Women of the world unite to oppose violence through One Billion Rising

Day features marches in Afghanistan, human chains in Bangladesh and a debate in the House of Commons

There were marches in Afghanistan, human chains in Bangladesh and a debate in the British parliament on Thursday to celebrate One Billion Rising, a campaign to raise awareness of violence against women.

Started by activist and Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, the campaign asked participants to dance in solidarity with the one billion women estimated to be abuse survivors.

After women in countries ranging from Somalia to Australia took part, Ensler said the day's success was beyond her wildest dreams.

The event marked 15 years since Ensler founded the V-Day movement, which used Valentine's Day to raise awareness of the violence faced by women around the world.

She spent the day at the City of Joy, a refuge for rape victims she founded in Congo.

The broad theme of the campaign allowed its message to be adapted to each country.

In Germany, events in 126 cities highlighted how sexual violence is dealt with in the criminal system; a parliamentary debate in the UK focused on sex and relationship education in schools.

Hundreds of women and men marched through streets in Afghanistan. One said they were protesting against the women "sold and raped, and subjected to other violence" in the country. tens of thousands of people were said to have joined rallies and dance events in India, where there is still widespread anger over the recent gang rape and murder of a medical student in Delhi.


Grammy-nominated sitar player Anoushka Shankar released a video in support of the event in which she revealed she had been abused by a friend of her parents, while politicians including David Cameron and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives, tweeted about the campaign.