One Billion Rising will be on February 14 !

On February 14, 2013, one billion women from different countries will Strike, Dance, and Rise as part of a global effort to free women from all forms of oppression. 

Eve Ensler, the Tony-award winning playwright of The Vagina Monologues, who spearheaded the campaign, shares that One Billion Rising was inspired by her time in the Congo where women who have been through the worst were channelling their pain into dance.

“They turn it, they transform it into this strength and I just thought, ‘Oh my God, what if we got a billion survivors on the planet—all of these women who have survived violence—to dance and transform their pain on the same day, you know?’ And it’s happening!” she shares.

“We’ve had so many One Billion Rising launches around the Philippines: Negros, Dumaguete, Bicol, Baguio, Cordilleras, Davao, Iloilo, Cebu—it’s really all over the Philippines and in so many schools they’ve had their launches, so the response has really been overwhelming which kind of just tells me na talagang siguro hinihintay talaga ng tao ang opportunityna ito (... so the response has really been overwhelming which kind of just tells me that maybe the people have really been waiting for this opportunity.)”

Here in the Philippines, women from near and far have started learning the One Billion Rising song and dance by heart thanks to the efforts of Gabriela, The New Voice Company, Gabriela Women's Party and other women's groups. Stage actress Monique Wilson, one of the driving forces in the One Billion Campaign, says that the response has been astounding. 

I think we heard it then earlier as Eve said that dance is really, can be a collective action. Everybody can move if you just allow your bodies to move, you don’t even have to move so well, you just have to listen to your body and listen to its rhythm. And to also break free from, because you know oppression and silence and pain restricts your body diba, if you notice, it goes like this, instead of it being free. So I think dance is really, not just a form of protest, but it’s a form of celebration really, to celebrate and honor women. -  Monique Wilson

On February 14, 2013, Valentine’s Day, thousands of women and men in factories, schools, farms, market places and communities all over the country will be mobilized. In Quezon City, Tomas Morato is set to be the stage.

“Dance is like prayer, it’s like all the great forms of meditation. It’s sexy, it’s daring. I hope you dance with all your spirit on February 14.” Eve said

About One Billion Rising

One in three women on the planet is raped or beaten in her lifetime, according to the UN. That is ONE BILLION WOMEN violated. One billion daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, lovers and friends. On 14th February 2013, V-Day's 15th Anniversary, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men to dance across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers and our solidarity across borders. Join V-Day and ONE BILLION RISING today and SAY NO to violence against women and girls. To sign up and learn more, visit www.onebillionrising.org

Source : Female Network and www.onebillionrising.org