WiSH says Bollocks to Poverty On the 1st December Linda Hewson and Kath Harding of WiSH will be holding a wintery and festive, glamorous and gritty eastend knees-up in aid of Bollocks To Poverty on this WORLD AIDS DAY. This one-off event, in collaboration with The Dirty Red Ball promoters Anabel Fielding and Katy Taylor, is in support of the work that Bollocks To Poverty and ActionAid are doing in South Africa for women and AIDS. All money raised on the night will go to a unique ActionAid initiative in South Africa. The new project will support women’s rights organisations to campaign together so that all South African women are guaranteed a healthy, happy and dignified life in the face of HIV and AIDS. Violation of women’s rights in developing countries puts them at risk of HIV infection and stops them from getting the medical treatment they need. This World AIDS Day, tell the UK government to put women’s rights at the heart of its global strategy to fight AIDS. BTP want you to send a message to Douglas Alexander, Minister for International Development, asking him to: Ensure that DFID’s new AIDS strategy prioritises women’s rights – particularly ending violence against women and to urge other donor countries, developing country governments and international bodies like the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria to do the same. 40 million people are living with HIV globally, most in Africa. Almost 8000 people die of AIDS each day, and another 14000 are infected. In many countries, AIDS has been seen as a problem that affects men, especifically gay men, and as a result its impact on women has been largely overlooked. Yet today AIDS has an increasingly female face; among young people living with HIV in southern Africa, three quarters are female. ActionAid believes the denial of their rights is what makes them most vulnerable. Despite growing evidence that women are on the front line of the AIDS pandemic, governments and international bodies have failed to recognise this trend or respond with solutions that reflect the realities of women’s lives or that seek to protect their rights. WISH have been running the WiSHgirl Calendar promotion throughout 2007, where each month a gorgeous WiSHgirl has been voted for online by WiSH clubbers from the selection of photos taken on the night in the online gallery. The winner each month has been whisked away for a photo-shoot. The results of which have been displayed at WiSH nights and online (here). The images of all WiSHgirls have been put together in a beautifully designed and printed calendar for 2008, which will be available for purchase at the December “WISH upon a Star” party, satisfying all christmas shopping needs. The proceeds from sales will go to Bollocks To Poverty and ActionAid's women and aids project in South Africa. On the night there will be a crowning of the WiSHgirl 2007 as voted on the night by party goers. What can you do: WISH upon a Star |
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