The statistics are shocking. There are 7 billion people on this planet. Half of them are women. One third of these women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime. And according to the One Billion Rising website, on February 14, “over one billion people will rise, release, and dance to demand justice for all survivors of gender violence, and call for an end to the rampant impunity that prevails globally.”
The term ‘One Billion Rising’ refers to the United Nations’ statistic that 1 in 3 women on this planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime, which is the equivalent to one billion women and girls. Started in 2012, the One Billion Rising campaign is now the biggest global action to end violence against women, with tens of thousands of events held in more then 190 countries.
For the first time ever, the community of Six Nations will be dancing “Break the Chain” in support of every woman and girl worldwide, who has or will become a victim of physical and/or sexual violence in her lifetime. Ganohkwasra has put out a call to the community to come and join them on March 7th. The date was chosen to coincide with International Women’s Day which is held annually on March 8th.
Practice dates will he held throughout the month of February and into March: Feb 3 – Feb 5 – Feb 10 – Feb 12 – Feb 18 – Feb 24 – Mar 3 – Mar 5. All practices will take place in the Healing Centre at Ganohkwasra from 12:00 – 12:30 pm. The practices will be for those who want to learn “Break the Chain”, the Women’s Shuffle Dance.
The actual event for One Billion Rising is February 14th however, this day also coincides with the annual awareness day held in hundreds of locations across Canada for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Every February 14th, marches and vigils are held in cities and in First Nations communities to raise awareness on the startling numbers of Indigenous women and girls who have either lost their lives to violence or have gone missing. One Billion Rising organizers in Canada have been asked to not do their events on that day.
And the One Billion Rising movement is not just for women. According to their website, organizers explain, “We’re inviting one billion women and those who love them to walk out, dance, rise up and demand an end to this violence.”
On March 7, starting at noon, event organizers will welcome everyone and give a background of what this event is all about. A short 1 Billion Rising documentary will be played. After that everyone will dance “Break the Chain” and there will be a light lunch afterwards.
For more information or to RSVP for this event, please call 519-445-4324.
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