A dozen marchers paraded around Grand Forks on Friday, singing the Women’s Warrior Song from the Lil’wat Nation, in support of the 1 Billion Rising Campaign.
The campaign is a world-wide initiative that calls on people to speak and act out against sexual and gender violence. The name of the campaign comes from the fact that it’s estimated that one in three women across the planet – approximately one billion – will experience abuse or sexual violence during their lifetime.
“Together, we RISE to free all women (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities) from sexual, physical, racial, economic, political, socio-cultural, ideological and climate crisis violence,” the campaign’s call to action reads.
“Every February, we rise in countries across the world to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant injustice,” said Boundary Women’s Resource Centre coordinator Kim Gordon.
“One billion stars twinkle at night, each one shining a brilliant light – a light that lives in you and me, the light that we need the world to see,” Gordon read from a poem she wrote, called “One Billion Rising.”
“To stand together in unity, to stop the pain and agony, we need to be strong, we need to be proud. We, all together, need to be loud.” (Read poem in full at end of story).
In Vancouver, at the same time, thousands marched through the Downtown Eastside in the annual Memorial March, honouring the lives of women who have been subject to abuse and violence, and those of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
“One Billion Rising” by Kim Gordon
One billion stars twinkle at night,
each one shining a brilliant light –
a light that lives in you and me,
a light that we need the world to see.
N0 room to hide or shame away
Our love, our power is here to stay.
To stand together in unity,
To stop the pain and agony,
we need to be strong, we need to be proud,
we, all together, need to be loud.
We don’t need to shout,
We don’t need to scream,
Instead, shining our light so all can agree
To love each other equally,
To live together in harmony.
One billion stars twinkle at night,
One billion women shine their light.
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