Transforming Personal Pain Into Positive Action: The Pixel Project’s 16 Female Role Models 2014

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Today is the first day of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence 2014 campaign and The Pixel Project is kicking things off with our 5th annual list of 16 female role models fighting to end violence against women in their communities. The intent of this list is simple: to highlight the good work of the heroines of the movement to end violence against women wherever they are in the world. The women and girls in this year’s list hail from 18 countries and 4 continents.

Many of these astounding women have shown that it is possible to transform personal pain that came out of facing gender-based violence into positive action to stop violence against women, to empower themselves and to show other survivors that it is possible to move forward with dignity and happiness. They have refused to let bitterness and pain get the better of them, opting to stand up for themselves and for other women instead. Indeed, we are very happy to note that the extraordinary girls’ education activist, Malala Yousafzai, who was one of our Female Role Models of 2012 has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Well done, Malala!

Others on this list may not have experienced gender-based violence inflicted on themselves, but they have stepped up to do what is right: to speak up for women and girls who cannot do it for themselves, sometimes at great personal risk. All this requires immense courage, generosity of spirit and a strong enduring heart.

Without further ado, here, in alphabetical order by first name, is our 2014 list of 16 female role models. Sadly, two of the role models on this year’s list (Angelica Bello and Efuo Dorkenoo) have respectively died in 2013 and 2014. Few people outside the anti-Violence Against Women movement may have heard of them and we hope that the general public will learn something about their extraordinary life’s work via this list. We hope that they and the rest of the women here will be an inspiration to others to get involved with the cause. To that end, we hope you will generously share this list via Facebook and Twitter to give these extraordinary 16 women and their work a moment in the sun.

Note: Information for all role model profiles is sourced via online research and is based on one or more news sources, articles and/or The Pixel Project’s own interviews with them. The main articles/reports from which these profiles have been sourced can be directly accessed via the hyperlinked titles as well. Please do click through to learn more about these remarkable women.

– Regina Yau, Founder and President, The Pixel Project

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Female Role Model 1: Angelica Bello – Colombia

Angelica Bello_CroppedAngelica Bello founded the National Foundation for the Defence of Women’s Human Rights (Fundación Nacional Defensora de los Derechos Humanos de la Mujer, FUNDHEFEM) to protect women survivors of sexual violence in Colombia’s long-running armed conflict. In 2013, she participated as a spokesperson of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in a meeting with President Santos to push for women’s voices to be heard in the debate about the ‘Victims and Land Restitution Law,’ which is designed to ensure land misappropriated during the conflict is returned to its rightful owners and to provide reparation to victims. She asked the President to implement measures to provide psychosocial support to victims, including survivors of sexual violence. Bello died under suspicious circumstances in late 2013 after enduring years of violent retaliation for her work.

Female Role Model 2: Anita Sarkeesian – Canada and the United States of America

Anita Sarkeesian_croppedAnita Sarkeesian is the pop-culture media critic who made headlines when she launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to support her production of a video Web series called Tropes vs Women in Video Games, which explores female stereotypes in the gaming industry. Her feminist critique of the gaming industry has garnered an ongoing vitriolic online backlash, including threats of death, sexual assault and rape, most recently escalating to hounding her out of her home and forcing her to cancel an event at Utah State University due to the threat of a mass gun massacre. Undaunted, Sarkeesian says: “I feel like the work I’m doing is really important […] the actual change that I am starting to see, the really sweet messages that I get from people about how they were resistant to identify as feminist, but then they watched my videos […] the parents who use it as an educational tool for their kids…all of this is really inspiring to me.”

Female Role Model 3: Dianna Nammi – Iran  and United Kingdom

diana-nammi-tempDiana Nammi started the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO) in her home in 2002 to provide advice and counselling for women from Middle Eastern, North African and Afghan communities in the UK. Since its founding in 1996, IKWRO has grown into a 16-staff organisation that takes thousands of phone calls and helped 780 women face-to-face in 2013. Nammi is a former Peshmerga fighter who has been fighting for women’s rights since she was a teenager growing up in Iran. Since moving to the UK in 1996, she has been instrumental in the campaign to bring honour killers to justice in British courts as well as striving to get forced marriages banned in the country.

Female Role Model 4: Efuo Dorkenoo – Ghana and the United Kingdom

Efua DorkenooEfua Dorkenoo, affectionately known as “Mama Efua”, is a Ghanaian campaigner who fought against the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) for decades. When she was a nurse and midwife-in-training in the 1960s in England, she encountered a woman in labour who had undergone FGM. The woman was so badly scarred that she was unable to deliver her baby through natural childbirth. Due to that encounter, Ms. Dorkenoo became a public health specialist and dedicated the rest of her life to educating the public about the effects of FGM and to ending its practice. Dorkenoo died from cancer in October 2014, leaving a lasting legacy of anti-FGM work.

