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Today on International Women’s Day, we pause to reflect on the current status of women worldwide and honor those among us who fearlessly stand up to empower women everywhere.

Globally, up to six out of every ten women experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. This is not just a statistic—this number reflects the lives and futures of mothers, daughters, best friends, sisters and colleagues that have been altered forever.

International Women’s Day has brought citizens across the world together since 1908 to celebrate women’s achievements and to openly discuss what needs to be done to build a better future. Women and men worldwide join hands in paying homage to the amazing leaders who helped pave the way to global equality. We honor the movers and shakers who will help women achieve and sustain full rights and we marvel at the accomplishments we as a society have achieved since the inception of International Women’s Day. It is a day dedicated to standing together as we acknowledge that although we have made leaps and bounds, we have so much further to go until women achieve true equality in all corners of the world.

Today, we reflect, open up our hearts to one another and acknowledge members of the international community who have made significant accomplishments on behalf of women worldwide. We would like to recognize six amazing leaders who have and continue to trail blaze on behalf of women on each and every continent.

These leaders have committed their lives to protecting women’s rights and to lowering the number of those affected by sexual violence. They serve as an inspiration not only to us working in the field, but also to women and young girls everywhere. By shedding light in their own communities and on a global platform, they gracefully and fearlessly stand up to say NO MORE to violence and yes to equality.

 Africa: Leymah Gbowee, Liberia

 “I wish for a better life. I wish for food for my children. I wish that sexual abuse and exploitation in schools would stop. This is the dream of the African girl.”

Leymah Gbowee is the Executive Director of the Women’s Peace and Security Network and is internationally acclaimed for her work on behalf of women in Africa. As the 2011 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Gbowee is most recognized for advocacy on behalf of women in conflict zones, whom often bear the brunt of extreme sexual violence.

In her youth, Gbowee was a victim of the Liberian civil war that took 250,000 lives and destroyed the country she loved. As a survivor of intimate partner violence and a young, newly single mother of four, she sought asylum in a refugee camp and was forced to send her children away to Ghana to ensure their safety. She began training and working as a social worker during the first conflict and eventually had a vision that lead to the formation of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement.

The Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace staged weekly interreligious pray-ins and nonviolent protests against the brutal war at local markets. They protested all forms of violence, but the violence against women and children was so rampant at the time that protecting themselves and their children in particular fueled Gbowee and the movement’s passion. The women protested regularly until peace talks were reinstated at the end of the second conflict in 2003, and the group’s enormous efforts are largely credited for bringing peace and stability to the region. Gbowee was also an influential force in getting Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her fellow 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, as the first woman elected as President in Liberia.

“I don’t feel like I’ve done anything extraordinary but take my little light and shine it in darkness,” said Gbowee, in an interview with the LA Times, “The journey has been tough; the road has been rough. But it’s been rewarding.”

To watch Leymah Gbowee discuss the impact of unlocking women’s potential, click here.

South America: Michelle Bachelet, Chile

“I know from my own experience that there is no limit to what women can do.”

Michelle Bachelet is the Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women, or UNIFEM, the United Nations’ organization for the empowerment of women worldwide. She was formerly the President of Chile and is formerly trained as a pediatrician.

Dr. Bachelet is a long-time champion of women’s rights. As the first female President of Chile, she has fought and advocated for gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout her entire career, from organizing small protests in University to her leading role as Executive Director of UN Women. She experienced extreme torture during the Chilean military dictatorship, and since has been an outspoken advocate against violence. As President, she advocated for reallocating revenues to spend on desperately needed social protection for Chilean women and children. She used a portion of the money to fund research and development on public health issues relating to violence. Other initiatives that came from this fund included tripling the number of free early child-care centers for low-income families and building 3,500 child-care centers around the country.

Dr. Bachelet was elected to the head of UN Women upon its inception in 2010. She immediately instated initiatives to support and protect women worldwide, including naming the end violence against women and girls as one of the main priorities of the commission. Launched by UN Women in November 2012, the “COMMIT” project calls on leaders worldwide to fulfill their promise and take a stand by making new and concrete national commitments to end violence against women and girls.

During the past week, Dr. Bachelet presided over the largest international meeting on ending violence against women, the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57). Representatives from 85 different countries, countless NGOs and media partners listened as she spoke about initiatives to protect women and girls, and declared this the priority of the UN Women and its partners in the coming year.

“We are here in this Commission on the Status of Women because every person has the right to live free of violence and discrimination. The world can no longer afford the costs of violence against women and girls, the social and economic costs and the costs in deep human pain and suffering,” said Under-Secretary Bachelet in her opening statement.

We are so grateful to Michelle Bachelet for being an incredible voice, example and ally to the cause, and for spreading light into these issues worldwide.

To watch Michelle Bachelet discuss International Women’s day, click here.

Europe: Akima Thomas, United Kingdom

Akima Thomas is a leader in the research field of domestic violence and women’s empowerment. As the clinical director of the Women and Girls Network in the United Kingdom, she has pioneered studies about holistic treatment and spoken internationally on behalf of women who experienced trauma. She has presented and worked to spread the Women and Girls Network’s healing model all across the world.

Thomas’s organization, Women and Girls Network, incorporates a holistic method to trauma. By recognizing incidents of abuse are “injuries that bruise the sou,.” the organization has worked for 25 years to develop a curriculum integrating mind, body and spirit into the recovery process. In addition to holistic healing, Thomas advocates for proper training for healers and law enforcement officials so that they can listen and truly respond sensitively to a survivor’s needs.

