Rape in India, Rape Everywhere: The struggle for gender equality is universal!

Please read and endorse the below statement written by some young feminist activists from around the world including Charlotte Soulary and Rishita Nandagiri to condemn rape and all other forms of violence against women everywhere. To add your signatures to the list below, please click here

We, feminists and women’s rights activists from across the world, are distressed and outraged at the death of a 23 year old Indian woman as a result of the brutal gang-rape she endured at the hands of six men on a New Delhi bus on December 16th. The gang-rape, the young woman’s immense bravery and her untimely death have galvanized India‘s population into demanding safer spaces and effective legislative measures. We have witnessed a frank and much-needed discussion on misogyny, patriarchy, rape and sexual violence across newspapers, social-media, and other forums. However, some of these discussions have been riddled with a distasteful neocolonial narrative of rape and sexual violence as reflective of ‘backward’ Southern countries, rather than a patriarchal epidemic that affects women the world over!

One in five women in the world is at risk of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime[1]. This is reflective of the fact that violence against women is the vector of male domination the world over and is codified in the structures and systems of governance, legislature, and societal norms in all our spaces. These structures, attitudes, and the failure of our systems to uphold women’s bodily integrities, dignities, and rights must be challenged through a range of policies, among which comprehensive sexuality education and gender equality measures. We must ensure that these discussions and debates lead to transformative social change, the very foundation of which is infused with respect women’s human rights.

Fighting patriarchy and building equality between men and women is the agenda of feminists around the world and constitutes the basis of a common commitment that unites us across languages, cultures and borders. Yes, sexual violence is rampant, and not only in India, everywhere! No, patriarchy is not a specificity of southern countries, but is universal in its manifestation and is experienced by women across all diversities and of all ages! And yes, feminist activism is also everywhere, because we fight against patriarchy, violence and the domination of men on women’s bodies in every part of our lives.

Today, we urge our governments, citizens of our countries, and the media to realize one thing: sexual violence exists everywhere and is rampant at all levels. The fight against it must therefore be taken up at all levels, and be a priority for governments to address. Comprehensive sexuality and gender equality education, training of all professionals, public campaigns against gender violence are critical policies that are needed in all countries. It must be understood that rape is not just a current affairs news item, but a real social phenomenon which needs to be tackled in all countries and across all strata’s of society.

In March 2013, the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women will focus on the theme ‘Violence against Women’. We demand that the United Nations takes a clear leadership role in prioritizing women’s human rights and condemning sexual violence. We urge our government representatives to show the world the leadership that has long been needed, make strong commitments to the empowerment of women, women’s bodily integrities and dignities, and take a stance against the systemic violence that is meted out on women’s bodies, reflecting this promise at policy, planning and budget levels.

First signatories :

Organizations

Women’s global network for reproductive rights (WGNRR)

Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW)

Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN)

YP Foundation (India)

Osez Le Féminisme (France)

Sex og Politikk (Norway)

Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (Nigeria)

Ponton (Poland)

Nasawiya (Lebanon)

Stop Street Harassment (USA)

Vision Spring Initiatives (Nigeria)

Fortress of Hope Africa (Kenya)

Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development (Vietnam)

Individuals

Amy Oyekunle – Nigeria

Anneli Rønes, Norway

Arabya Kousri, Tunisia

Charlotte Soulary, France

Engr. Abu Ozigi, Nigeria

Felistah Mbithe, Kenya

Holly Kearl, USA

Ishita Chaudry, India

Jeanne Sarson, Canada

Julie Ann Salthouse, USA

Leticia Zenevich, Brazil

Maïmouna Dembele, Mali

Mandy Sanghera, United Kingdom

Margot Baruch, USA

Marisa Viana, Brazil

Nancy Schwartzman, USA

Natalia Broniarczyk, Poland

Ngozi Nwosu-Juba, Nigeria

Pham Kim Ngoc, Vietnam

Priti Khanal, USA

Rachel Arinii Judhistari, Indonesia

Rimple Mehta, India

Rishita Nandagiri, India

Rosalind Petchesky, USA

Sara Baker, USA

Sivananthi Thanenthiran, Malaysia

Soraya L. Chemaly, USA

Soudeh Rad, Iran

Yasmine Rola, Lebanon