When an organiser elects to host a Can’t Stop the Serenity event, be it a screening or affiliate event, they agree to donate at least 75% of the proceeds to Equality Now. You may be asking why Equality Now?

Consider for a moment the women in your life.  Now think about what you consider to be basic human rights. Now take them away from those women.

In 1992 lawyers Jessica Neuwirth, Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, and Feryal Gharahi founded Equality Now because they wanted to use the law to help protect women and girls around the world and allow them to have, at the very least, basic human rights. They believed that “everyone, everywhere has the right to live without violence and discrimination.”

And here at Can’t Stop the Serenity, so do we.

If you’ve bought a ticket to a Can’t Stop the Serenity event, donated at an affiliate event or purchased an item through our Represent campaign, you have helped bring about some real change in this world. You can see some examples of the good works your donations have helped these good folk enact below or check out their page detailing their impact.

Equality Now’s mission, what they represent, what they have accomplished, and what they continue to accomplish are an inspiration to us. This is one of the reasons we ask, if you are at all able, to host events each year. Or if you can’t hold or attend an event, support their work through a donation, however small. We feel it important to support Equality Now so they can continue their good works and it allows us to be the change we want to see in the world.

“Equality for women begins with justice for girls. When a girl can grow up safe, happy, and healthy with full enjoyment of her rights, she can grow to reach her full potential. When girls know their rights and are empowered to advocate for them, they can create real change in their own lives and for other girls like them.” – EqualityNow.org

 

Achievements

Equality Now works tirelessly to remove legal discrimination against women. By forging partnerships in countries around the world, they have been able to help effect some amazing changes. Some of their accomplishments include:

• Help craft laws that make it illegal for a rapist to avoid punishment by marrying his victim
• Remove the exemption for men who murder their wives/female relatives under certain circumstances
• Women now have the right to vote
• Marital rape is now a crime
• Women can now obtain a passport without having to obtain approval from a male guardian or husband

Equality Now is also fighting against the ugliness and horror that is Female Genital Mutilation. This was once considered a ‘rite of passage’ and girls are still taken on “vacations” where genital mutilation is performed on them. This occurs in a shocking number of countries, and occurs alongside “honor” crimes and child marriage. Through education and the change of laws and attitudes, change is occurring. Equality Now is an important defender against these atrocities through the network of international partners who are similarly dedicated to women’s and girl’s rights. They “work together to ensure that individual cases become international concerns, and that progress made globally is enacted locally.”