Female Role Model 5: Emma Sulkowicz – United States of America

Emma Sulkowicz_CroppedEmma Sulkowicz is the Columbia University senior and visual arts major who has committed herself to toting around a mattress until the school expels the fellow student who raped her or he leaves on his own. Sulkowicz started doing this in August 2014 to make a statement about campus sexual assault when Columbia University allowed her rapist to stay on campus. Sulkowicz has made her unusual campaign the basis of her senior thesis – “Carry That Weight” is part protest, part performance art, and has helped rejuvenate the nationwide conversation about campus sexual assault. On 29 October 2014, the first #CarryYourWeight Day was launched in the U.S. and college students and anti-Violence Against Women activists carried mattresses and pillows everywhere to signify their solidarity with victims of rape and sexual assault.

Female Role Model 6: Ikram Ben Said – Tunisia

Tunis, Tunisia.2014 August 18th Ikram Ben Said, 33 year old activist, portrait in her home nest to a poster of Martin Luther King. Francesco Zizola ?NOOR for TIMEWhen Ikram Ben Said took part in the Arab Spring’s first uprising in 2011, she knew that it was the beginning of the struggle for women’s rights in Tunisia. So she created Aswat Nissa (Voices of Women) –  the first women’s rights organisation in Tunisia to involve Tunisian women politicians regardless of where they fall of the political spectrum. “Laws can change the mentality,” says Ben Said. “So we have to work with politicians.”  Through Aswat Nissa’s campaigns and activities, Ben Said has worked to encourage more women to vote, train women politicians about governance, push back against laws that discriminate against women, and to educate communities that “you can be Muslim and advocate for women’s equality. It’s not against Islam.”

Female Role Model 7: Khadijah Gbla – Sierra Leone and Australia

Khadijah Gbla_croppedAnti-Violence Against Women activist Khadijah Gbla is a survivor: she endured female genital mutilation (FGM) at age 10, survived civil war in Sierra Leone, witnessed the murder of her father at 13, spent three years with her mother and younger sister in a Gambian refugee camp, and endured domestic violence from a man just 3 years her senior. Since migrating to Australia, she has channelled what she learned from her horrific experiences into positive education and support for other women. She has campaigned against FGM, started Khadija Gbla Consulting: a motivational speaking, cross-cultural training and consulting firm and also launched Chocolate Sisters – a series of workshops for young which will address issues such as body image, domestic violence and FGM.

Female Role Model 8: Laxmi – India

Laxmi - Stop Acid Attacks Website_croppedWhen Laxmi was 16, an angry suitor threw acid on her face while she waited at a bus stop in New Delhi’s busy Khan Market, disfiguring her permanently. Her attacker deliberately used the acid to destroy Laxmi’s face after she refused to respond to his advances. Instead of hiding herself in shame, Laxmi became the standard-bearer in India for the movement to end acid attacks. She campaigned on national television, and gathered 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb acid sales. Her petition led the Supreme Court to order the Indian central and state governments to immediately regulate the sale of acid, and the Parliament to make prosecutions of acid attacks easier to pursue.

Female Role Model 9: Dr. Maha Al-Muneef – Saudi Arabia

Dr Maha Al-Muneef_croppedDr. Maha Al-Muneef is a dedicated public advocate for survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Saudi Arabia. She founded the National Family Safety Programme in 2005 to combat domestic violence in Saudi Arabia, where activists have been campaigning for an end to the “absolute authority” of male guardians. She is an advisor to the Shura Council in Saudi Arabia. As a physician, she has worked with hospitals to change protocols for victims of rape and abuse, helped to create new police procedures for handling cases and develop special training programmes for medical personnel and law enforcement.

Female Role Model 10: Malalai Joya – Afghanistan

Malalai JoyaMalalai Joya earned her reputation as the “bravest woman in Afghanistan” when she, as an elected delegate to the Loya Jirga (an assembly to debate the proposed Afghan constitution), stood up and publicly criticised the room full of male politicians for allowing fundamentalist warlords too much power. Later, a mob gathered where she was staying, threatening to rape and murder her. She won a landslide victory when she ran for parliament in 2005, the youngest person to be elected, only to be kicked out after she compared the house to a “stable or zoo” in a TV interview. She says: “The situation for women is as catastrophic today as it was before. In most provinces, women’s lives are hell. Forced marriages, child brides and domestic violence are very common. Self-immolations are at a peak.”

