Women for Women–an international charity which raises funds for women in conflict zones around the world, as well as encouraging women to support each other on a local level–are putting on their annual showcase of the arts this Thursday. The event, Women in the Arts, will showcase the talents of the performers as well as the art created in Women for Women and Capture Collective’s last Drink and Draw event.
100% of the money raised will go to funding year-long programs which teach women in conflict zones hard marketable job skills – such as tailoring, bread making, and business skills. These women will also have access to learning soft skills including money management and practical health knowledge.
Credit: Women for Women.
Tickets are £5 for non-members and £4 for members, a small contribution to helping women from vastly different circumstances to most of us. The Showcase will include 14 acts planned and performed by women in St Andrews including: Acapella, poetry, a folk group, a string quartet, the Blue Angels dance team, a Tai Chi performance with a sword, and an act from Spring Awakening–this year’s musical put on by the Just So Society. Previews of the acts can be found on Women for Women St Andrews Facebook page, as well as the FIXR link to the event.
Credit: Women for Women.
Women in the Arts will take place this Thursday, March 12th, at 19:00 in the Union’s 601. The goal of the event goes beyond supporting friends and classmates, it is part of an ongoing effort to aid women around the world who still have to fight for their basic civil rights. These women, not unlike us or our sisters and friends, are unseen and unheard. Women for Women International are trying to bring awareness to the fact that women are marginalized by policies written without consideration for them. In 2019, zero UN-led peace agreements contained provisions for women, while there are 264 million women living in conflict affected countries. 70% of those women have experienced violence, and their needs are not being addressed by the policies in place.
Credit: Women for Women.
While these statistics seem far away from our day to day lives, we can do something to help by just supporting women in our university community. By buying a ticket to Women in the Arts, everyone here can help to make the millions of women who are unseen seen. By supporting women in our community, we can express our desire to help women who are living in countries which do not care about them. We can prioritize ending violence against women by simply enjoying an evening celebrating interesting and dynamic expressions of art. By buying a ticket, we can invest in and for women’s economic power.
Women in the Arts promises to be an evening of celebrating the collaboration of art and women as well as an opportunity to do something to help change a worldwide disparity which has existed for far too long.
Comments