THE ALPUJARRAN market town of Órgiva, in Spain’s Granada area, today promoted the important message that violence against women must stop. It held a special event to mark the start of the campaign, #NoExcuse. UNiTE to End Violence against Women (or UNiTE for short).
The UNiTE campaign is run by the United Nations (UN). According to statistics from the organisation, every 10 minutes, a woman is killed worldwide. Globally, an estimated 736 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Girls are at particular risk of violence—1 in 4 adolescent girls is abused by their partners.
The international Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women – November 25 – marks the launch of the overall UNiTE campaign (Nov 25- Dec 10). This spells 16 days of activism, concluding on International Human Rights Day (10 December). It focuses on tackling the alarming escalation of violence against women and girls.
Relevance in Spain
With its machista culture, Spain is no stranger to this problem. In 2023, the number of reported cases of domestic violence amounted to over 199,000, of which around 40,717 were recorded in Andalucia. In the north of Spain, La Rioja recorded the lowest number of cases, with 983.
Source: Statistica
Órgiva takes the initiative
To mark the occasion, Órgiva staged an event in its municipal tent, starting at 11hrs The overall message was “not one death more or mistreatment”.
The event was inaugrated by the town councillor for equality, Verónica Vilchez. It was attended by representatives of different associations including the Active Participation Centre, students from the IES Alpujarra, the School for Adults, and the Órgiva health centre.
Some secondary school children read first-hand accounts written by domestic violence sufferers.
Mayor, Raul Orellana, voiced the government manifesto that will be approved at the next municipal plenary session. An emotional minute of silence was then held in memory of the murdered women and children.
Contemporary dance – Brave Bodies
The event also featured a 15 minute emotional dance – ‘Cuerpos Valientes, el proyecto de las mujeres’ (Brave Bodies, the women’s project), which moved the attendees – some to tears.
The dancers, choreographed by Amy Docktor, all wore kimonos from the Armario de Freya – a store based on Calle Correos, Orgiva, and run by fashion specialist, Freya Rogers.
Amy said: “Brave Bodies, The Women’s Project, was created from an open call for women of all ages, regardless of their previous experience in dance.
This group of 17 women comes together to address, work with, and transform the energies that arise around the issue of violence against women and girls, to ultimately transform this energy into sisterhood and empowerment. The music is Ravel’s ‘Bolero’.”
“Dancing, in itself, is a liberating experience. Let’s dance for all the women who never could; let’s offer them that experience through our bodies.”
Freya commented: “I was thrlled to provide the costumes for the dance. The ladies chose the Indian silk kimonos. Each garment is a one-off, as is each women. The individual dancers chose kimonos that best represented themselves. We also chose them for their particular movement.”
She adds: “The dance was very moving and featured incredible choreography from Amy Doktor and María Solari. Fifteen minutes of pure, choreographed dance is a long time and impressive to achieve.”
