Iryna Khalip: Women should not be afraid

The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) reminded about the threats received by women all over the world.

IFEX published stories of freedom fighters – journalists and activists from Philippine, Bahrain, Vietnam, Venezuela, Columbia, Russia and Belarus. IFEX asked these women to tell about repressions they faced in their countries and send their wishes ahead of International Women's Day.

IFEX talked to the women, who took part in the campaign “23 actions in 23 days” for the International Day to End Impunity in November last year. Belarusian journalist Iryna Khalip was interviewed among others.

In 2011, Khalip was given a two-year suspended sentence for her role in protests against President Alexander Lukashenka's December 2010 controversial re-election, and was banned from travelling and from moving or leaving Minsk. Officials also threatened to put her young son in state custody.

On International Women's Day, Khalip hopes for a world where "you are not afraid to love, to give birth, to go to sleep every night, to speak openly and fight injustice, to live in your country and raise your children in your country, to be a professional and to be a citizen; you are indeed not afraid to be a woman."