The Imkaan team had the pleasure of meeting Professor Crenshaw at our offices at the end of March, to connect, learn and discuss black feminism and intersectionality in the US and the UK.
Imkaan team member Camille Kumar also welcomed Ms. Crenshaw at a session at SOAS entitled Intersections: Critical Race and Black British Feminism, a conversation with Kimberle Crenshaw.
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#gender #politics #equality #kimberle crenshaw #intersectionality #black feminism #black feminist #race #connectionThe 25th November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
This date was chosen by the United Nations in honour of the Mirabal sisters, three political activists, assassinated on 25 November 1960 by order of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). The assassination of the Mirabal sisters propelled the anti-Trujillo movement and within a year, the Trujillo dictatorship came to an end.
The sisters, referred to as the “Inolvidables Mariposas”, the “Unforgettable Butterflies”, have become a symbol of freedom and inspiration for many feminist activists seeking to challenge inequality and injustice. For many of us working to eliminate violence against women and girls, the 25th of November is a day for us to come together to reflect, raise our voices and honour women’s activism, our sacrifices and our survival.
Yet as time has progressed, the 25th of November has been rebranded and mainstreamed in such a way that the activism of the Mirabal sisters is often absent from awareness-raising and publicity campaigns. Increasingly the 25th of November has become associated with individual campaigns, such as the White Ribbon Campaign, rather than being identified as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
This year, Imkaan has come together with the Pacific Islands Safety and Prevention Project (The Project) in Aotearoa (New Zealand)to reiterate our call for equality and for the elimination of violence against women and girls. We have chosen to use Purple Butterflies as the symbol of this collaboration.
The butterfly is a symbol of transformation and metamorphosis and for us represents the possibility of change – a reminder that we can all create a different world.
Our Executive Director, Marai Larasi, highlights why a black feminist approach is critical to addressing violence against BME women and girls in her interview for
the Patricia Galvao Institute in Brazil.
An excerpt from the interview:
“I identify as a black feminist because I believe that black feminism provides space for an intersectional analysis of our experiences as black women. This perspective is critical if we are to come to terms with the reality that a black women’s experience of sexism is often racialized and that our experience of racism is often sexualized.”
You can read the full interview here.
The interview can also be found on the Patricia Galvao website and on other Brazilian media sites.
Click the link above to listen to the Institute of Public Affairs public lecture with Professor Crenshaw, chaired by Dr Purna Sen at LSE on 26 March 2014.
BME women are community leaders too! RECOGNISE our leadership and RESPECT our expertise
Politicians, listen to young BME women’s voices so that you can respond to our needs and invest in our safety
Violence against BME women and girls needs to be a priority for the political parties, especially when commissioning services locally #GE2015
Rosie, Panahghar
From Vital Statistics 2 (Imkaan, 2012)
Starting on Valentine’s day, and in the lead up to International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, Imkaan is raising awareness about the experiences and impact of violence on women and girls.
We want women and girls who have experienced violence to be able to access adequate, appropriate and specialist support. We want to make sure that violence against women and girls does not happen in the first place. We want to make sure that all of us take responsibility for preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Buy and Share “Bruises” by Diana King
Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Diana King has chosen to donate her song “Bruises” from her latest album “Agirlnameking” to Imkaan (UK) and The Project (Aotearoa/New Zealand), to support our work to eliminate violence against women and girls. We are in urgent need of funds to keep our services going and ask you to support us to continue this vital work by purchasing the track.
Purchase Bruises by Diana King
Read about the work your purchase will fund
Join Imkaan at Million Women Rise
Million Women Rise is the biggest women’s march in Europe against male violence in all its forms. The Imkaan team will be on this year’s march, on International Women’s Day, Saturday 8th March.
We encourage you to show your support to end male violence by joining the march which sets off at 1pm from Duke Street in Central London. More information is available here.
Widen the conversation
Raise awareness about the impact of violence against women and girls, and the work to eradicate violence by joining the conversation on social media including Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.
You support matters! Thank you for helping to make a difference.
Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Diana King lends her efforts to eliminating violence against women and girls
On 25th November 2013, Imkaan came together with the Pacific Islands Safety and Prevention Project (The Project) in Aotearoa (New Zealand) to reiterate our call for equality and for the elimination of violence against women and girls. We have chosen to use Purple Butterflies as the symbol of this collaboration.
Imkaan’s Executive Director, Marai Larasi shared this via her Twitter page, and internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Diana King watched our videos discussing the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Following this, Diana has chosen to donate her song “Bruises“ from her latest album ”Agirlnameking“ to Imkaan and The Project, as a way to support our cause. She says:
"As an artist, you live for those moments when your soul speaks and there’s no questioning why you are about to do something. This was what happened when I visited Imkaan’s website through a post on Marai’s Twitter page. I watched the videos discussing the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and immediately something ignited in me because this cause is also my cause. I have 9 sisters who are now women, and all of us have suffered violent abuse as girls. Sadly it continues among more than a few of us. The wounds left never seem to heal and affects our self worth daily. I wanted to do something and it’s an honour to contribution my song "Bruises” written for an abused friend. This is one of the most natural things I’ve ever done. It simple just felt good and right. Elimination is better than cure.“
The staff at Imkaan and The Project are truly honoured, inspired and overwhelmed by Diana’s generosity and commitment to equality.
Big up Diana King! ♥
Listen/purchase: Bruises by Diana King
Politicians, are you ready to do the job? All women’s rights are human rights #GE2015
Nacera, Why Refugee Women
Imkaan is working with UN Women to support the establishment of a Regional Expert Working Group (REWG) on intersectional discrimination and violence against women. The REWG will offer a unique opportunity for women’s organisation to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including the UN and the Council of Europe (CoE) on issues of law reform and policy development.
As part of this process Imkaan would like to connect with organisations using an intersectional approach in their work to address violence against women (VAW). This is within a broader mandate of identifying organisations who would be interested in contributing to a wider process of research and advocacy into the opportunities and challenges in the area of VAW in the Western Balkan countries and Turkey. Over the next few months Imkaan would like to arrange visits to your organisations where we can discuss the nature of your work, the types of issues you deal with and the population groups being supported by you, as well as barriers that you face in your work.
At the end of this consultation Imkaan along with UN Women will identify potential participants for the REWG. The REWG will be responsible for:
Please do get in touch with us
Please email neha@imkaan.org.uk and leah@imkaan.org.uk no later than 30th October stating:
- the name of
your organisation
- the country (and city/town/village) in which you work
- the
population group (s) you work with
- your organisational
aims and how you use an intersectional approach in your work on VAWG
We will then get in touch with you, arrange a Skype conversation followed by a potential visit to your organisation. We look forward to hearing from you!
