Opening The Eyes of The World
One Billion Rising is a world-wide
campaign to call people from all countries to join together to dance in a show
of collective strength. This campaign started in 2012 to fight for justice for
women and girls who are victims of violence and rape. The “billion” is from a
United Nation’s statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in
their lifetime, or about one billion females. This is an excellent example of the type of action Crenshaw
described when she stated that “women have recognized that the political
demands of millions speak more powerfully than the pleas of a few isolated
voices.”
On
February 14, 2014, with the backing and help of Mayor Abbe Land, West Hollywood
held a kick-off event in support of this campaign. With the help of movie stars
from Hollywood such as Dylan McDermott, Anne Hathaway, Jane Fonda, and Marisa
Tomei, hundreds of people joined together to work toward an end to violence
against women and girls. Mayor Land asked people to, “Rise with us to show the
world that West Hollywood respects the rights and dignity of every woman and
girl to stand for justice.” In 2012, people from 160 countries participated and
in 2013, more than 190 countries participated. This last year in 2014, it was
estimated that more than one billion people in 207 countries danced in
celebration of the event to end violence. Some of the countries that
participated included the United States, Germany, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Haiti,
Dominican Republic, and Brazil. I hope
this blog with encourage many more women to join the fight and dance for
women’s rights.
Mayor Abbe Land served four terms as
Mayor of West Hollywood and is widely known for her leadership on women’s
issues, LGBT rights, and civil liberties. She helped develop a domestic
violence prevention program for same-sex couples in Los Angeles area.
Watch YouTube video on Berlin & New York’s participation in
One Billion
Rising:
Website References:
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