Every year dozens of women die in Spain at the hands of their partners or ex-partners. To publicize this situation, Amnesty International organizes Yoga Day on November 22. Its objective is to raise awareness in society about the scope of gender violence and raise funds to combat this and other human rights violations suffered by women and girls around the world. The first edition of Yoga Day was held in 2011 in Catalonia, and the response was extraordinary. More than 3.000 people participated in yoga classes organized in 100 centers, and this allowed us to raise thousands of euros to continue working for the rights of girls and women. In addition, we publicized the defenseless situation suffered by thousands of women and girls who are victims of sexual violence in Nicaragua, achieving a change in laws for the creation of new specialized courts and protection measures for victims. This year we repeat the initiative dedicating the sessions to women who suffer gender violence in Spain and who continue to encounter many obstacles to access justice and protection in our country. At Amnesty International we are concerned that economic cuts due to the crisis could worsen the situation. Gender violence does not stop, and the number of murdered women continues to be very worrying.
And why Yoga? Yoga helps us to illuminate and become aware of the shadows that we have, it helps us to give light to our dark part. Amnesty International is represented by a flame, a flame that illuminates the injustices and defenseless situations that no one wants to see. More than 50 years ago, Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International, reminded us: “it is better to turn on a light than to curse the darkness”. We need your asanas and your love and energy so that we can achieve a change of position in the human rights of women and girls. For this, thousands of people throughout Spain and hundreds of yoga centers will organize solidarity sessions promoting the collection of donations and disseminating the initiative. Yoga Day is celebrated prior to the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, set by the UN on November 25. On November 22 we will collect signatures and donations to have a positive impact on the situation of this group of women in the Spanish State.
And why Yoga? Yoga helps us to illuminate and become aware of the shadows that we have, it helps us to give light to our dark part. Amnesty International is represented by a flame, a flame that illuminates the injustices and defenseless situations that no one wants to see. More than 50 years ago, Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International, reminded us: “it is better to turn on a light than to curse the darkness”. We need your asanas and your love and energy so that we can achieve a change of position in the human rights of women and girls. For this, thousands of people throughout Spain and hundreds of yoga centers will organize solidarity sessions promoting the collection of donations and disseminating the initiative. Yoga Day is celebrated prior to the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, set by the UN on November 25. On November 22 we will collect signatures and donations to have a positive impact on the situation of this group of women in the Spanish State.
