One Billion Rising, a flash- mob against violence on women, on February 14th has passed.
Facebook posts, tweets, pictures and videos covered each and every single minute of the biggest flash mob in history.
Also some SUF students participated* in the event in Florence and they can share its still vivid and joyous memories today: One Billion women dancing together,hand in hand, in an imaginary dance, around the earth to say: “basta” to men’s
cruelty, enough of 48 women being raped every 2 minutes in Congo, Africa! As a matter of fact violence against women is not declining but rising.
The success of this global peaceful action arose two opposite reactions.
On one side, it encouraged many women to believe that a change is possible and it gave voice to the silenced stories of the 1 in 3 women worldwide, who have experienced physical, sexual and verbal violence.
On the other side many femminists agree with the inutility of this campaign.
One opponent, Natalie Gyte – Head of Communications at Women’s Resource Centre, the national umbrella organization for women’s charities,, says in her article in the British” Huffington Post “on February, 14th :
women dancing in unison will do absolutely nothing to educate or deter a perpetrator or potential perpetrator. Educational programs on the ground are much more effective form of deterrence. News footage does not equal awareness, educational programs do. I don’t see why it can’t be enough to do essential grassroots work.
Yet one supporter, Neema Namadamu, the Head of Ministry of Education in Congo-Africa believes as a Congolese woman, activist, and grassroots worker that
the event for February 14th was scheduled the same day as the 15th anniversary of doing grassroots work! 15 years of treating VICTIMS! Grassroots work is essential, but obviously it’s not enough
She also agreed, that “ we needed to get out from our secluded domestic suffering, to draw attention to the issue for women across the world, and thanks to Even Ensler *, who proposed the event and made it happen, we could now shift a Congolese problem, an Indian or Afghan problem, to a global, universal platform. Now we feel as part of one world, one Voice from over 200 countries around the globe, to demand once and for all an end to the violence against women”.
Another important issue concerning OBR which Natalie Gyte criticizes is the
“refusal to name the root cause of women’s inequality; its outright refusal to point the finger at a patriarchal system which cultivates masculinity and which uses the control and subjugation of women’s bodies as an outlet for that machoism”
The supporters of the campaign advocated that men must be included in it because, ‘”violence is not a gender issue. It affects our society as a whole”
More power to OBG supporters, then? ! And let’s replicate, like in South Africa and in India, Nelson Mandela’s the great reconciliation and Gandhi’ s inclusive non -violent protests?
Exclusion generates violence and violence calls for more violence.
Only by forgiving your persecutor can a civil, equal and understanding society be built.
* Among the SUF students who partecipated, Karli Bromley, intern for “Artemisia- Centro Donne contro la Violenza- Catia Franci” Her goal is learning how to promote awareness on the topic of violence against women.
**Even Esler: playwriter,actress, poet, activist, femminist, founder of OBR. Her most famous work is the comedy “Vagina Monologues” (1996)
References:
Libreria delle Donne, Via Fiesolana, Firenze. (zona Santa Croce)
Artemisia -Centro Donne contro la Violenza – Catia Franci ” www.artemisiacentroantiviolenza.it
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