As another UN International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women comes to pass, one organization in Jerusalem teaches girls and women to face these harsh realities with inner-strength and be part of the solution…
חשון - תשעה
November 25th is the International Day to Eliminate Violence against women. The UN Secretary General has coined the name “UNiTE” for the campaign, and has been making efforts to rally the citizens of the world for the cause. According to UN figures, 70% of women worldwide experience violence in their lifetime; whether it be rape, abuse (physical or emotional) or harassment. Beyond the tragic emotional and social damages this causes on society, the UNiTE website also points out the economic repercussions of this violence. Cases of intimate partner violence alone incurs tremendous costs on our nation– costs that drain our tax revenues in medical treatment, shelters, the criminal justice system and sheer productivity loss. In the US, an average of $5.8 billion is lost from intimate partner violence each year. These figures are a cry to the world community to pay attention.
In Israel, 60% of female sexual assault victims are under the age of 18, according to a 2013 study done by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. These same young women will one day provide the backbone for our nation. Girls in Israel, as in many other nations, face pressure from the media and cultural traditions to focus on their physical image, rather than their intellectual or ingenuitive talents. WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization) released a list of the 10 most offensive advertisements to women in Israel, which highlighted the provocative pervasiveness of these gendered messages. From the earliest ages women are taught how to use domesticity and beautification, through either implicit or explicit messages, instead of tools for economic development, technological innovation and social justice. Although there is nothing fundamentally wrong with training girls to build loving, stable, domestic lives and to care for their physical selves, what we should be worried about is the exclusive valuation we place upon them, through frameworks which often results in disempowerment.
In 2003, Yudit Sidikman and Jill Shames came together to address these issues, with their passion for martial arts, and created the nonprofit, El Halev. El Halev works with girls and women of all ages, ethnicities, religions and physical capabilities in Israel, using martial arts and self-defense programing. These programs teach empowerment using methods that strengthen participant’s physical, verbal and emotional responses to violence and self-awareness. If you walk into El Halev on any given day when classes are in session, you will hear the fierce voices of women and girls shouting “NO!”.
Other older participants have also reflected that before completing an El Halev course, they had never known how to set boundaries and say “no.” NO. This skill was simply not taught to them as young girls. Tali Rachamim completed El Halev’s specialized self-defense course IMPACT:
“I was in a battered women’s shelter. Yudit and her assistant Rivka, they came to teach us self-defense… Before, I couldn’t speak at all, I had no self confidence. I didn’t know that I was capable of shouting at all. Saying ‘no’ was hard for me all my life, but now I can say “NO!” and shout, and make it clear that I don’t want this...”
Three years ago El Halev kickstarted the “Lioness Club” (Moadon Leviah), which trains girls ages 12 to 17 to cultivate leadership qualities, confidence and open-mindedness through martial arts and self-defense programing. Jill Shames, co-founder of El Halev and Leviah instructor, believes that “in order to change society, sometimes you have to build a new society,” which is exactly what El Halev strives to create for the next generation of Israeli girls. Leviah girls cooperate to create support groups, which provides a safe environment to deal with and talk about experiences of violence, and encourages personal growth to do so with confidence. The Leviah Group in Nof Ayalon are currently developing a performance workshop to share what they have learned with other youth groups in the area. “Youths are more likely to listen to other youths,” Jill says, “If you want to learn something, there's nothing like teaching it.” This method of empowerment, shines through all of the participants of El Halev.
Jill puts hours into researching the latest scientific studies on developmental exercises and then implements them into the program. With girls as young as 7, Jill opens class with a respectful bow and mindfulness meditation, in the spirit of traditional martial arts. She explains that meditation is probably one of the most important parts of the training. By learning how to mindfully take each breath, and to calm the mind, the girls develop awareness of their surroundings and can make the mental space for clear decision making. Another exercise that she does with younger girls is the “Wonder-woman stance”. The little ones line up, put their fists on their hips and stand tall and open. Jill walks by the girls asking her to say her name loud and clear, “You can be proud of that name,” she passionately responds to each of them.
This is the message El Halev is trying to bring to young girls who will one day will shape Israel’s future. One of the trade-mark initiatives spearheaded by Yudit is “Break a Brick.” Participants are faced with a cement brick and are asked to punch through it. On November 4th, a coalition of ten organizations addressing violence against women in Israel, gathered in El Halev’s event hall for a series of inspiring lectures and discussion groups. Ideas were exchanged and connections made, all in the hopes of formulating a united front of Jerusalem nonprofits working to empower women. At the end of the conference, Yudit set bricks in front of each participant. One by one, women of all body types, old and young, stepped forward and shouted “I am breaking this brick!” Participants used the momentum of their bodies and convictions to smash through the challenge. Each person left that day with brilliant smiles and a piece of brick, wrapped in red ribbon, to take home as a reminder of the strength we each carry within us.
