ILOILO City – In today’s 113th International Women’s Day celebration, militant group Gabriela-Panay urged women to rise and join the campaign to uplift the welfare and rights of women.
This year’s theme is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”
“Pamatokan naton ang mga nanari-sari nga patakaran ukon polisa nga naga-abuso sa mga kababainhan kag mga kabataan,” said Gabriela-Panay regional coordinator Lucy Francisco.
She said today’s celebration will kick off at 1:30 p.m. with a forum at St. Clement’s Retreat House; speakers will talk about the plight of women workers, peasant women, and students, among others.
Expected to join the event are Panay women workers, Kilusang Mayo Uno and other progressive groups’ women committees and unions, and youth and academe.
From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., they will have a women’s march/rally towards Iloilo Provincial Capitol ground where a short program will be held. “One Billion Rising” dance will cap the event.
“The ‘One Billion Rising’ dance is not a simple dance, it is a form of protest, nga ang women ga-control sang body ‘ya. In a form of dance ma-protest siya kag magsiling, ‘it’s my body, I will be the one to decide for my body and if it is a victim of abuse I will rise to end the abuse against me,’” Francisco added.
According to onebillionrising.org., One Billion Rising is the biggest mass action to end violence against women in human history.
Launched in Valentine’s Day 2012, the campaign began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that one in three women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime./PN
