One Billion Rising Stands with the People of Bangladesh and Iraq Against Violence
7/7/2016
In the aftermath of two of the many recent attacks by ISIS militants on the Islamic world, local V-Day and One Billion Rising activists from Bangladesh and Iraq shared statements of outrage, sorrow, and solidarity. We stand in solidarity with them, and will continue to RISE against a system that perpetuates violence and hate.
One Billion Rising Rises in Solidarity with Bangladesh
"Bangladesh has learned to cope with many disasters, of many kinds, cyclones, floods, river erosion, wars, and we as a nation have been able to turn around, show our resilience and build our lives, more strong, more focused, with humour, love, and a spirit of collectivity. Now we have a worse diseased form of disaster, new and alien disasters that have made us get into a kind of stupor, of not knowing how to deal with these new actions against us, these horrifying and senseless killings. These killings, machete attacks being targeted only for being progressive, for being gay, for being a liberated person, for being open, a rationalist, an agnostic, an atheist, a baul, a follower of sufism, of being a pir, of being a shia, of being an ahmedia, a hindu, a buddhist, a christian, anything that is not following the totally alien to our land cult and I use the word cult deliberately of Wahabism as it is seen in the present context or popular perception." - One Billion Rising Bangladesh Coordinator, Khushi Kabir
One Billion Rising Rises in Solidarity with Iraq
"There are no words to express the anger, sadness, and helplessness. A huge explosion takes place in the heart of Baghdad in Karrada, where families were shopping for new clothes to celebrate the Eid! Hundreds of mostly young victims were that day's price to pay for the Islamic religious wars between the Shia government and the Sunni opposition. What the mourning mothers in Karrada shouted outloud was: We do not want your religion … take it away, and go to hell with it." - Yanar Mohammed, Founder of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and V-Day activist