March Video Sale: Support Women’s Rights

Last week, I highlighted two videos that are part of our ongoing celebration of the International Women’s Day Centenary and Women’s History Month. Throughout March we are looking back at WITNESS’ past work with grassroots partners on women’s rights by spotlighting five videos, available in our Web Store (DVD) and on ReFrame (video-on-demand). By purchasing these videos – Web Store DVDs are 20% off this month – you will support our current work, such as our new campaign with the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and their local partners on gender-based violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. Simply use the code “march8″ at check-out to obtain the 20% discount in the Web Store.

Here are two more videos that are part of our month-long promotion:

Operation Fine Girl: Rape Used as a Weapon of War in Sierra Leone

Countless atrocities were committed during the course of Sierra Leone’s devastating, drawn out conflict from 1991-2001. With civilians being the primary target of attack, women were particularly vulnerable to violence.

Operation Fine Girl is an intimate story about the tragic use of rape as a weapon of war, told through the personal stories of three young girls who were abducted, taken to be “rebel wives,” sex slaves, domestic servants and combatants for many years against their will; and one boy abducted to be a child combatant. The video has been instrumental in promoting a national dialogue for the long-term purpose of sensitization, reintegration, peace-building and reconciliation, and to keep rape as a weapon of war on the agenda as the country makes a transition to peace. Produced for WITNESS and Oxygen LLC by Academy Award nominee Lilibet Foster.

Dual Injustice: Feminicide and Torture in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua

Since 1993, women’s bodies, often showing brutal signs of sexual violence, have been appearing on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.  To date, over 450 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua – a phenomenon called feminicide. While the causes of these murders is not known, the lack of investigation and mishandling of evidence by local authorities has cast serious doubt on their ability to properly address the cases.  Under fire for their negligence, they have tried to appease public outcry by torturing people into confessing to the murders.

Dual Injustice tells the story of Neyra Cervantes, who disappeared in May 2003, and her cousin, David Meza, who traveled 1,500 miles to help search for her and ended up being jailed and tortured to confess to her murder. David spent three years in prison awaiting a judge’s ruling, even though there was no evidence linking him to the case. The video was a part of an international campaign for his acquittal, which successfully led to his release in June 2006.