One Billion Rising activists are calling for RISING GARDENS, a global grassroots action for revival, restoration and transformation, making the connection between violence against women and destruction of the earth.
Rising Gardens is a defiant creative call for revival, restoration, and transformation.
Activists are RISING around the globe on Earth Day, April 22. Visit onebillionrising.org and Instagram.com/one_billion_rising for information, ideas & inspiration from activists everywhere.
WATCH and SHARE this new One Billion Rising short video channeling the energy activists are dedicating to women and the earth, as they plant, grow and RISE, cultivating communities of care and resistance. Join us on social media all day on Earth Day as we amplify RISINGS online for Earth Day, honoring the Earth during this pandemic.
We cultivate in many ways including: Seed distribution through seed banks and exchanges; Artistic creations in the forms of zero waste food art in Bangladesh; Artistic risings featuring speakers on ending violence against women and new ways to sustainably engage with the environment, performances, dancing, and more; Film festivals featuring a range of films on the topics that Rising Gardens uplifts; Planting trees to create community green spaces and planting community gardens; Collaborations with agricultural workers and gardeners; Educational workshops about gardening and education about herbal medicine and the effects of gardening to boost immunity; and actions to advance women’s rights.
READ about Rising Gardens
Follow One Billion Rising on Instagram @one_billion_rising
VIEW 2021 Rising Gardens Artwork HERE
NEW DISPATCHES FROM THE BEYOND INCARCERATION PROJECT
Roslyn Smith, V-Day’s Beyond Incarceration Project Manager, writes an ongoing series about her experiences as a formerly incarcerated woman, bringing her personal experience as a formerly incarcerated woman to her work as a criminal justice reform advocate.
JUST OUT: Two new blogs, one highlighting the work of Jonel Beauvis, founder of The Welcome Home Circle, Sharon Richardson, founder and CEO of Reentry Rocks and Just Soul Catering, and Evie Litwok, founder and Executive Director of Witness to Mass Incarceration, formerly incarcerated women who are giving back to their community through their work with non profit organizations. Roz notes that we rarely hear the stories of women after they have been home and what their lives look like now. Roz also writes about her recent trip to Washington D.C, calling on President Biden grant clemency to 100 incarcerated women in the first 100 days of his presidency.
According to the Sentencing Project, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 700%, rising from a total of 26,378 in 1980 to 222,455 in 2019. Though many more men are in prison than women, the rate of growth for female imprisonment has been twice as high as that of men since 1980. Nationally, about 1 in 8 (13%) of all individuals released from state prisons and more than 1 in 6 (18%) jail releases are women.
On 12 March, Roslyn joined the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls at Washington DC to call on President Biden to use the underutilized presidential power of clemency and write about her experiences at the rally. The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls and #FreeHer campaign called on President Biden to grant clemency to 100 women in his first 100 days of office, as President Biden and Vice President Harris have campaigned on implementing their Biden-Harris Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice, which seeks to reduce the number of incarcerated individuals while rooting out the racial, gender, and income-based disparities within the criminal justice system. With over 231,000 women and girls incarcerated in the United States during a deadly pandemic, now is the time for immediate action.
READ Formerly Incarcerated Women Meeting the Needs of Their Communities through Non-Profit Organizations HERE
READ 100 Women 100 Days HERE
READ more about the Beyond Incarceration Project HERE.
