Author: V-Day

22 Sep

Posted at 14:35h in One Billion Rising, V-Day

V-Day and One Billion Rising stand in solidarity with Iranians who are taking to the streets in large-scale protests across the Islamic Republic of Iran in response to the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested in the capital city of Tehran by the “morality police” for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly, breaking the country’s restrictive rules around hijab and dress codes. Mahsa was detained after being arrested and suffered “multiple blows to the head” according to news outlet Iran International. While the police are denying beating Mahsa, eye witnesses are corroborating the tragic events. Protests continue to...

02 Sep

Posted at 23:00h in One Billion Rising, V-Day

All of us at V-Day, One Billion Rising & City of Joy are devastated for the communities destroyed by record monsoon flooding in Pakistan, where more than a third of its land is underwater and over 1100 people have already died. Millions are without food and shelter – according to CNN, approximately 33 million people have been impacted. With much of Pakistan’s farmland flooded, inflated food costs and further instability is expected. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 800 health facilities have been damaged in the country, of which 180 are completely damaged, leaving millions of people...

11 Aug

Posted at 14:29h in Newsletter, V-Day

Agnes Pareyio Elected Member of Kenyan Parliament, Makes History as First Woman MP from Narok Pareyio is the Founder of Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative/V-Day Safe House for The Girls in Kenya, Combatting FGM, Changing Culture and Educating Girls The results are in. Agnes Pareyio, the Founder of the Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative/V-Day Safe House for the Girls in Narok, has been elected to Kenyan Parliament and has made history as the first woman elected to the Narok North Constituency MP seat. Congratulations Agnes! We celebrate your vision, your perseverance, your leadership. Agnes’ bold pursuit of an end to FGM (female genital mutilation) and her fearless and...

30 Jun

Posted at 11:41h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

   This week, V visited the City of Joy and attended the graduation of the 21st class. "Everything feels so terrible and difficult right now in so many places in the world where right wing fascism, extreme misogyny, and hate seems to be spreading faster than any virus we know. It is deadly and devastating to our bodies, beings and souls. But outside the colonizing, toxic patriarchal borders a new energy, a new way is rising. I am in the midst of it. I am full from it, and it is rising in the middle of extreme poverty, violence, and war. I...

24 Jun

Posted at 17:09h in Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

US Supreme Court has overturned Roe V. Wade, taking away the right to abortion and opening the floodgates for states across the country to ban abortion. The ruling most immediately affects the 13 states with trigger laws – Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. We are an anti-violence movement. Forced pregnancy is a form of violence. Lack of access to reproductive healthcare is a form of violence. The ruling will most impact poor people and communities of color. For those in need of care, VISIT abortionfinder.org SUPPORT abortion funds, DONATE today...

21 Apr

Posted at 13:54h in Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

On Earth Day and every day, we RISE for the Bodies of All Women, Girls & the Earth. This year we spotlight indigenous women of ANMIGA - The National Articulation of Indigenous Women Ancestrality Warriors - who come from all biomes across Brazil. These women have deep knowledge about their lands and have preserved their ancestral traditions. They are united in their struggle to guarantee the rights and lives of the indigenous people of the Amazon. Their call to action must urgently be heard: “When you choose the Earth, you choose Indigenous women. When you choose Indigenous women, you choose the...

08 Apr

Posted at 11:13h in Newsletter, V-Day

Photos by Paula Allen for V-Day Twenty years ago, the V-Day Safe House for the Girls opened in the Southern Rift Valley in Narok, Kenya. Founded and led by Agnes Pareyio and the Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative, the safe house provides shelter and education for girls running away from female genital mutilation (FGM) and early childhood marriage. It is a place where young women can safely celebrate an alternative "rite of passage" so that Masai women can follow their tradition without undergoing the cut. Agnes and her team bravely confront the cultural practice of FGM in the Maasai community have won many hard-earned victories,...

01 Apr

Posted at 16:06h in Dispatches from Beyond Incarceration, V-Day

I had the opportunity to go to the New York state capitol in Albany three times in March with Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) to urge lawmakers not to sign onto Governor Hochul's plan to push back bail reform. It is appalling that she wants to implement the passage of her 10-point public safety plan into the budget with bail reform and rollbacks as a caveat. This controversial safety plan and budget is an insult to all advocates and activists who have diligently worked to protect the most marginalized people in our city over the past decades. [caption id="attachment_48480" align="alignright" width="320"]...

29 Mar

Posted at 17:48h in One Billion Rising, V-Day

V-Day and One Billion Rising stand in solidarity with the millions of Ukrainian women and girls who are being made more vulnerable to sexual violence in the face of Russia’s invasion and as reports grow of rape being used as weapon of war. The Ukrainian government is calling on the international community to investigate instances of rape and other forms of sexual abuse by Russian soldiers as both are considered war crimes that break international law. As reported in The New York Times, “Russian forces and Moscow-backed armed groups have been accused of perpetrating sexual violence in other conflicts — most recently involving...

07 Mar

Posted at 19:07h in Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

RISE for the Bodies of All Women, Girls & the Earth International Women’s Day Through Earth Day One Billion Rising events are taking place and will continue through 22 April, Earth Day with the 2022 theme: RISE for the Bodies of All Women, Girls & the Earth. Creative resistance events take various forms from flash mobs to documentary films, candlelight vigils to trainings with men, night walks to pride marches and more. We call on the world to hold Artistic Risings for the bodies of all women and for the ‘ultimate body’ – our earth. Using the body as your call. Using the...