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Afghanistan and Canadian Efforts

June 30, 2016 By HKearl

HarassMapAfghanistanAfghanistan:

Check out the new HarassMap campaign in Afghanistan where people in the country can share their street harassment experiences.

Canada:

Via CBC:

“With the Calgary Stampede just a week away, a social media campaign using the hashtag #SafeStampede is gearing up.

Organizers say they want to spark a conversation about sexual harassment, consent and respectful behaviour.
 
“I think changing attitudes is what’s going to change behaviour,” said Elizabeth Booth, one of the community advocates who started using the hashtag during last year’s event.
 
A lifelong Calgarian, Booth says she loves the Stampede, but she sees a dark side to the debauchery.
 
“There’s a lot of alcohol and just this long-standing tradition that it’s a time to misbehave,” she said.”
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Filed Under: News stories, Resources, street harassment Tagged With: Afghanistan, canada

Day 5: International Anti-Street Harassment Week

April 14, 2016 By HKearl

Hello Day 5!

Here are photos from the week  | Here are the media hits

Watch the Google+ Hangout Panel with activists from Kenya, Romania and USA.

There was a #CASSchats twitter chat with Collective Action for Safe Spaces and Me=You: Sexual Violence Awareness (MYSVA).

CASS Chats_

Here are examples of the events that took place today:

  • Bahamas: Hollaback Bahamas held a “Chalk ‘n’ Chat”

4.14.16 Bahamas

  • Canada: Women in Cities International and Interviewer Noémie Bourbonnais  and Sound Recorder Lucie Pagès did on-the-street interviews about street harassment and sidewalk chalking in Montreal.
4.14.16 WICI Montreal -Interviewee (left), Interviewer Noémie Bourbonnais (centre left), Sound Recorder Lucie Pagès (centre right), and Camerawoman Kathleen Ellis (right)) 4.14.16 WICI Montreal - Interviewer Noémie Bourbonnais (right) discussing street harassment with an interviewee (left) 4.14.16 WICI Montreal - chalking 3
  • France: Chalking in Lyon, flyering in Toulouse
4.14.16 Stop HDR Lyon France 6 4.14.16 Stop HDR Lyon France 7 4.14.16 Stop HDR Lyon France

4.14.16 Toulouse, France

  • Nepal: Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) – in partnership with various like-minded social organizations – organized an interaction on “Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues” at National women commission hall, Bhdardrakali.
4.14.16 -2Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) in partnership with others organized 'Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues' 2 4.14.16 -3Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) in partnership with others organized 'Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues' 4.14.16 Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN) in partnership with others organized 'Harassment and violence towards women in public spaces and legal issues'
  • Yemen: To Be for Rights and Freedom will host an event in connection with an anti-street harassment campaign. At the event, NGOs will display relevant survey results, films, and share stories. [RESCHEDULED DUE TO FLOODING]
  • Iowa: End Street Harassment – Iowa City will host a support group for individuals who have experienced street harassment to share their experiences in a safe environment. Participants can create posters and other art projects for display to raise awareness and protest street harassment. Meet in Room E on the second floor of the downtown public library, 123 S. Linn Street. [6:30 – 8 p.m.]
4.14.16 Iowa City support group 4.14.16 Iowa City support group 9 4.14.16 Iowa City support group 11
  • New York: Brooklyn Movement Center will host an event at which participants will use improv and storytelling techniques to reimagine ways they would have responded to harassment, with time travel and community support on their side [6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Friends and Lovers, 641 Classon Ave, Brooklyn, NY]
  • Pennsylvania: Students at Temple University in Philadelphia put up posters around campus.

