Sunday, January 27, 2013

Freedom Safety Now Action for Jyoti

here is a video from the sawcc action outside the indian consulate on jan. 26th of this year. the issue was the indian government's failure to adequately protect its women citizens from violence and rape. on dec. 16th, jyoti singh pandey was raped by five men on a moving bus in delhi. two weeks later, she died in hospital. citizens of delhi have, for years, been calling for stricter punishments for rape and better laws to protect women, with little to no response from the indian government.

the sawcc action this weekend was a movement piece choreographed by parijat desai to depict the resistance of women against acts of terror committed against us, on a global level, where our bodies are the sites upon which these acts are committed. i was honoured to be in the line of women performers (that's me in the white knit hat and red gloves, behind parijat). it was incredibly empowering and inspiring. there was drumming, dancing, chanting, and voices raised in unison... freedom. safety. now.