres – who sings the Spanish version of the OBR theme “Break The Chain”. Manoella Torres has been touring the country with OBR and “Break The Chain” for the last five years, since OBR began.
Mongolia
One Billion Rising Mongolia held an “Artivizm: Art and Activism in Mongolia” event as part of the OBR global campaign and International Women’s Day celebration on 2 March. Through an exhibition of photographs, OBR Mongolia through the Beautiful Hearts Organization, organized family and sexual violence victims and survivors to address their experiences and feelings of fear, suffering and loss.
Pakistan
Rozan and Insan Foundation organised a day long programme in the new Rozan building in Islamabad. In the second half of the day, attended by students and NGO activists, activists paid their tributes to Nigar Ahmad, celebrated and discussed One Billion Rising and had a discussion on gender, patriarchy and Feminism.
United Kingdom
The Guardian hosted a panel discussion as part of One Billion Rising and International Women’s Day. Joining Guardian columnist Zoe Williams for an inclusive discussion on what can be learned from protest movements globally and practical steps to bring about change was a panel that included Rada Boric, regional campaign coordinator of the One Billion Rising Revolution, Anushka Asthana, the Guardian‘s joint political editor, Labour MP Stella Creasy and Deborah Frances-White, comedian, writer and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast.
Zimbabwe
On 11 March, OBR Zimbabwe made a claim to boldness in line with the International Women’s day theme “Be Bold for change ” and OBR’s theme on solidarity against the exploitation of women and girls. Activists rose, danced, and played rugby to assert their claim to boldness.
Women Workers Rising in D.C.
Women Workers from multiple sectors including restaurant workers, Walmart workers, nurses, teachers and more were joined by thousands of allies at the Department of Labor and John Marshall Park for a powerful RISING. The event was widely covered in the media, livestreamed on Facebook by V-Day and Think Progress, and our hashtag #WomenWorkersRising trended on Twitter in the D.C. area.
Presented by One Billion Rising in Coalition with Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, the African American Policy Forum, American Federation of Teachers, Family Values @ Work, International Labor Rights Forum, Jobs with Justice, National Nurses United, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Organization for Women, OUR Walmart, Good Jobs Nation.
“It happened as part of International Women’s Day, during which women around the world rallied, went on strike, and otherwise took action for equal rights. With its focus on labor rights, Women Workers Rising spoke directly to one of Wednesday’s larger goals: building a “feminism for the 99 percent.” – Deirdre Fulton, staff writer at Common Dreams.
READ ‘Women United Will Never Be Divided’: Workers Rise for Labor Rights in full >
VIEW more images from Women Workers Rising in the event Photo Blog >
WATCH Women Workers Rising video series from the event:
Ellen Bravo of Family Values at Work >
Girshriela Green from OurWalMart >
Ingrid Vaca of National Domestic Workers Alliance >
Pilar Vree of ROC United >
Saru Jayaraman of ROC United & Eve Ensler of 1BillionRising/V-Day >
More videos coming soon
READ additional coverage of the event:
Women rally for workplace equality >
Women Workers Rising swells support for women’s rights >
“A Day Without a Woman” Takes to the Streets of DC >
Women Workers Rising by AFT President Randi Weingarten >
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8 March, International Women’s Day, is a day rooted in the historic actions and struggles of women workers taking to the streets demanding women’s rights, safety, and equality. In that spirit and to continue that work, One Billion Rising activists around the world are RISING in their communities as a part of One Billion Rising In Solidarity Against the Exploitation of women campaign. Together, we stand in solidarity with all women around the world rising for women’s rights, including the International Women’s Action and The Women’s March: A Day Without a Woman. Here is a glimpse of some of the events, their local context, and specific calls to action:
Hong
Kong
On 5 March, One Billion Rising Hong Kong – headed
by Gabriela Hong Kong – led women Overseas Filipino Workers
(OFW) in commemorating the International Women’s Day 2017 in a
program-rally dubbed as “March of Women OFWs for Rights, Livelihood and Social
Justice”. Migrant and domestic workers in Hong Kong participated in the Rising
Strike event.
