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V-Day

One Billion Rising events are taking place and will continue through 22 April, Earth Day with the 2024 theme: RISE for FREEDOM, Be the New World. Rising Freedom Festivals are 1-2 days in length, including theatre, music, poetry, songs, painting, murals, workshops, massage, storytelling, oral histories, testimonies, drumming, planting, talks, connecting with nature, discussions, bodywork, rituals, ceremonies, circles, and more. If we saw ourselves as artists, what would we imagine and design? What world would we see? What new language and expressions for freedom would we find? How do we create and envision deeper, bigger and bolder? We are in a...

Nadia (not her real name), a young unmarried woman, resides alone in Kabul with her elderly mother. They lack the support of any siblings, and the absence of her father and brother during these challenging times under the rule of the misogynistic Taliban is deeply felt. The Taliban’s oppressive policies have stripped women of their rights to work and live in peace. Nadia is facing a pressing concern as her mother’s health has deteriorated, necessitating an urgent operation. Unfortunately, Afghanistan faces a shortage of skilled doctors, and the quality of healthcare is often subpar. The lack of well-qualified teachers and...

Christine Schuler Deschryver's TED Talk has just been released and is available for viewing. In the talk entitled "The 5 Tenets of Turning Pain into Power," Christine details how rape is often used as a weapon in the war over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast mineral resources, and how City of Joy helps survivors empower themelves, breaking the destructive cycle that sexual violence often has on individuals and communities. "The reason for this unrelenting violence is an ongoing proxy war for the country's vast mineral resources, which are essential to the production of your computers, phones, and electronics. In Congo, rape...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, February 23, 2024 CONTACT: media(at)vday.org OUT NOW: Co-Founder and Director of City of Joy, a Leadership Center for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Democratic Republic of Congo, Gives TED Talk on “Turning Pain Into Power” Christine Schuler Deschryver How Rape is Used as Weapon Over Congo’s Vast Mineral Resources, How City of Joy Helps Break the Cycle of Victimization to Empower Survivors Today, TED released a new TED Talk featuring Christine Schuler Deschryver, co-founder and director of City of Joy and V-DAY Congo, a leadership center for survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the five...

Our RAWA sisters in Afghanistan are Rising for Freedom amidst devastating conditions. We stand in awe of their voice, their bravery and their solidarity with activists rising across the globe. Here is their statement that they have asked us to share with you: The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) participated in this year's One Billion Rising for freedom. Throughout the week-long event, small gatherings, slogan writing, and other activities were held in our home-based classes, courses, centers, and homes in cities like Kabul, Mazar, and Herat. During these events, discussions centered on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, particularly the challenges...

We Asked Our One Billion Rising Council What Rising for Freedom Means to Them As we write, activists worldwide are planning and staging their Rise for Freedom creative rising actions and events. We asked our One Billion Rising Council what Rising for Freedom means to them. Here’s what Monique Wilson, Global Director of One Billion Rising, Abha Bhaiya, One Billion Rising Coordinator for India and Joms Salvador, One Billion Rising Coordinator for the Philippines shared with us...

Every February, we rise across the world to show our local communities and the world what ONE BILLION looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face. We rise to express joy and community and celebrate the fact that we have not been defeated by this violence. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable. Activists in 120 countries staged rising events in 2023. They resonated in the contexts of gender, race, war, poverty, environment, youth, indigenous, and...

RIGHT/WRITE TO HEAL'S INSPIRING JOURNEY TO THE BEYOND THE BARS CONFERENCE IN NAIROBI V-Day’s Beyond Incarceration project continues to amplify the experiences of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. In her latest in the ‘Dispatches from Beyond Incarceration’ blog series, Roz Smith, V-Day’s Beyond Incarceration project manager, writes about her experience traveling to Nairobi for the Beyond Bars conference with the Right/Write to Heal Initiative, a joint project of the Columbia Center for Justice and V-Day. Roz takes us inside the conference writing, “In the heart of Nairobi, from November 30th to December 1st, the Beyond the Bars conference became pivotal for advocates,...

It's a struggle that's hard to put into words, and it feels like no one truly comprehends or shares in our pain. Sitara (not her real name) is in her 30s with two children. She owned and managed a beauty salon in Herat, Afghanistan and her personal journey highlights the enduring hardships faced by the people of Afghanistan over the past four decades of war and instability. I couldn't attend school, never experiencing a typical childhood due to the constant presence of war. Eventually, my family and I were forced to flee to Pakistan as a result of the ongoing conflict. Unfortunately,...