Reclaim the Night 2009 - the Good Stuff

As I said in the last post, on November 21, over 2000 women marched through the streets of London to Reclaim the Night. Led by SheBoom, an all-women drumming group, we march from Whitehall Place, along Trafalgar Square, up Charing Cross Road and Tottenham Court Road until we reached the Camden Centre across from Kings Cross Station. It was a demonstration of female strength, as well as male fortitude in supporting the women's march. Chris Green, director of the White Ribbon Campaign UK, led several men on a separate march through London in solidarity with these 2000 women. It was a rainy night, but that did not quench the enthusiasm of any of the Reclaim the Night supporters, male and female.

After the march, we dried ourselves off inside at the Reclaim the Night Rally, which was organised by the London Feminist Network. Although the march was women-only, the rally, at the Camden Centre, was for anyone and everyone. 

Our friends at Object won the Emma Humphrey's Memorial Prize for a group!

Here you can see the four speakers, moderator, and sign-language translator on the stage.

The speakers at the rally were amazing and truly inspiring. All produced applause throughout their speeches and several invoked standing ovations. Three out of five of the speakers at the rally mentioned the work of the White Ribbon Campaign! Shamsun Nahar said:

Male violence against women and children is not inevitable. Men can take a stand against this and indeed there are examples of men who are doing just that with the White Ribbon Campaign.

Maggie Bremner, of the NASUWT (National Association of Schoomasters Union of Women Teachers) said:

We have also worked to promote and support the work of the White Ribbon Campaign, which is a male led campaign against domestic violence towards women and produces resources for teachers. And a big thank you to the men here tonight supporting us.