International Women's Day: March 8, 2014
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International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
March 8: International Women’s Day
How will you be celebrating International Women’s Day this year? On March 8th, women, men, girls
and boys will gather at events around the world to celebrate achievements made in the fight for wom-
en’s rights, to show solidarity with our sisters worldwide, and to tackle the challenges that remain
head on.
This year on International Women’s Day Amnesty International is focusing on one challenge in partic-
ular—the fact that many women and girls around the world do not have access to the full range of
sexual and reproductive health services that they need to live a safe and healthy life.
We want all women around the world to have what we have here in Canada—the freedom to make in-
formed choices about our bodies and our lives and access to a full range of sexual and reproductive
health services.
This International Women's Day join us and call on Canada to champion gender equality and women’s
rights, and to fund sexual and reproductive health services for everyBODY!
Included in this kit are resources to carry out actions whether you are an individual or part of an Am-
nesty International student group, community group, or action circle. Please don’t feel limited by
these ideas and actions—they are meant to help inspire your own creativity.
Please do share your ideas and actions with us—we want to let others know about the great work that
you are doing. Send updates and photos to Jackie Hansen at jhansen@amnesty.ca. Post information
Action Ideas
Creative action (great for groups and public events): Human rights for everybody fabric
cut-outs.
Smart phone action (great for groups and public events): Write an empowering message
on your body, take a “selfie” and post it on social media for the world to see!
Letter writing action (great for individuals and groups): Send letters to Foreign Affairs
Minister Baird calling for human rights for everybody.
Media action (great for individuals): Write an Op-Ed in your local paper focused on hu-
man rights for everyBODY.
Main petition to promote: My Body My Rights
Other petitions to promote: Miriam Lopez (Mexico), Azza Hilal Ahmad Suleiman (Egypt),
Stolen Sisters (Canada)
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
Human Rights for EveryBODY
Everyday millions of women and girls around the world are denied access to sexual and reproductive
health services and education that they need to live a safe and healthy life.
Amnesty International wants all women and girls around the world to have what we have here in Can-
ada—the freedom to make informed choices about our bodies and our lives and access a full range
of sexual and reproductive health services. Women who benefit from Canada’s overseas development
assistance should be able to access the same services as women in Canada. Send the message to
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird that human rights belong to everyBODY!
1. Find a piece of fabric, canvas, vinyl, or plastic that is
larger than life (literally!). In this example we used a dollar
store table cloth. You could use an old shawl, sheet, table-
cloth, or fabric representing your cultural heritage.
2. Lie down on the material, strike a pose (don’t feel you
need to be in “gingerbread person” post), and have a friend
trace the outline of your body with a marker or chalk.
3. Cut out your outline. If you are at a public event, post it
on the wall. Write your name and city on the cut out in per-
manent marker or using
fabric paint.
4. Send all cut outs to Amnesty International at 312 Laurier Ave-
nue East, Ottawa, ON K1N 1H9.
Amnesty International will use these cut-outs to visually illustrate
all of the “bodies” that care about sexual and reproductive health
rights. Join us and tell the Canadian Government that human
rights belong to everyBODY!
Materials:
· Fabric/canvas/vinyl/plastic (don’t use paper—it’s too delicate
and gets ruined at outdoor events.
· Scissors (try to make sure you have a right handed and left
handed pair for people to use).
· Chalk or permanent markers, and fabric paint.
· Camera (to take photos of people making their cut outs—send
photos to jhansen@amnesty.ca).
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
Take a “selfie” on your smart phone
On March 8, Amnesty International supporters around the world will be taking “selfies” (photos of
yourself that you take yourself, generally on a cellular phone) with messages about the My Body My
Rights campaign and posting them to a social media website. The collage created with everyone’s
photos will show the groundswell of support for the protection of sexual and reproductive rights and
women’s rights more broadly.
Take your own photo
Take a photo of yourself with a message support-
ing the My Body My Rights campaign for sexual
and reproductive rights.
You don’t need to show your face—try taking a
photo of your hand, arm, foot, leg… you can ei-
ther hold up a sign with a message, or, since
this is a campaign about our bodies, try writing a
message directly on your body.
Here’s some ideas: “My Body My Rights!”
“Human rights for everyBODY!”
Have a photo booth at an International Women’s Day event
If you have an Amnesty International table at an International Women’s Day event, make a post-
er saying “Come take your photo to support women’s rights!”
Take photos for people, or encourage people to take their own photos and immediately upload
them to social media. Have markers, a camera, and some sample messages, as well as infor-
mation about the My Body My Rights campaign available. Ask people to sign our My Body My
Rights petition.
Order My Body My Rights temporary tattoos or underwear from our online store and sell them at
the event. Take photos of people sporting their tattoos and holding up their underwear.
www.amnesty.ca/store.
Take your phone and hit the streets
Visit an art class and ask students to draw body art on each other with our campaign messages.
Take photos of the body art and post them to social media.
Ask local henna or tattoo artists to draw non-permanent body art on themselves or on you with
our campaign messages, or to draw images that illustrate what My Body My Rights means to
them. Post the photos to social media.
By the end of the day on March 8, upload all the photos you collect to mybodymyrights.tumblr.com.
If you have troubles uploading photos to the tumblr site, email them to jhansen@amnesty.ca.
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
Write a letter
Write a personal letter to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird calling for human rights for everyBODY!
Let him know that you believe in service equality—you believe that everyone, regardless of where they
live, should have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services that we have
available to us in Canada. Urge Canada to participate fully in the International Conference on Popula-
tion and Development, scheduled for April 2014, and to exercise strong and progressive leadership on
gender rights issues.
Sample letter
Start with: Dear Minister Baird
Describe who you are.
Commend him for his commitment to maternal, newborn, and child health.
Express your concern that Canada’s overseas development assistance does not include funding
for the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including access to safe abortion
services for victims of sexual violence and victims of early and forced marriage.
Let him know that you believe in service equality—you believe that Canada should be funding
overseas the same types of services that it makes available to women and girls in Canada.
Call on Canada to participate fully and at the highest levels at the upcoming International Con-
ference on Population and Development, to be held in April 2014, and to advocate at this con-
ference for the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls to be protected.
Send your letter to:
The Honourable John Baird
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2
Email john.baird@parl.gc.ca
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2014
Get active on social media
Change your Facebook profile photo
Share our online petition with your friends: www.ta.gd/SRRpetition
Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/amnestycanada and on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/AmnestyNow
Join our women’s rights Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/women.amnestycanada
Follow our women’s rights Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/AI_WomenRights
Upload photo from your events to social media
Stay in touch
Keep in touch! Send us photos and news about your events. Share your great ideas and
don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Jackie Hansen wants to hear from you! She can be reached at jhansen@amnesty.ca or
by phone at 613-744-7667x243.
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