4.14.16 Temple University signs - Philadelphia, PA

Virtual Efforts:

Afghanistan:

4.14.16 Streetharassment prevents women and girls and their families from getting an educationStreet harassment prevents women and girls and their families from getting an education Afghanistan “Harassing women is not entertainment. It is a crime.”“Harassing women is not entertainment. It is a crime. 4.10.16 Afghanistan - i have the right to go shopping without being harassed

Belgium:

Free Tai-Ji Movement Pepingen Belgium
Free Tai-Ji Movement Pepingen Belgium

Ecuador:

4.14.16 Hollaback Cuenca - Ecuador 2 4.14.16 Hollaback Cuenca Ecuador 4.14.16 Hollaback Cuenca - Ecuador 8

South Africa:

4.14.16 ActionAidSouth Africa 4.14.16 ActionAid South Africa
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Filed Under: anti-street harassment week Tagged With: Afghanistan, Bahamas, belgium, canada, ecuador, france, south africa, Yemen

300 Afghan Students, Teachers Speak out Against Street Harassment

April 10, 2016 By Contributor

“Harassing women and girls does not make you a man.”
“Harassing women and girls does not make you a man.”

To commemorate International Anti-Street Harassment Week, Free Women Writers, an Afghan blog for social justice and gender equality, called on people around the country to send photos with messages about the harassment of women and girls in public spaces. Within the first week, dozens of powerful pictures were sent to the blog via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Email.

The photos and the messages were inspiring, but Star Educational Society (SES), a private learning center with branches in several provinces in Afghanistan, went beyond that and engaged hundreds of students and teachers in speaking out against street harassment.

In three different branches located in Kabul, SES organized class discussions about street harassment in which men and women spoke about the problem and efficient ways of fighting with it. Then students and teacher wrote and took pictures with signs about street harassment. The pictures and slogans were published in the center’s newspaper to encourage further debate.

“With this campaign we not only stand against the negative perceptions that exist about Afghan men, but we also redefine masculinity and stand firm to build a better community,” said Ali Reza Yasa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at SES.

"Good men don't harass women. They support them," some of the signs read.
“Good men don’t harass women. They support them,” some of the signs read.

12498485_590868481066724_833176978_n12789989_10153830915469471_1781306621_oUsing Free Women Writer’s campaign, SES not only created a meaningful debate about street harassment in their centers but also allowed students the opportunity to feel agentic by raising their voices. According to Yasa, one of the most encouraging outcomes of the campaign was that girls, who usually do not want to take photos due to fear of violence or harassment, participated with enthusiasm and passion.

“We are so glad to have been part of this initiative. The culture of street harassment has to end. Let’s hope for a better Afghanistan, one we all deserve,” Yasa said.

 

 

Noorjahan Akbar is a human rights advocate from Afghanistan. She runs Free Women Writers, a blog about gender equality and social justice in Afghanistan. 

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Filed Under: anti-street harassment week Tagged With: Afghanistan, Free Women Writers, SES

#16Days of Activism: Marching (Day 7)

December 1, 2015 By HKearl

Nov. 25 – Dec. 10 are the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. To commemorate the week, we are featuring 1 activism idea per day. This information is excerpted from my new book Stop Global Street Harassment: Growing Activism Around the World (Praeger 2015).

Since the mid-1970s, Take Back the Night and Reclaim the Night marches have occurred annually in many cities worldwide to challenge rape. Starting in 2011, SlutWalk marches spread globally, too, with participants criticizing rape culture and victim blaming. In recent years, there have also been marches in countries like Afghanistan, Colombia, Nepal, Romania, South Africa, and the United States.

Afghanistan. Image via Gender Across Borders

On a hot day in 2011, 50 women and men carrying banners and signs with messages like, “We will not tolerate harassment,” “Islam forbids men from insulting women,” and “I have the right to walk freely in my city” marched together from Kabul University to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Organized by Young Women for Change, marchers handed out fliers to raise awareness about the problem of street harassment in their country. Most of the people they passed on the street stood shocked, staring, since openly supporting women’s rights can be dangerous. Despite the presence of a police escort, some men heckled the marchers and called them names. But others were supportive and took fliers or joined the march. Organizer Noorjahan Akbar, then a 20-year-old college student, told me in an interview at the time: “It was so thrilling to see that none of us are alone in this fight and we are willing to stand up for each other.”