Female Role Model 11: Manisha Mohan – India

Manisha Mohan_CroppedThe horrific gang-rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey in New Delhi in 2012 was a tipping point for 22-year-old engineering student Manisha Mohan, who decided to put her engineering studies to practical use by inventing an unusual new anti-rape defense system for women in India – an electric bra called Society Harnessing Equipment (SHE). The bra contains a pressure sensor connected to an electric circuit that can generate a 3,800 kilo-volt shock, which is severe enough to burn a potential rapist. The moment its pressure sensors get activated, a built-in GPS also alerts the police. The pressure sensor has been calibrated for squeeze, pinch and grab; the force applied in a simple hug does not activate the device. There is also a switch so the woman can activate the system herself when in a dangerous location.

Female Role Model 12: Marie Claire Faray – Democratic Republic of Congo

Marie Claire Faray_croppedMarie Claire Faray is an activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo who campaigns to end violence against women, especially in her home country. As a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, she continues to work and advocate to get women from all backgrounds to hold their government to account for women’s rights and to have their ideas and opinions heard and accounted for. She said: “[U]ltimately, in 2020, we want to look back and say “we have at least achieved this in this country” — for example “in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we have achieved more women in parliament, the end of violence against women, the end of sexual violence.”

Female Role Model 13: Mussurut Zia – United Kingdom

Mussurut ZiaMussurut Zia started getting involved in anti-violence against women work when she developed a project for disadvantaged women and children. She said: “These people were suffering sexual and domestic abuse. So I started to look at empowerment. It needed more than empowering people to leave their circumstances. They had to be able to survive on their own and believe that they didn’t have to sit there and take it. No matter what culture you come from abuse is wrong.” In 2007, she set up a community organisation, Practical Solutions, which raises awareness of forced marriage, honour-based violence and much more. As a director of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, Mussurut was recently asked to provide insight into the subject of Jihadi brides. Her next project is to go into schools to talk to children about the laws related to marriage and where to go if they find themselves in a forced situation.

Female Role Model 14: Pragna Patel – United Kingdom

Pragna Patel_CroppedPragna Patel is the Director and founding member of Southall Black Sisters (SBS), a landmark organisation in the history of black and Asian feminism in the UK. For over thirty years, SBS has been at the forefront of violence against women of colour in Southall and nationwide. They provide general and specialist advice to black and minority women on gender-related issues such as domestic violence, sexual violence, forced marriage, honour killings and their intersection with the criminal justice, immigration and asylum systems, health, welfare rights, homelessness and poverty.

Female Role Model 15: Rosi Oroczo – Mexico

Rosi Oroczo_CroppedAnti-slavery activist Rosi Oroczo, president of the nongovernmental Commission United Against Human Trafficking and a member of the 61st legislature, is the driving force in overcoming strong resistance and winning passage in 2012 of a tough new law to combat human trafficking throughout Mexico. Passed on June 14, 2012, it brings all Mexican states under the same extensive measures for prevention and punishment of trafficking. It grants increased powers for police and judges, granting anonymity and protection for victims, while providing new funding for rehabilitation projects involving them. Orozco believes the answer to end human trafficking  “begins with individuals caring about other people, noticing what’s going on in their neighborhoods and being willing to face up to traffickers and drive them out. We all have to refuse to tolerate this crime against humanity any longer.”

Female Role Model 16: Safia Abdi Haase – Somalia and Norway

Safia Abdi Haase_CroppedSomali-born Safia Abdi Haase is the first immigrant woman to receive Norway’s prestigious order of St. Olav for her work with women and children. She said her campaigning was based on her experiences of domestic abuse, female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, domestic violence and sex trafficking. “I had to use my own body so that I could come out of Africa to come to Europe to give my three daughters life without violence,” she said. Ms. Haase had no formal education when she arrived in Norway. She put herself through primary and secondary schools, eventually obtaining a university degree in nursing. She has helped formulate the Norwegian government’s action plan against FGM and is regarded as an ambassador in the drive to combat violence against women.

The Pixel Project’s Best Blog Articles of 2013

Blog-and-Pen-300x237At The Pixel Project, our contribution to the global movement to end violence against women is as the voice of thousands joining together around the world.  We combine technology, social media, the Arts, journalism and activism to draw attention to the many ways violence against women (VAW) affects the lives of all people in all communities all around the world. Our volunteer researchers, writers, interviewers and editors collaborate to highlight news stories of positive activism and new programmes developed through our bi-monthly e-news digest, highlighting activists through our Facebook page, sharing information and resources through our daily twitter help lines and by writing thoughtful and inspiring blog posts on our main website and our campaign micro-sites.

