Celebrated every year on February 14th, One Billion Rising is the movement that has been going on since 2012 initiated by Eve Ensler to show solidarity against ongoing violence against women. It is a global campaign where people come out on the street and express their message through the medium of dance, poetry, drama, rally, and speech. It is a call for everyone to be a part of this movement so that together, we can amplify our voices and proceed towards the systematic change to end violence against women

In 2019, One Billion Rising in Nepal was celebrated in presence of more than 200 people. 16 organizations organized this event led by Mitini Nepal and Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj. The participants gathered in Shanti Batika, Ratnapark for the rally up to Maitighar Mandala. With the welcome note from one of the staff of Mitini Nepal, the group of youth from Mitini Nepal danced on the OBR song: Break Free. The dance energized everyone and lit up the atmosphere.

Following the route from Ratnapark to Bhadrakali to Maitighar Mandala, participants walked by chanting the slogans demanding equal rights for women and LGBTI people. The march ended in Maitighar Mandala where the program further resumed with a couple of performances. After the crowd was settled, there were few speeches from representatives of young feminists, Blind Women Association, Men Engage Alliance, LGBTI which was followed by a slam poetry directed towards harassment of women and the sufferings behind it, and a song (Milera Hami Nachaula Gawaula, written by Kamala Bhasin which was then translated in Nepali). Towards the end of the program, a street drama was performed by Mitini Nepal depicting a real story of a lesbian girl from Nepal which was definitely an eye-opener to the audience. The drama portrayed the difficulties a lesbian woman has to face growing up in a conservative society like ours. Concluding, this year’s OBR campaign in the coordination of more than 25 organizations was a successful event and hopefully, a step beyond the campaign to a way of life