To raise awareness and combat “all forms of violence against women”, stakeholders and students of Far Eastern University (FEU) joined the One Billion Rising (OBR) in line with the celebration of International Women’s Day at the FEU Grandstand last March 8.

According to the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) - FEU Chapter’s Facebook post, the OBR movement aims to strengthen their determination to raise awareness and inspire others by creating a sense of urgency for everyone to participate in achieving a society where violence has no place.

YWCA President Kimberly Marquez cited that for the past four years, One Billion Rising acted as a start-off activity in the annual celebration of International Women's Month in the campus.

She added that this year’s flash mob served as a “great leap to start raising awareness in our campus”.

“It's important [to raise awareness against VAW] so that women in FEU will be aware about their rights. Apart from that, to send the message that this celebration is not exclusively hold for women alone, everybody can stand up to stop all forms of violence and the institution is one of the best platforms to tap the consciousness of our stakeholders who will hopefully, exercise and share it even outside the campus,” she said.

Marquez also shared the inclusive and collaborative improvements of the event with the participation of the FEU faculty and staff.

“We veered away from the usual that we only tap students to perform the OBR. Ngayon kasi, kasama na ang other FEU stakeholders like some employees, Diars and security personnel. Hopefully, it will become bigger in the coming years,” she said.

As a sign of participation to the global movement, YWCA distributed ribbons in purple shade which is the official color of IWD.

According to International Women’s Day official website, purple symbolizes dignity and justice which matches the goal of OBR.

In line with International Women’s Month, inclusive seminars and activities inside the university were prepared for the month-long celebration to remind and empower the community with the advocacy against women violence.

Established last 2012, OBR is a global movement that stimulates resistance and awareness among people regarding violence across the globe through various campaigns.

-Kaye Angelique S. Baeza and Shane Vallery A. Beduya