This past year we have focused on a variety of topics from our Inspirational Interview monthly series on VAW activists, our wonderful 30 for 30 Father’s Day campaign interviews, our Paint it Purple campaign and our exciting Music for Pixels campaign.  Our articles focus on the activities and programmes that people are doing around the world to end violence against women and girls. We have increased our collaborations with programmes and organizations around the world and engaged in conversations online through tweet-a-thons to spark conversations about VAW to break myths, reduce stigma and educate. One of our new forays into technology and activism this year is with our collaboration with P.F.O. Technologies and their iAMDefender smartphone safety app.

Blogging is a vital part of our mission, which includes: raising awareness about VAW, generating conversation by giving people a safe space to talk about VAW, and inspiring activism. As our 16 best blog articles and series show, we succeeded in fulfilling our mission this year. We hope that the stories we shared motivate you to join the effort to end VAW.

It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.

– Carol Olson, Blog Editor (2013) – The Pixel Project

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Blog Article Selection #1: Inspirational Interview: Vidya Siri – of Gangashakti.org

Our first Inspirational Interview of 2013 was with Vidya Sri, the founder of Gangashakti.org – a community advocacy organisation she developed to utilise the framework of her own forced marriage to raise awareness. Her mission is to engage a wide range of agencies, service providers, students and scholars on the poorly understood issue of forced marriage in the United States.

Blog Article Selection #2: 10 Alternatives to Roses for Valentines Day 

This post celebrated celebrated non-commercial alternatives to celebrate the traditional day of love.  Many of the suggestions focused on doing healthy things together to celebrate relationships and support the cause to end violence against women.  If you are planning early for next year, check out 10 “Valentines Against Violence” as alternatives to the traditional “romantic” gifts.

Mallika Dutt

Mallika Dutt, Founder of Breakthrough.

Blog Article Selection #3: Inspirational Interview: Mallika Dutt of Breakthrough and Bell Bajao (ring the bell) campaign. 

Another Inspirational Interview featured Mallika Dutt, the founder of the global human rights organisation, Breakthrough and the Bell Bajao campaigns. Mallika has mastered the art of blending multimedia campaigns, cutting-edge pop culture, social media and authentic community engagement to develop innovative campaigns and tools for teaching democracy and justice, and bring awareness to end violence and discrimination against women.  The Pixel Project has continued to collaborate with Breakthrough through tweet-a-thons and other advocacy efforts to raise awareness of violence against women.

Blog Articles Selection #4: Stop Street Harassment Story Series – a cross post collaboration

As part of The Pixel Project’s partnership with Stop Street Harassment, we cross-post a Street Harassment story specially selected by Stop Street Harassment founder, Holly Kearl, on the second Tuesday of every month. Holly also contributes to our 16 for 16 days of Activism posts by selecting significant stories from their year of activism.

Blog Article Selection 5: Inspirational Interview with Evan Grae Davis – noted filmmaker

Evan Grae Davis is a filmmaker who has dedicated his career to advocating for social justice through his documentaries and educational videos.  We featured his first feature length film:  It’s a Girl, a documentary that combined stories that illustrated the scope of injustice and suffering women endure under gendercide, while, at the same time, sharing beautiful stories of people who rise above the patriarchal cultural influences and choose to value girls. He also contributed a short PSA to our “Who Is Your Male Role Model?” PSA campaign that runs from 25 November 2013 – 7 March 2014:

Blog Article Selection #6: Survivor Stories 

While not a regular feature of our blog, we do receive submissions from survivors on their stories of recovery and healing.  We share them on Thursdays to help promote the individual voice of survivorship, healing, and transformation that all survivors go through.

Anti-Street-Harassment-Week-2013-300x220Blog Article Selection #7: Anti-Street Harassment Week  

This year, the Pixel Project began a collaboration with Stop Street Harassment to contribute to and support the annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week held in April by featuring the best anti-street harassment stories throughout the week. We hope that this series gives you some great ideas for how to prevent, stop and intervene in street harassment in your communities.

 

Blog Article Selection #8: New Technology Partnerships with Smartphone Safety Apps 

This is the year that the Pixel Project began it’s first collaborations with technology partners.  In April, during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we started our partnership with two Smartphone safety app creators – the award-winning Circle of 6 and the groundbreaking Sweden-based P.F.O.

