16 Days of Activism 2009

November 25th kicked off the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.

This year's theme: Commit ▪ Act ▪ Demand: We CAN End Violence Against Women!

Last year I wrote about "grey" rape, and took a slightly different angle with it from a more personal perspective. This year...I don't quite know what I'm going to write about, but expect plenty of posting on this subject during the next few weeks.

What I will do, however, is remind you to buy your copy of Nothing But Red. The proceeds go to Equality Now, and it has work by some amazing people I admire, such as Joss Whedon, Lilith Saintcrow, Ann Aguirre, Elaine Corvidae, Hanne Blank, Ellen Sheeley, and so many other people--just go check out the contributors to see it all. It's an arts anthology--there's fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography, art...it's really a fantastic collection. Read Joss's essay that started it all here, check out the foreword, some beautiful and heartbreaking art, and as I find other pieces shared online, I'll link to them in other posts.

(And if you're okay with a bit of a downer, here are my thoughts on the two year anniversary of Du'a Khalil's death.)

And here are a couple of reviews:

Nothing But Red, while sometimes dark and horrifying, is an extremely powerful and exceptional piece of work. Please do not think, though, that every story in this book is violent or that it contains nothing positive or hopeful. There are many contributions that tell of strong women who are determined to get out of their situation, to be free and live. There is hope contained within the pages of this very eloquent book just as I believe that there is hope for women of the world. The fact that this book even exists is, to me, is definite proof of that.

via Bitten by Books

Beautifully crafted, NOTHING BUT RED brings home, with stunning clarity, the fact that anybody who believes that violence against women is something that only happens in certain countries, amongst people of certain religions, or is a thing of the past, is sadly mistaken. This could be YOUR mother, YOUR sister, YOUR daughter, friend or niece. This could be YOU. The words and images captured in these pages will not fail to stir you to your very soul. The writing is raw, poignant and heartfelt. The images are haunting. Reading this book left me feeling frightened, horrified, saddened, disgusted, bewildered and enraged. It also left me with a burning desire to be a part of the solution, to help assure that "honor killings" and other atrocities become a thing of the past. Most importantly, it left me with a feeling of hope. Hope that because of the passion and conviction of the talented women and men who contributed to NOTHING BUT RED, things can change.

via a reader review on GoodReads

And for good measure, because it never gets old:

I encourage everyone reading this to post your own thoughts during the next two weeks about gendered violence.