India
Across caste, class, religion, ethnicity, abilities, disabilities, gender identities, sexual
orientations, educational levels and occupation, we speak out: Together For Equality, Dignity, Safety, Freedom And Employment! This Women’s Day we come together to celebrate our solidarities and our resistance to the brazen patriarchal, casteist, communal and regressive forces that are operating with utter impunity in the country. Together we reaffirm our commitment to building a violence-free, just society. The march is being organized by 30organizations, including One Billion Rising Delhi.
Indonesia
On March 8th, International Women’s Day, OBR
Jogjakarta will be dancing down the streets to voice the struggles of women and
to keep fighting against sexual violence!
Mexico
Un Billón de Pie México organizers and activist
have hosted a Rising nearly every day since 14 February, with students,
artists, actors, politicians and many more, leading up to their International
Women’s Day event with over 5,000 people excepted to attend in Cancun on 10
March.
Mongolia
On 7 March, a coalition of activists hosted “Artivizm
art in Mongolia – Rising for family and sexual violence victims through
Art”
Philippines
In the Philippines, led by One Billion Rising
organizers Gabriela National Alliance of Women and Gabriela Women’s Party,
women and men across the country will take part in #WomenStrike Rising,
centering in a main event in Manila with demands for President Duterte to keep
his promises to dismantle US military intervention, scrap anti-worker laws,
create local industrialization and forge peace talks with revolutionary
forces. OBR Philippines will RISE and STRIKE against imperialism, fascism
and patriarchy on March 8th!
UK
In commemoration of International Women’s Day a panel will be hosted with a diverse range of leaders working on public policy and activism on ending violence against girls and women. The purpose of the panel is to give sharper focus and visibility to the issue of violence against girls and women, and to share what is being done to address this epidemic what are the policies formulated to address violence against girls and women? Are they effective? What are some of the challenges and achievements? The panelists will share policies, challenges and progress from a national level touching on global solidarity and support.
USA
On International Women’s Day, we are reclaiming the US Department of Labor for women workers! Join the coalition of women’s rights, workers’ rights and labor rights activists, unions, advocacy groups and artists at Women Workers
Rising Rally & Artistic Uprising in Washington D.C. This radical event
will feature the stories, voices, and demands of women workers to end workplace
violence and harassment, and promote pay equity, one fair living wage, and
labor rights at work.
Featuring Women Workers from the coalition as well as
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Eve Ensler
(playwright and Founder of One Billion Rising, V-Day) Climbing PoeTree,
Department of Labor Chorus, Sarah Newell and Gabriela Rosazza (International
Labor Rights Forum), Jean Ross (National Nurses Co-President United), Joanna
Cifredo (Transgender Activist), Keri Gray (Intersectionality and Youth
Programming Artist), Saru Jayaraman (Executive Director of ROC- United), Sophia
Urista (singer, The Voice), Sophorn Yang (President of the Cambodian
Alliance of Trade Unionists), Angeles Solis (United Students Against
Sweatshops), and more.
|
UPDATED Starting Point at the Department of Labor Announced
The event begins at 3:30pm at the US Department of Labor (C Street NW at 3rd Street NW).
At approximately 4:30pm, we will march from the Department of Labor to John Marshall Park for the second portion of the program.
|
Download and Share the Graphics!:
Square: http://bit.ly/2mmis5I
Flyer: http://bit.ly/2lGCWsA
RSVP and get more details on the event including the new meeting point / locations for the event! >
WATCH Worker Rising statements from domestic workers, a former garment worker, and women workers advocate >
TUNE-IN on our Facebook
page to watch the DC event streaming live >
SHARE why you are RISING on International Women’s Day on social media using the hashtags:
#RiseInSolidarity
#WomenWorkersRising
#IWD2017
#ADayWithoutAWoman
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RISE With Women Workers on International Women’s Day in DC
Presented by One Billion Rising in Coalition with Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, the African American Policy Forum, American Federation of Teachers, Family Values @ Work, International Labor Rights Forum, Jobs with Justice, National Nurses United, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Organization for Women, OUR Walmart (List in formation)
Join us! In this time of resistance, continue the radical energy by joining us for a rally in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, March 8th, International Women’s Day. Women workers and their allies will come together and RISE for Dignity, Equality, and Respect.