Blog Article Selection #9: 30 for 30 Father’s Day Campaign. 2013 was our second year curating a blogging “marathon” of 30 fathers from around the world to share about the joys of being a dad and how dads can help prevent VAW in positive ways. We received responses from men all over the world, including India, the US, Nigeria, Kenya, the UK, Malaysia, Canada and Zimbabwe!

Blog Article Selection #10: Technology Partnership with Microsoft 

The Pixel Project continues with its focus to enter collaborations with Technology partners. Microsoft will be contributing their world-class technology expertise, tools and development support to The Pixel Project’s global campaigns and to create online apps and virtual tools that will help facilitate social media campaigns, virtual communities and online fundraising initiatives.  Microsoft employees also took an active role in helping raise awareness about VAW by participating in various Pixel Project activities including the Paint It Purple campaign for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the “30 For 30” Father’s Day blogging campaign celebrating fathers as male role models.

Lakshami Sundaram, Girls Not Brides

Lakshami Sundaram, Girls Not Brides

Blog Article Selection #11: Inspirational Interview – Lakshmi Sundaram of Girls Not Brides

Child and Forced Marriage has received a greater focus in the news this past year.  Marrying children and forcing young women into arranged marriages is still prevalent in many cultures. This year, we featured Lakshmi Sundaram, a Global Coordinator of Girls, Not Brides founded by The Elders, a group of independent global leaders who use their collective experience and influence for peace, justice, and human rights worldwide. Lakshmi works with the group to bring the issue of child marriage to global attention and to be more effective in addressing the problem.

Blog Article Selection #12: Inspirational Interview – Deeyah

Deeyah, is a multi-talented and critically acclaimed music producer, composer, Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary film director and human rights activist. The Pixel Project highlighted her for her her outspoken support of women’s rights, freedom of expression and peace; including her documentary about Honour Killing, ‘Banaz: A Love Story’.

Blog Article Selection #13: Inspirational Interview – Chris Johnson – A Sports Celebrity focused on the power of bystanders to speak out against violence. 

Chris Johnson, a major player with the Baltimore Ravens, has come forth to utilize his celebrity status to step up and speak out to end violence against women and girls. He realised that with his celebrity status and role as a sports mentor, he can lend leadership to the cause to end violence against women. His goal is be a role model to men and boys to not abuse women and to not tolerate abuse and disrespectful comments toward women.

Copyrighted by Michelle Wong PhotoArtistryBlog Article Selection #14: Paint It Purple: People and Pets Say ‘No’ 2013

This was our second year for our Paint It Purple photo-blogging campaign in through our Facebook page in which we raise awareness of the fact that many women stay in abusive relationships for fear of abandoning a pet who might also be suffering at the hands of an abuser. This campaign invites people to submit photos of themselves and their pets to say ‘no’ to VAW.

Blog Article Selection #15: SPECIAL EDITION INSPIRATIONAL INTERVIEW: FGM in the UK – An Interview with Integrate Bristol 

The inspiration for producing the mini documentary for the Inspirational Interview series came from The Pixel Project’s long-time writer and interviewer, Angelique Mulholland. Ms. Mulholland has a particular interest in efforts to end FGM in the UK and has previously interviewed Muna Hassan from Integrate Bristol for The Pixel Project.  The documentary is aimed at raising awareness about what FGM is, how this form of VAW is being tackled in the UK and ideas for preventing, detecting and stopping FGM in the country.

Blog Article Selection #16: The Pixel Project’s VAW e-News Digest

Our e-News Digest has been a long-standing element of our blog to report on the latest and most relevant news related to violence against women.  Our researchers scan news from all over the world to highlight new programmes implemented, the efforts of activists and their unique response to end violence against women and girls in their communities. By reporting on the latest news in one place, we aim to keep everyone updated about progress being made in the global movement to stop violence against women.

Activism 101: 16 Notable VAW Organisations and Activists on Twitter That You Should Follow

Turbo-boosted into cyberspace, 2011 saw ‘The Arab Spring’ documented in real time. The tweets poured in- sometimes 50 at a time- as the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Bahrain- decided enough was enough. The Twittersphere has shown us, hope for a better future spreads like wild fire.

The growing movement to end violence against women (VAW) is a frontrunner in changing the world for the better through online people power.  The international 16 days of activism has showcased how countless anti-vaw charities have integrated Web 2.0 into their online strategies- holding governments to account on funds, law making and resources, and also galvanising ordinary men and women to put a stop to violence against women, for good. Continue reading