To stop violence against woman

Woman, to stop the violence against woman

Woman must stop the violence against herself,

We can begin to do this now,

Now that we see a sky and not a rock; a stick or a fist above all our heads

Woman, to stop the violence against woman,

Stop the violence that you perpetuate against your own sister who is a woman;

Your own daughter, who is a woman;

Your own daughter-in-law who is a woman;

Your own mother, who is a woman;

Woman, to stop the violence against woman,

Stop the violence that lives in opposition to your life deep in your own terrorized and uncherished heart;

Woman, remember who we are: not ‘guys’ but the mother of living.

We create out of our own blood and milk the creatures who oppress us whether they are men, or ourselves

Woman awake! Arise! Stand up!

Woman to stop the violence against woman, get up on your perfectly unbound feet,

We have lost the earth living on our knees.

— Poem by Alice Walker