One Billion Rising

20 Feb

Posted at 10:55h in City of Joy, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

TOGETHER, WE RISE 2026 RISINGS ARE HAPPENING NOW THROUGH EARTH DAY/22 APRIL As we write, activists in over 70 countries are rising, with 1000+ events already happening or scheduled. Risings will continue unfolding across the globe from now through International Women's Month/Day (March/8 March) and Earth Month/Day (April/22 April). Using art and education, listening and solidarity, dialogue and reflection, ritual and storytelling, we rise to create new realities. We rise so people can return to their bodies, their sexualities, their creativity, and their full humanity. Imagine. Dream. Create. RISE for our Bodies, our Earth, our Future. We RISE to dismantle patriarchy by understanding its roots...

22 Dec

Posted at 11:46h in City of Joy, Dear Everything, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day, Voices

Your support over the years has meant the world to us. As 2025 draws to a close, we are filled with gratitude for the survivors, artists, and activists who have made V-Day into a singular, ever-evolving global activist movement to end violence against women, gender-expansive people, and the Earth. In 2025, V-Day continued to boldly shatter norms and create spaces for grassroots dialogue through art and activism: ONE BILLION RISING activists have been mobilizing worldwide our 2026 campaign - RISE FOR OUR BODIES, OUR EARTH, OUR FUTURE - to transform the architectures of violence: economic and political, class and race, cultural and religious...

24 Nov

Posted at 19:46h in Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

One Billion Rising Theme for 2026 is Announced Today (25 Nov) on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the first day of 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM, we announce the 2026 theme as an invitation to survivors, artists and activists everywhere to RISE in 2026. The 2026 theme RISE FOR OUR BODIES, OUR FUTURE, OUR EARTH was inspired by feedback from global coordinators and rising activists worldwide and drafted by the One Billion Rising Council at their annual meeting. One Billion Rising is the largest global campaign to stop violence against women, gender expansive people, and the Earth....

29 Oct

Posted at 13:58h in Dispatches from Beyond Incarceration, One Billion Rising, V-Day

From August 26th to the 31st, I had the incredible opportunity to facilitate a transformative training session at the Mariandale Retreat Center in Ossining, New York. This experience was not only a professional milestone but also a deeply personal journey, especially as I worked with 21 formerly incarcerated women—some of whom I’ve known for years and have lived alongside during my 39 years of incarceration. The combination of shared history and the serene environment created a powerful atmosphere for healing and growth. The Mariandale Retreat Center Mariandale Dominican Sisters retreat center nestled in the picturesque Hudson Valley, is a hidden gem...

26 Aug

Posted at 08:00h in Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Ashé Cultural Arts Center will produce Swimming Upstream: The Katrina Monologues at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. This powerful stage production shares the true stories of women navigating the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita—stories of survival, displacement, return, and transformation—through spoken word, song, and movement. Originally produced by Carol Bebelle and playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler) in partnership with V-Day and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Swimming Upstream was first performed at the Superdome in 2008 to honor the women of New Orleans and the Gulf South post Katrina, in a celebration...

14 Aug

Posted at 15:30h in Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

On the fourth anniversary of the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, we stand with the women – and all vulnerable groups – of Afghanistan against imperialism, militarism, fundamentalism, and fascism. Since 2021, the Taliban has targeted women, destroying their right to education, autonomy, and the most fundamental human rights. Women and girls in Afghanistan can no longer attend school, they’re banned from almost all jobs, including medical training, and are banned from most public spaces. Girls are forced into child marriage and face a devastating mental health crisis. The female suicide rate in Afghanistan remains among the highest in the world. We...

14 Aug

Posted at 14:06h in Afghan Women Speak: Stories from Inside Afghanistan, Afghanistan, One Billion Rising, V-Day

This month will mark the 4th anniversary of the Taliban’s domination of Afghanistan. For many, Afghanistan’s crisis is an "old story." It is not breaking news anymore, not exciting enough for headlines, because our country has been in conflict for more than four decades, used again and again as a proxy battleground for the interests of powerful nations. In August 2021, after 20 years of NATO and international presence in the name of “fighting terrorism,” the fate of our people was once again handed to the Taliban. Through a signed agreement, they were effectively reinstalled. Since that day, they have stripped...

07 Aug

Posted at 20:03h in Afghan Women Speak: Stories from Inside Afghanistan, One Billion Rising, V-Day

For more than forty years, Afghanistan has been the battleground for proxy wars, exploited by global and regional powers at the expense of its people. This long history of conflict has left the country devastated — physically, economically, and emotionally. Entire generations have grown up in war, poverty, and displacement, deprived of the basic right to live in dignity. Yet the suffering of Afghans has not been limited to within their borders. Throughout these four decades, neighboring countries, especially Iran, have treated Afghan refugees with ongoing cruelty and discrimination. Sadly, this has remained a largely ignored and unspoken issue on the international...

03 Jul

Posted at 11:24h in One Billion Rising, V-Day

V’s latest piece in The Guardian is out this week. "In this authoritarian and suffocating climate where being an American feels like a curse, where just breathing here feels like complicity with genocide, psychotic imperialism, misogyny and endless racism, it is hard to move, let alone imagine what one can do to transform this horror to good. It is so clear something essential is dying. The illusion and seduction of the American dream is over. Neoliberalism is dead. There are huge cracks, openings in the old structures and narratives. These are opportunities to plant the seeds for the new world...