The women of Umoja are survivors of rape and women who have been ostracised by their families and communities. In Umoja they have come together to form their own community, working for themselves making crafts and on the land. Their choice to stand independently of men has resulted in further abuse and threats but the women are determined to stay and make their community work.
UPDATE
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence: November 25th to December 10th. This year’s theme is “Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women”
Challenges and obstacles have been identified by activists in all regions of the world, and we have chosen to highlight a few of those here. These can be addressed both as demands to be made on the state or other institutions and as actions that we must take in our own work in order to achieve better results. A few suggestions for focusing advocacy in this year’s campaign include:
* Demanding and securing adequate funding for work against VAW;
* Calling for greater accountability and political commitment from states to prevent and punish all forms of violence against
women in practice not just words
* Increasing awareness of the impact of violence against women, including engaging in measures to end it by men and boys;
* Evaluating the impact and effectiveness of work to prevent violence against women;
The 16 days link The International Day Against Violence Against Women (Nov 25), International Human Rights Day (Dec 10th), International Women Human Rights Defenders Day (Nov 29th), and World AIDS Day, Dec 1st)
This is a beautiful film about beautiful, strong women. On October 31, in the U.S., women of color and their allies are wearing red to demonstrate solidarity against the use of violence against women of color in particular. I will post this film that day in solidarity with women of color all over the world who are already in this struggle. When women’s hearts and minds are free, they shine like the sun.
{ 4 trackbacks }
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a beautiful film about beautiful, strong women. On October 31, in the U.S., women of color and their allies are wearing red to demonstrate solidarity against the use of violence against women of color in particular. I will post this film that day in solidarity with women of color all over the world who are already in this struggle. When women’s hearts and minds are free, they shine like the sun.
Sokari, excellent post as always! I would like to see more young women (and men) stand up for (and voice) their rights!