Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC
Thursdays in Black
A group from the Ecumenical Education Committee of the World Council of Churches joined in the "Thursdays in Black" witness against rape and violence during its recent meeting in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Picture are Esther M. Mombo, Rudolf von Sinner, Tamsyn Kereopa, Lijo Johnson, Nan Braunschweiger, John G. Gatu, Eszter Kalit, Carrie Grace, Ramy Farouk,Chrisida Nithyakalyani and Martin Robra.
The annual meeting of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation (CEEF) took place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Oct. 9 to 13. On Thursday, Oct. 12, participants of the Commission joined the "Thursdays in Black" campaign. "By wearing black on Thursdays, we speak out against rape and violence," said the WCC on its Facebook page.
Based in South Africa, Thursdays in Black "encourages everyone, men and women, to wear black every Thursday," according to its website. The organization's roots "lie in groups such as Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina," now known as the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, which was the 1999 recipient of the World Methodist Peace Award.
Wearing black on Thursdays "can be a campaign T-shirt, other black clothing or simply a campaign badge as a sign of support. Wearing black on Thursdays shows others that you are tired of putting up with violence, and calls for communities where we can all walk safely without fear; fear of being beaten up, fear of being verbally abused, fear of being raped, fear of discrimination. The campaign is not confined only to countries at war, but recognizes that violence takes many forms, including domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, incest, murder, female infanticide, genital mutilation, sexual harassment, discrimination and sex trafficking," according to the organization's website.