And Still We Rise – why we’re marching for women’s rights this weekend

Let’s face it, to many of us the world can feel like a confusing and worrying place at the moment. Events of 2016 have turned our understanding of global politics on its head – from a referendum that leads to the UK’s exit of the European Union, to conflict and a refugee crisis on an enormous scale, and to elections in the USA that have given rise to a surge of sexism and racism.

When the world is in turmoil, nowhere is it more keenly felt than by women. When women speak up, we are attacked. When we seek power, we are too often silenced.  From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, women’s rights organisations and movements are campaigning for change in women’s lives – for an end to violence against women, for recognition of the unpaid care women provide, for an equal say in decisions, for rights to land and decent work, and for control over our own bodies.

And yet women’s rights organisations and movements face an ever present and growing backlash from those who have vested interests in preserving the status quo. Threats are commonplace, violence is used to silence and intimidate, and all too often we lose sisters through the targeted assassination of women activists. Last year, we mourned the death of a passionate defender of women’s rights, Jo Cox MP in the UK, and environmental activist Berta Cáceres in Honduras, among many others, as this moving tribute from the Association of Women in Development demonstrates.

And so we say enough. Enough sexism, enough racism, enough hate. We support the strong call by the women’s march on Washington, and the solidarity shown through dozens of sister marches, from London to Nairobi, and from Buenos Aires to Tokyo, for our fundamental human rights to be respected and protected.

As the organisers of the Women’s March on London have rightly said:

We unite and stand together for the dignity and equality of all peoples, for the safety and health of our planet and for the strength of our vibrant and diverse communities. We will come together in the spirit of democracy, honouring the champions of human rights who have gone before us.

This is not about party politics. And it is not about singling out individual politicians. It is about sending out a message of hope and a vision of a better world, where women’s rights are valued, respected and realised. And it is about demanding an end to the ceaseless abuse of women’s fundamental rights.

Here at Womankind, we know that women’s rights movements are driving forces of strength, hope, co-operation and peace. We work with feminist organisations and movements around the world, and we know from their experience that backlash and hatred, fundamentalisms, and a scarcity of resources are preventing them from doing their work and stopping them creating a better world for all women. It doesn’t have to be like this.

So we stand with our sisters from across the continents, and we speak out against the politics of hatred and division, we demand the protection of our fundamental human rights, and we speak up for a better world, where justice for women prevails. We are therefore proud to support and march as part of the Women’s March on London.

In the words of the great poet Maya Angelou:

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I rise.

At Womankind we’re rising, and we hope you’re with us.