Most recently, Ms. Thomas was a featured speaker at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Her presentation argued that violence against women is not a gendered issue, but rather a human rights issue engrained in our society. She presents the issues from a 360-degree perspective—everything from the financial burden of domestic violence on society to the immeasurable impact on the female gender’s sense of autonomy, liberty and ability to achieve our full potential.

By proving we can no longer afford to be silent, Akima Thomas serves as an extraordinary role model for girls worldwide.

To watch Akima Thomas discuss violence against women and girls at the CSW57, click here.

North America: Eve Ensler, USA

“You have to give to the world the thing that you want the most, in order to fix the broken parts inside you.”

Eve Ensler is an American activist who has been pushing the envelopes and rejecting the stereotypical female norm since she first wrote and performed her award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues, in 1996. She has since gone on to support a wide variety of female empowerment initiatives before founding her own organization, V-Day, in 1998.

V-Day began as a way for productions of The Vagina Monologues to fundraise for anti-violence organizations across the United States. Funds raised from shows went to organizations working stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery. Joyful Heart is grateful to have been one of the many recipients of a V-Day gift. These small fundraisers gained huge traction, and it has since grown into an organic global movement to create films, campaigns and movements on behalf of women everywhere. To date, V-day has fundraised over $85 million to end violence against women.

The movement recently culminated in the 15^th anniversary of the organization’s founding for the launch of ONE BILLION RISING. With Ensler at the helm, the concept began with the fact that according to UN Statistics, 1 billion women will be beaten or raped in their lifetime worldwide. She invited women on February 14, 2013 to walk out of their jobs, schools, offices and homes and dance, walk or rise up in the streets. The day happened with enormous success, with participants dancing and speaking out from 205 countries across the world.

As a trail-blazer, breaker of taboos and a guiding voice in ending the silence, we are profoundly moved and grateful for Eve’s amazing work to end domestic violence and sexual assault for women everywhere.

To listen to Eve Ensler speak out about hate and violence against women, click here.

Australia and the Pacific Region: Joanna Hayter, Australia

“Working with women is central to what drives me and motivates me as a leader. Gender equality is a human right and central to economic and human development but I address this through a feminist view of humanitarianism.”

Joanna Hayter is the Executive Director of International Women’s Development Agency, based in Melbourne, Australia. She heads up the only international development agency in Australia that focuses entirely on women and girls.

Ms. Hayter is a trained nurse and holds a Masters degree in Human Resource Development. She  has worked for international aid and development agencies for 25 years, with a special focus on public health access initiatives for women and children. Her programs and experiences have helped countless women and children access public health services in lieu of traumatic violence.

At the helm of the International Women’s Development Agency, Ms. Hayter has been hugely influential in the region in bringing attention to local issues such as abuse amongst aboriginal women, empowerment of battered partners and full political and civil participation of women in society. The IWDA works and partners with organizations all across Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region to bring programs to women who would previously not have received these life-changing resources. In addition to their own multitude of programs, IWDA collaborates on specific projects including building a safe house for abused Cambodian women, female mentoring programs to keep girls in school and pursuing careers and producing a documentary about women’s role in peace building in Papua New Guinea.

As International Women’s Day approached, IWDA has partnered with Nicholas Kristof’s organization Half the Sky to put on a concert featuring Australian talent. 100% of the proceeds from the show will go to benefit IWDA’s partners in the region.

Joanna’s out-of-the-box approach to fundraising and partnering with small organizations to support women across Southeast Asia and the Pacific region is so inspirational to us here at Joyful Heart, and we admire her deeply for her long-standing service and commitment to supporting women.

To read more about the work the International Women’s Development Agency does in the Southeast Asian and Pacific Region, click here.

Asia: Reecha Upadhyay, India

“We can’t be on the streets physically every day, but surely there’s something we can do. I felt the need to continue the movement to demand safety for women.”

Based out of New Delhi, Reecha Upadhyay is a filmmaker and co-founder of the Jamun Collective. She works to shed light and document humanitarian issues all across the globe, and most recently was one of five women who organized the “One Billion Rising: India” flash dance mob in New Delhi, India to protest sexual assault and violence against women.

This event took on special meaning in New Delhi, as it was the recent site of the brutal rape of a young student that garnered media attention all across the world. Ms. Upadhyay and her colleagues united thousands of Indians across the city to peacefully protest this and all other forms of violence against women via dance. They joined together to encourage women to flood the streets and claim their rights to march, dance and sing in the streets without being fearful for their safety.

Prior to the day of action, Ms. Upadhyay traveled around and documented local women “rising up” to combat domestic violence and sexual assault by video. By filming simple stories, she provided a medium for survivors and those affected by violence to speak up and have a voice in the movement. Her promotional videos featuring young Indian women now have over 40,000 views on YouTube, and were a huge part of garnering buzz around the event. Ms. Upadhyay’s short video and her group were featured in The New York Times for their significance and impact.

Formerly based in New York, Reecha has a long history entrenched in human rights issues. She has partnered with the United Nations Development Program on conflict and disaster prevention and recovery in Geneva, South Sudan and New Delhi. She has also been based in Thailand and Nepal. She implemented “Stop Rape Now” campaign and works to develop communications strategies for important issues.

Through telling stories of those touched by violence and giving young women everywhere a peaceful medium to exercise their joyful right to dance and sing without fear, Reecha Upadhyay is an exemplary role model of positive activism and we are grateful for the addition of her voice to the global cause of ending violence against women.

To read about Reecha Upadhyay’s involvement with One Billion Rising and watch her videos, click here.