Mexico: V-DAY and Amnesty February 14 Juarez March

Mexico: V-DAY and Amnesty International organize February 14 March on Ciudad Juarez

On Saturday, February 14, 2004, V-Day and Amnesty International are organizing a march to honour the over 300 missing and murdered women of Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua , their families, and all groups that have worked tirelessly on their behalf.

"Last year when V-Day joined the local organizers and activists for a meeting with Prosecutor Of Justice, Lic. Oscar Valadéz in Juárez, we promised him if there was not justice we would come back with the world in one year. It is one year later - we are marching on the 14th to say the time has come, we will wait no longer," stated V-Day Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler.

"Hundreds of young women have been murdered with impunity in the past decade in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua. Many were abducted and sexually assaulted. Many others remain missing. We are joining with the women of Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua and their families to demand the end to impunity and the prevention of further violence against women," Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International, said today.

The day will also include a discussion on gender violence by Mexican feminist, Marcela Lagarde; an ecumenical remembrance of the victims and honouring of their mothers and families at the Benito Juárez Monument; and lunch provided by local vendors. The day will culminate with a special V-Day performance of Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues," featuring performances by Lilia Aragon, Marinitia Escobedo, Laura Flores, Monica Alicia Juarez, Ensler, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Christine Lahti, and Shiva Rose.

A schedule for February 14 follows at the end of this release. For more information, visit http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabUoVaa34yebb0hPub/

Many local and international women's and human rights groups, political leaders, and celebrities will take part in the event in Ciudad Juárez.

V-Day has been working to raise awareness of this issue throughout Mexico via "The Vagina Monologues" and direct support to Casa Amiga and other grassroots groups on the ground, as well as internationally through its thousands of activists. Juárez is the focus of VDay’s 2004 Spotlight placing the issue in front of millions in the U.S. and internationally via the March and the over 2000 V-Day benefits taking place this February - March. V-Day Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler's essay on the missing and murdered women of Ciudad Juárez entitled "The City Of Murdered Women" appears in the March issue of Marie Claire magazine.

Together, V-Day and the US section of Amnesty International have held an educational roundtable in Los Angeles and have worked with media outlets to draw attention to the issue. In August 2003 Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, met Mexican President Vicente Fox to raise concerns about the lack of progress in solving the murders in Ciudad Juárez and the organization released a report on Ciudad Juárez in September 2003. For the text of Amnesty International's report on Ciudad Juárez, please go to:

"Intolerable Killings: Ten years of abductions and murders of women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua", please see: http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabUoVaa34yfbb0hPub/ (English) http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabUoVaa34ygbb0hPub/ (Spanish)

and for additional information, please see: "Mexico: Increased international scrutiny for violence against women in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua" http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabUoVaa34yhbb0hPub/ (English) http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabUoVaa34yibb0hPub / (Spanish)

About V-Day:

V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/ Activist/V-Day Founder Eve Ensler’s award-winning play "The Vagina Monologues". In 2004, more than 2000 V-Day events will take place in the U.S. and around the world. To date, V-Day has raised over $20 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted national media and PSA campaigns, funded over 2000 community-based anti-violence programs, reopened shelters, and built safe houses in Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq.

For more information on V-Day, please go to: http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabUoVaa34yjbb0hPub/

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