Khartoum Rising!
Last February 14th, more than a thousand young women and men rose together to demand an end to violence against women and girls in Khartoum, Sudan.
Organized by Salmmah Women Resource Centre and Open Mike, together with the support of civil society women’s organizations and youth groups —
Ahfad University for Women in Khartoum became the site of an extraordinary rising in a country where participation in public spaces by women is not easy —
and where laws that continue to humiliate Sudanese women and girls, and remove their dignity, and where discriminative legal systems are still in place. The university rang with cheers as the women and men danced to “Break The Chain” —
opening a five- hour program that included Sudanese dance and music by performance groups Nuba Mountains dance, Makaan, Sudan Roots and Solo Band. On One Billion Rising Khartoum, Fahima Hashim, Director of Salmmah Women Resource Centre said “the way it has been taken, the way the energy transferred and travelled - and the involvement, even of the people….they just took the idea and made it their way”.
Hopefully this campaign will give more women a chance to speak out against interpersonal violence but I personally think we need more programs and events targeted specifically for men. We need to teach boys at an early age not only to not commit any act of violence against women but to stand up against those who do. The political aspect is a different story though. Nevertheless, I still found this to be an innovative way to spread the message throughout Khartoum and am hoping that it continues to do so.
(Source: youtube.com, via thisinsatiableshadow)
