|
International
Women's Day
Kuching, 2003
Find Out, Speak Up, Take Action!
International
Women's Day - 8 March - is an occasion marked by women's groups all
around the world, where their voices are gathered in a celebratory shout
in recognition of the struggles and victories of the women's movement
for equality, justice, peace and development. It is also a day to plan
for future strategies in eliminating all forms of discrimination against
women. This date has been commemorated at the United Nations and is
designated in many countries as a national holiday.
Following
the success of last year's International
Women's Day celebrations, together with 3R
and AWAM, WAO will be holding this
year's celebration on 8th March at the Waterfront, Kuching Sarawak.
Taking on a proactive stand to stop violence against women, this year's
theme is Find Out, Speak Up & Take Action!
What's
Gonna Be Happening?
Fun
& Fund-raising Activity!
Members of the public are urged to bring along a Kotex polybag
to the Kotex booth and for every polybag that they bring, Kotex will
donate RM1 to WAO, AWAM & SWWS. In return, members of the public
will spin a wheel prizes and win a gift for themselves. These NGOs which
rely on public donations to fund their services and projects will benefit
from the pubic's generosity via a simple act of collecting as many Kotex
polybags and exchanging them for gifts at the booth.
Cheerleading
Competition
For the very first time ever in East
Malaysia, 3R together with Kotex brings the popular sport of cheerleading
to secondary school girls in Kuching. Trainers from Kuala Lumpur have
been brought over to Kuching specially to train teams of secondary school
girls from St. Theresa and St. Mary for this competition. Sarawakians
will also get to see a performance by Sri Bintang School KL, last year's
champion cheerleading team from Kuala Lumpur.
Informational
Booths
NGO
booths from Kuala Lumpur and Kuching will be set up all along the Waterfront
area from 2.00pm to 6.00pm offering informational brochures, self-help
booklets and assistance by staff and volunteers on issues of violence
against women, as well as the services provided. This is a useful avenue
for members of the public who want to find out more about the issue
and how they can help.
AWAM
Clothesline Project
Newspaper articles about rape cases as well as items from rape survivors
will be hung from a clothesline at the Waterfront, Kuching to bring
visibility to the stories of rape survivors. It is to enable the public
to realise that they can do something individually to to make a difference
in stopping rape. Women and men can respond by making a stand and signing
the "Speak Out Against Rape" banner. The Clothesline project
will be displayed between 2.00pm - 6.00pm at the event.
Stop
Rape Workshops (to be held on 7th March)
Organised
by AWAM and supported by WAO, there will be four-hour workshops on raising
the awareness on rape will be held at schools and universities in Kuching.
The 3R hosts will also play an active role as co-trainers as participants
gain more understanding on the issue of sex roles and stereotyping,
myths and facts about rape, date rape and protecting themselves from
rape.
WAO
Legal Clinic
The
Legal Clinic will be set up at WAO Booth, with placement of 2 lawyers
from Sarawak Women for Women (SWWS) and WAO staff members to answer
basic legal queries from members on the public on violence against women,
especially on domestic violence. The WAO self help guide " A life
free from violence"' will be available to the public.
Signature
Campaign
Members
of the public are urged to support the effort in amending the laws related
to rape by joining the signature campaign at the AWAM booth.
Palm
Prints Against Rape
Members
of the public are invited to make their mark against rape and violence
against women by making their palm prints using paint onto a white banner.
This collage of prints will be suspended against a wall throughout the
day.
"Stamp
Out Violence" Scrapbook
There
will also be a scrapbook at the AWAM booth where members of the public
can sign their names, write messages or comments on the issue of violence
against women and have their say. Rubber stamps with the shape of a
hand will be provided to the public where they can stamp the book and
sign their names within the hand.
Concert
A
concert featuring popular young upcoming artists like VE, Deja Moss,
Hazami, Syafinaz and Elyana will take place from 8:00pm onwards. Popular
local indigenous band Tuku Kame will also join the performance. For
the very first time ever, the 3R hosts - Azah, Yuen and Kartini - will
perform a sing for the audiences. In keeping with the theme of Stop
Violence Against Women, the song will reflect the spirit of 3R, which
calls young women to respect yourself, take time off to relax and respond
to the surroundings. A fun night to end a day of empowerment for women!
Related
Articles:
|