In 2012, between 3,000 and 5,000 women and men joined together to march through Johannesburg, South Africa, outraged by the sexual assault of two women wearing short skirts at a taxi rank and by the daily street harassment most women face. They carried signs with messages like “I will wear my mini-skirt anywhere!” and “Humiliating women is a sin before God.” Lulu Xingwana, the minister of women and children and people with disabilities marched too, and told the local news station: “Through this march, we are reclaiming our streets from those who abuse and terrorize women and children.” She also warned she would close down taxi ranks if harassment and assault against women continued there.

In Bogota, Observatorio Contra el Acoso Callejero Colombia held a march against street harassment in the center of the city in 2014. More than 100 people participated, carrying signs with messages like “Nuestros Cuerpos No Hacen Parte Del Espacio Publico!” (Our bodies are not public space!). The group joined forces with a female percussion group called La tremendarevoltosabatucadafeminista and a performance group called Tulpadanza, which both brought extra energy to the march.

Also in 2014, with the help of volunteers from the feminist organization Filia, Simona-Maria Chirciu organized a 100-person march through Bucharest, Romania. Women and men of all ages held signs that read, “Harassment is violence,” “We don’t need your validation,” and “It is NEVER ok to harass people! So stop doing it.” Numerous women’s rights groups participated. Chirciu wrote for the SSH blog: “People on the streets interacted with us, greeted us, and asked questions about our march: ‘Hey, do you think a march will solve the problem? Boys need to be educated or legally punished for doing this.’ Yes! Maybe a march doesn’t solve the street harassment issue, but it can raise awareness and is empowering for the march participants.”

Help fund our work in 2016, donate to our end-of-year giving campaign!

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Filed Under: 16 days Tagged With: Afghanistan, colombia, marches, Romania, south africa

Afghanistan: I Will Fill You With Lead

April 17, 2015 By Contributor

I screamed with all my might so that of God or one of His followers might help me. But everyone just kept watching.

Guest Blog Post for International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2015

About seven months ago, one afternoon I was walking out of a class I taught with enthusiasm and full of energy and headed home. On the way, I decided to stop by a super market to purchase somethings I needed.

When I exited the store, I saw a big car with black windows parked near the entry door of the market. There were two men inside the car. They immediately began inviting me to their car and calling me names. I ignored them. I looked down and continued walking home, but before I knew it I noticed one of the men in front of me with his arms wide open as if he wanted to embrace me. I said something loudly because I was terrified. He moved out of my way and I kept walking. I then noticed two guards standing in front of a building very close to the market. I asked them why they hadn’t done anything to protect me and one of them said abruptly, “we are here to guard this office. Defending women and girls is not our job.”

I was debating with the guards when I found the black car near me once again. This time, they began saying obscene things to me. I got really angry and asked them, “are your sisters and mothers prostitutes that you assume all women are?”

One of the men got really enraged and got out of the car. He ran towards me and began slapping my face. Soon, he was hitting me everywhere and kicking me. I had not imagined this would ever happen so I didn’t know what to do. I began screaming in the hopes of God or one of His followers helping me. The most shocking thing was the fact that both guards were still watching in silence. My screams brought a crowd of men and women around. People came of their houses and offices and began to watch me being beaten. The enraged man did not stop at hitting me. He ran back to his car and brought a big gun out with him. He looked at me and said, “I will fill you with lead.”

He loaded the gun, but his friend attempted to calm him down and ultimately stopped him from firing.

After that, they both got inside the car and left the area while yelling obscenities at me. The crowd was still watching me. Some people looked at me with pity while others with hatred and blamed, but they all had thousands of questions. Some asked me who the men where, what they wanted from me and whether I knew them. The same people who moments ago were quiet as rocks had somehow regained their voice and were questioning me. I do not remember what I told them. I just wished I could erase this day from my memory.

By Azada Faqiri, cross-posted from Dukhtarane Rabia (Daughters of Rabia): A blog on social justice in Afghanistan

Poster text: I screamed with all my might so that of God or one of His followers might help me. But everyone just kept watching.

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Filed Under: anti-street harassment week Tagged With: #EndSHWeek, Afghanistan, Daughters of Rabia, Dukhtarane Rabia

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