Stand in solidarity with women fighting for their rights in Nicaragua! Women around the world are fighting for their basic rights. You can stand in solidarity with them! Draw a butterfly or create a greeting card using the butterfly image to write to our partner NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in Nicaragua—let them know they are not alone! Please, use the following message in English and Spanish: We are sending you a message of solidarity and hope. We stand with you in your struggle for women’s and girls' human rights in Nicaragua Les mandamos un mensaje de solidaridad y esperanza. Estamos con Uds. en su lucha por los derechos humanos de las mujeres y niñas en Nicaragua You can send all solidarity messages to us at the following address and we will make sure they are promptly delivered to our partners in the country: Sarah Pyke Demand Dignity Team International Secretariat, Amnesty International 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, UK Background: Women and girls in Nicaragua suffer high rates of violence,1 especially rape and sexual violence. Yet, since 2008, the government has enforced a total abortion ban,2 criminalizing abortion in all circumstances; there are no exceptions for rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is at risk. For some women and girls made pregnant by rape, the idea of giving birth is unbearable. But in Nicaragua, women don’t have a choice. The government’s refusal to lift the total abortion ban and its refusal to provide adequate care and support to survivors is a failure to ensure women and girl’s freedom from violence, freedom of autonomy, and freedom from discrimination, and it violates their fundamental human rights. Send a message of solidarity to let women’s human rights defenders in Nicaragua know that they are not alone! For more information about Nicaraguan women’s struggle for their rights, visit these links: http://blog.amnestyusa.org/americas/total-abortion-bans-in-latin-america-risk-womens-lives/ http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/nicaragua_abortion_ban_report__english.pdf 1 2 http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/nicaragua/report-2011#section-102-3 http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/amr430012009en.pdf Stand in solidarity with women fighting for their rights in Nicaragua!