Calling for an end workplace violence and harassment and to promote pay equity, one fair living wage, and labor rights at work, the event will feature live testimony and rallying cries from a diversity of voices, performances, songs, testimony, films, dance, poetry and more created and performed by women workers, activists and artists including Climbing PoeTree, Eve Ensler, Sophia Urista, Sophorn Yang, D.C. Labor Chorus, and more to be announced.
We come together to witness and listen to women workers and to honor the sacred and valuable work of women around the world, in all its forms, by demanding safe, violence-free workplaces.
On the day of and in solidarity with women across the world on March 8, including the International Women’s Action and the Women’s March: A Day Without a Woman. The event is FREE and open to the public. Let us know you plan to RISE with us, RSVP on the event page HERE.
WHAT: Women’s Worker’s Rising: A Rally in Solidarity with Women Workers on International Women’s Day
WHERE: US Department of Labor, Washington, DC, 200 Constitution Ave.
WHEN: March 8, 2017 from 3:30 – 5:30 pm
RISE In Solidarity, JOIN US!
Female Fighter Series Continues in Partnership with GUERNICA & the Politics of Sexual Violence Initiative
“The knee-jerk response to militarized women is dismissal and condemnation. Instead, the founder of V-Day argues, it is time to reexamine their stories and understand their wrath.” In her latest piece, Eve invites readers to explorer the reasons women fighters around the world chose violence by following THE FEMALE FIGHTERS SERIES in Guernica Magazine. This revolutionary series pairs female writers with women who are fighting, or have fought, in armed resistance movements worldwide to bring to light the distinctive personalities, politics, and circumstances of participation. This series is in partnership with the Politics of Sexual Violence Initiative and V-Day.
READ Female Fighters Series Re-examines Women’s Rage Around the World By Eve Ensler >
Of Monsters & Women: In search of the female extremist, somewhere between fantasy and fear by Nimmi Gowrinathan >
Difficult Forgiveness: In Colombia, a female fighter on life after FARC by Valeria Luiselli >
#RiseInSolidarity Videos from Communities Around the World
The incredible One Billion RISING energy continues as communities from around the world share images and videos from their 2017 events, spreading their local context and calls of solidarity. HERE are just a few:
ONE BILLION RISING 2017: Defend the Sacred at the Portuguese Coast >
In Bangladesh, a group of indigenous peoples participated in RISING
with the slogan “Courage is Contagious” >
Sacred Dance for Women Rising “RISING FOR THE DIVINE FEMININE”
in Ubud, Bali >
Please visit the News & Blog for ongoing updates from RISINGS worldwide.
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It’s been 19 years since V-Day was founded, since The
Vagina Monologues shattered taboos, sharing the stories of women, as
they had never been told before. Since that moment, so many of you have
taken to the stage, organized in your communities and on college campuses, and
staged massive events in celebration and defiance, in colleges, towns,
theaters, churches, state houses, across the world inviting everyone into the
dialogue with a common purpose – end violence against women and girls.
2018 will be our 20th year and we want to
tell your story, the movement’s stories, our collective stories.
In the face of resistance, and at the intersection of art
and activism, you have saved lives, raised consciousness, changed laws to
protect women and girls, funded rape crisis centers and kept domestic violence
shelters from closing, educated your communities, and raised over an astounding
$100 million in urgently needed funds for local grassroots groups doing the
essential work of ending violence and serving survivors and their families. Through
One Billion Rising, you shook the earth through the massive RISINGS in which
over ONE BILLION people danced to end the epidemic of violence, we have shifted
consciousness and broken the deadly silence. And every day, you stage art in
your community for social change, you RISE, you are in the streets rising
against racist patriarchy.
