A Celebration of Women™ is elated to Celebrate the Life of this woman leader, film maker for social justice for all women, with a focus on the human rights for Women in the DRC - Democratic Republic of Congo. WOMAN of ACTION™ Julienne Lusenge President of Solidarité féminine pour la paix et le développement integral (Women’s Solidarity for Peace and Integrated Development) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As … [Read more...]
NEW City of Joy Website Launches!
V-Day is proud to announce the launch of the new City of Joy website! "The opening of the City of Joy is the moment where women of the Congo turn their pain to power. Where they who have suffered so deeply, so invisibly will claim their rights, their bodies and their future. It will be a huge privilege and honor to be present at this momentous occasion," stated Eve Ensler, playwright and V-Day Founder. A revolutionary new community for women survivors of gender violence in Bukavu, … [Read more...]
CONGO, National Leadership required NOW – Take Action !!!
ENOUGH is ENOUGH - The Time is NOW to Take Action !!! March 2013 – Conflict-related sexual violence is one of the most urgent challenges facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a senior United Nations official says, stressing that leadership and responsibility on the part of the Government is critical to tackling this issue. “Only the Congolese people, with the support of the international community, can change the current situation and create a new narrative for the DRC,” the … [Read more...]
VDAY, Dear All… A Letter From Eve Ensler in Congo!
Dear All... A Letter From Eve in Congo Eve Ensler has been in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the last month. Here she shares with you all her experiences with the women at City of Joy, life on the V-World farm, and how she ROSE with women and girls of Congo on 14 February. Dear All, First let me begin with the deepest thank you to all of you who believed in City of Joy and have stood by us with your confidence and support. I have spent the month here and … [Read more...]
You Did It, Congo Peace is on the White House Agenda
The Maman Shujaa 'Hero Women' of Congo thank you and everyone who signed their petition calling for a special US presidential envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Your voices have made a difference. As Neema Namadamu toured the US this past fall, heralding a women-led peace movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she had a goal in sight: for her message to reach the White House. Thanks to your signatures on her Change.org petition, Neema's dream has become a … [Read more...]
World Pulse Joins V-Day !!!
World Pulse Joins V-Day in calling for the world to rise against gender-based violence. V-Day's Campaign, One Billion Rising began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls. On 14 February 2013, V-Day's 15th Anniversary, activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities and women and men across the world will … [Read more...]
DRC: Surge in sexual violence in North Kivu* – Take Action!
MINOVA, 7 December 2012 (IRIN) - Sexual violence is on the rise as armed groups continue to move across the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) North Kivu Province, officials say. Since mid-November, the provincial capital, Goma, has been a site of battle, with rebel group M23 taking control of the city on 20 November. Following negotiations with neighbouring countries, M23 relinquished control of the city on 1 December, and the Congolese national army, FARDC, is back in charge. … [Read more...]
UN Security Council condemns M23 at Goma
The UN Security Council, acting under the enforcement provisions of the Charter of the United Nations on Wednesday strongly condemned the M23 and all its attacks on the civilian population, MONUSCO peacekeepers and humanitarian actors. The Council also strongly condemned the M23 abuses of human rights, including summary executions, sexual and gender based violence and large scale recruitment and use of child soldiers. It further condemned the attempts by the M23 to establish an … [Read more...]
V-DAY, Dr. Mukwege, Godfather of V-Men, Puts Out a Call to Men
Dr. Mukwege, Godfather of the V-Men Movement, Calls on Men Throughout Africa & the World End Violence Against Women & Cherish Women's Vaginas - OCTOBER 4, 2012 August 27 - 29, V-Day, with support from the Skoll Foundation and the Wallace Global Fund, convened 48 activists and social entrepreneurs from 17 countries in Africa for the first ever V-Africa Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Denis Mukwege, Founder of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu. DRC and the … [Read more...]
World Pulse, Ending Violence Against Women Campaign Update
The Power of Your Stories "While there is breath in this body I will speak the truth." Aoife | Ireland It has been two weeks since we announced our Ending Violence Against Women Digital Action Campaign, and we have already received over 240 community submissions from all over the world. From a witness to the horrors of acid violence in Bangladesh, to a South African man determined to redefine masculinity and address the root causes of violence, to a journalist grappling … [Read more...]
Mali: Shea tree empowers women
Many women in Mali know all about the benefits of the shea tree. They've been gathering its fruit for years to produce soaps and various products to sell. Now, production hovers at 80,000 tons per year – but it has the potential to reach 250,000 tons and improve lives. Vitellaria paradoxa (previously Butyrospermum parkii), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree, /ˈʃiː/ or /ˈʃiː.ə/, or vitellaria, is a tree of the Sapotaceae family indigenous to Africa, occurring in Mali, Cameroon, Congo, Côte … [Read more...]