During March, the Campaign “Get Fundamentalism out of the Way – For the Lives of Women” will circulate messages to guarantee and fight for the rights of women.
Rio de Janeiro
Salvador
In the midst of record daily deaths from COVID-19 and the exposure of gender inequalities and injustice that have only become more acute during the pandemic, the Campaign “Get Fundamentalism out of the Way – For the Lives of Women” is being projected in cities around Brazil in order to denounce the fact that women are more vulnerable to infection and to the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.
Brasília
The activity started on the night of 8 March, International Women’s Day, with a series of projections using the hashtag #MulheresLutamPraRespirar (#WomenFightToBreathe), emphasizing the collective identities of sectors that have historically fought against rights violations. The activity also strengthens the defence for the restoration of democracy and the permanent search for political and social transformations to confront capitalism, the patriarchy and racism.
Brasília
Recife
Belém
The activity took place in large cities, including Salvador (Bahia), Recife (Pernambuco), Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro), São Paulo (São Paulo) and Brasilia (Federal District), and took over facades, walls and buildings with messages such as: “VACCINES FOR ALL NOW!” and “BRING BACK EMERGENCY AID!” demanding policies from the public authorities that support women during the pandemic, vaccination for the entire population and the return of the BRL 600 emergency aid.
São Paulo
Since social isolation measures prevented women from going out onto the streets, the need to somehow occupy the public arena prompted the idea of projections, demonstrating that, with creativity, it is possible to express the struggle and denounce the various forms of violence and oppression that threaten the lives of women.
Rio de Janeiro
“After almost a year of campaigning, we began to look outside, in the sense of gaining visibility for the fight, amplifying and giving voice to women. So this act today presents our demands for a society of rights, a freer society, where women can move around peacefully, without violence, without femicide, with emergency aid, with a lower burden of work and with recognition of domestic labour,” said Aline Lima, Coordinator of the Institute of Alternative Policies for the Southern Cone (Instituto Políticas Alternativas para o Cone Sul: Instituto PACS) and campaign representative. “This act also responds to a series of arbitrary acts that our bodies have suffered over decades, for centuries,” she asserted, emphasizing the importance of the activity.
The activity’s logistics involved efforts from partner organizations, with displays in windows and on balconies, in accordance with social isolation protocols and health recommendations.
More about the “Get Fundamentalism out of the Way – For the Lives of Women” Campaign
The campaign is the result of a coalition of feminist organizations, ecumenical organizations, religious groups from different faiths and ecumenical cooperation in the face of the advance of fundamentalism, threatening rights, democracy and the lives of women.
Launched in August 2020, the initiative aims to alert Brazilian society to the advance of fundamentalism and to the risk this represents to women’s lives. It also seeks to reassert the importance of a plurality of beliefs and to outline pathways and practices that lead to a culture of respect that values diversity. Access the launch on the Get Fundamentalism out of the Way Facebook page (in Portuguese):
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=750104002411569&ref=watch_permalink
Other organizations can join the campaign by clicking here (in Portuguese) to register and receive campaign materials by phone and find out about future activities.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefpjDWPDXds_zJN7YxwvzYdhIofbRM8tYy4o8Y6-2hitUe9Q/viewform
Check out the images here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/140794615@N04/albums/72157718591449712