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Become one in a million on March the 8th

International Women’s Day 2008

Tuesday, 4 March 2008

Women from across the United Kingdom will march in Central London on International Women’s Day, Saturday 8th March 2008. The world can still be a harsh place for women and this march is a response to the continuing impact of all forms of violence against women. In the past fortnight alone, Levi Bellfield, Steve Wright and Mark Dixie have been found guilty of the murders of Amelie Delagrange, Marsha McDonnell, Tania Nicol, Paula Clennell, Gemma Adams, Annelli Alderton, Anette Nicholls and Sally Ann Bowman respectively. The event will also celebrate and honour the achievements and resilience of women in what is expected to be the largest women-only march in UK history. The march will assemble in Hyde Park at 12 noon (nearest tube station is Marble Arch) and then march to Trafalgar Square where there will be a rally from 3pm to 6pm.

Speakers at the rally include: survivors of gendered violence and representatives from national and campaigning organisations such as Southall Black Sisters, Women’s Aid, Fawcett Society, Women’s Institute, Women and Girls Network and the Rape Crisis Federation. The event has been organised by women who work closely with survivors of gendered violence. The Million Women Rise Coalition believes that a woman’s right to live free from violence and the fear of violence has not been achieved. Despite important steps taken by the government to address domestic violence, specialist organisations such as Southall Black Sisters and Rape Crisis Centres face loosing their funding, so reducing the support available to the most vulnerable women in society. Sabrina Qureshi, Co-ordinator of the Million Women Rise Coalition states that; “Violence against women and children continues to be a global pandemic. Women and children around the world experience domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, forced marriage, trafficking, so-called “honour” killings, dowry deaths, female feticide through sex-selective abortion, female infanticide and female genital mutilation. In the UK only 5% of rapes reported to the police result in a conviction. Two women a week are killed by their partner or ex-partner. Violence against women violates life, liberty, bodily integrity, freedom of movement and dignity of the person. This March marks the beginning of a concerted and energetic campaign to reverse these trends”.

For details of this and other International Women’s day events go to http://millionwomenrise.com or www.internationalwomensday.com