Agenda for the December 11 Protest at the UN in NYC: Criminalize Stoning, Expel the Islamic Republic and all Anti-Woman Regimes from the UN’s Women’s Organizations

Agenda for the December 11 Protest at the UN in NYC: Demanding Criminalization of Stoning, Demanding Expulsion of the Islamic Republic and all Anti-Woman Regimes from the UN’s Women’s Organizations

The staging area for this demonstration will be on the 2nd Avenue end of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (2nd Ave and 47th St).  All members of the public are welcome to join the demonstration; those participating in the stoning procession should bring a white bedsheet that has been dotted with red paint to represent the shroud worn by a stoning victim.

11:45am: Stoning display: There will be a mock stoning display, with a basket of ersatz “stones” there, to show the horror of the practice.  People will have the opportunity to pick up a “stone” and hold it in their hand to understand what that feels like, to contemplate an act of stoning, to possibly throw the stone.

12:00: Opening statement of the event with a brief introduction, including the demands of the action: 1) criminalization of stoning, and 2) immediate expulsion of anti-woman states (Islamic Republic of Iran, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, Libya) from UN women’s organizations.

12:05: Invited speaker
12:15: Invited speaker
12:25: Invited speaker

12:35: Open microphone

12:45-12:55: Participants will be asked to put on their stoning shrouds (white sheets spattered with red paint to represent blood), and will be handed placards with the names of known stoning victims printed on them.

12:55-1:30: Participants, wearing their shroud and carrying their placard with a stoning victim’s name, will walk in a single-file line out of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, onto 2nd Avenue and walk towards 44th Ave.  A large banner with the image of Sakineh Ashtiani will bring up the rear of the procession.

We will parade down the sidewalk on 2nd Avenue in single file, turn left onto 44th, and proceed down 44th towards 1st Avenue in a single file line.  Along the route, we will pause in place several times to address the public about what we are doing and why.

Proceeding down 1st Avenue, we will come to a stop in front of the UN building. Participants will hold a sit-in protest for 10 minutes of silence, facing the street.  Then participants will stand up, turn around, and protest chants will be shouted directly at the UN.

1:30: We will proceed from the UN building back to the staging area of the Plaza (2nd Ave and 47th).

1:40: The closing statement and resolutions will be read.

1:50: Closing demonstration: Recalling the opening stoning display, each stone that had been thrown at the stoning victim will be collected, taken away, and replaced with a flower.  During this action, poetry written about the act of stoning will be read.  The closing action will create a memorial for all of the nameless women, as well as some men, who have been killed by stoning to death – whose lives have never been memorialized.

2:00: Petition signing.

There will be an organizing session after the demonstrations, in order to capture the momentum from the day and roll it into future collaborative action, with a specific goal of planning an event for March 8, International Women’s Day.

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Note: A bus will leave from Vienna, Virginia and College Park, Maryland to take demonstrators to the protest. The bus will leave early on the morning of December 11 and return the same evening. Round trip ticket is $45. Contact Monir (monir86@gmail.com) if you want to purchase a ticket.