You have made ending sexual violence a front-page issue,
never to be silenced again.
These macro moments, are the culmination of micro movements
– a woman who leaves an abusive partner, a rape survivor taking the stage and
telling her story after years of silence, a man whose eyes are opened to rape
culture and who pledges to living a life dismantling it, a young girl watch her
mother reclaim cunt and a young boy dancing in the streets. These are the
stories that are shifting paradigms and creating a world where violence against
women and girls is unimaginable.
DETAILS on how to submit; SHARE your
story >
V-Day Activists in the News & Leading the Conversation
For nineteen years activists have been producing benefit
productions of The Vagina Monologues and other artistic pieces to raise
awareness and funds to end violence against women. This year, communities have
rallied around the annual event, energized by the global resistance movement
and eager for an artistic expression of solidarity. Earlier this month, Sarah
Rebell of The Interval profiled the play, organizers on college campuses in red
states, and Eve Ensler in her piece V-Day
in TrumpLand: Exploring the Relevance of “The Vagina Monologues”
“I wondered if The
Vagina Monologues had a significant impact on college campuses this
year, particularly in red states. Did those young women feel that they too were
coming into their own power, or did they feel stifled by the supporters of our
country’s pussy-grabbing “predator?” In the days surrounding Trump’s
inauguration, I spoke with students involved in V-Day productions of The Vagina Monologues on
campuses in red states and swing states in the heart of the country: Kansas,
Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. These eleven
women range from freshmen to graduate students pursuing law degrees and PhDs.
Some are theatre majors, but most approached The
Vagina Monologues from an activist’s perspective.”
READ V-Day
in TrumpLand: Exploring the Relevance of “The Vagina Monologues” >
Locally, organizers, audiences and local media have been
exploring similar questions, connection, and the importance of art and
activism:
In Alaska A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and a Prayer a ‘catalyst’ for
opening minds >
In Florida ‘The
Vagina Monologues’ is playing in Miami. Here’s why we still need it >
In Germany Life
In Berlin: Ending Violence Against Women Through V-Day >
In New York ‘Vagina Monologues’ grabs back for V-Day >
Announcing Climbing PoeTree & Sophia Urista at Women Workers Rising
Vocal powerhouse Sophia Urista & artist/activist duo Climbing PoeTree to perform at Women Workers Rising rally and Artistic UpRising on 8 March in Washington D.C. They will share the stage with women workers from multiple sectors as they RISE to end workplace violence and harassment, and promote pay equity, one fair living wage, paid leave, and labor rights. The event is free and open to the public.
RISE with women workers on International Women’s Day >
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Following is an update from a grassroots activist at Promoting Women Capabilities by Education in Afghanistan about their revolutionary educational center. LEARN more about the center’s program, VIEW a recent photo blog, and READ about their 2016 Rise for Revolution event:
Another academic year at our education center in Kabul, Afghanistan has successfully come to an end on 14th February 2017 and the new academic year (2017) has been started.
The year 2016, like previous years, saw huge numbers of girls and women swarm our center, thirsty for education and learning. We were able to admit 350 students at the beginning of the year in different courses of literacy, sciences, English and computer.
Our science classes are very popular among students graduating from pubic schools. These classes are vital for the girls who face a lot of difficulties in preparing for their university entrance examination (konkur examination) due to lack of good and high quality education in public schools from one side and expensive private courses outside schools from the other side. Their poor families cannot afford for private courses so they can prepare themselves for the university entrance examination. Girls are generally discriminated and any investment in education for those who can afford it is made for the boys’ education, leaving the girls with no assistance in preparing for their universities.
Our girls have completed the preparation course this year and are confidently prepared for their university entrance examinations. Now they, hopefully, can choose their faculty of choice so they can pursue their dreams.
Women in our literacy courses attended their classes passionately despite having children and house jobs. Now they are able to read and write and do simple math. Their general knowledge has increased, making them more aware of the happening around them. Now they can handle many activities that they were not able to do before. For example when they can read signboards, billboards, shop boards and simple instruction in clinics, hospitals, etc. they feel proud and self-confident. More importantly that now they can read for examples brochures that are related to violence, women rights, children rights, legal assistance, etc.
The yearly syllabus of English and computer classes were successfully completed.
There were several seminars held in our center to address some very important topics. Not only our students participated actively but brought along other family members to attend as well. Due to the lack of awareness, these seminars have proved helpful for many women inside and outside the course.
Topics discussed included women’s rights, domestic violence, women’s legal rights, mental issues women face that force them to commit suicide and self-immolation, education on raising and nurturing children, gynecological health, suicide attacks, etc.
These seminars were very attractive to these women who participated enthusiastically and engaged in-group discussions. Psychiatrists, gynecologists, psychologists, lawyers were invited weekly to spoke about these topics and got interesting questions from the participants.
On 14th Feb. 2017 we proudly graduated another batch of our students.
We want to extend our grateful thanks to OBR, V-Day and all our donors who contributed to this project from the bottom of our hearts. This thanks and gratitude comes not just from us, but also from the families of our students who express their happiness and appreciation for this free center every time they come here.
The center has changed the future of these girls as they could/can attend faculties of their choice, and read and write something they would not have possibly done without this center.
A woman from literacy course happily told me: “I am so happy. Your course made me literate. The course opened my eyes. Now I can read my daughter’s medical prescription and the direction”. And this is not limited to those who attended the courses. Fortunately a number of them spread their newfound knowledge to their surrounding area. Many women help their neighbors. Another example of change brought about by our seminars is extremely important. Now many women have become enlightened on extremism and religious ignorance. Many of them refrain to send their children to madrasas where extremism is encouraged and in some of them boys are brainwashed and trained to become suicide bombers. A number of women told us that the seminars on this topic changed their mindset greatly. This is really a big achievement for a society that is greatly infested by the germ of extremism and religio-politics.
One Billion Rising in Kabul: Our students RISING
As part of One Billion Rising, the students of our educational center held a function in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Girls read their own poems, short articles and narrate their stories. The poems and articles described the hellish situation of Afghan women, and the remedy for all their sufferings and pain, i.e. education.
Women, mostly from the literacy course, gave accounts of their own sufferings at the hands of their own family members, husbands, and in-laws. They described how the beatings, abuse, poverty, and other cruelties they faced, motivated them to enroll in this center and work hard to graduate and join schools. Khadija, one speaker, composed her sufferings into a beautiful poem, and delivered it emotionally.
The girls also prepared a couple of songs, calling on women to realize their incredible strength and rise against those who oppress them. A display of clothes was also organized, as girls dressed – both as male and female – in traditional Afghani clothes of all ethnic backgrounds, sending a strong message of unity in a country severely divided on those lines.
The highlight of the afternoon was the distribution of gifts for the high achievers, and certificates to all the students graduating this year from the literacy, science, computer, and English classes. The students, especially the women from the literacy course, became very emotional as they bade farewell to the center that taught them for a year. They thanked the staff and donors profusely, stating that their lives have changed forever.
The function was ended with attan, the traditional Afghani dance. Tea was served for the guests as they sat chatting with their teachers, discussing their future goals and promising to bring their other family members to the center in the upcoming academic session.
The function brought us great joy as we saw the thirst these girls have for getting an education. All they need are opportunities like this center. We cannot describe how grateful we are to have wonderful donors who let us run this center and provide free education to the women of Afghanistan. The function, with its incredible energy, was a reminder of how much we need such centers in Afghanistan
