It’s like the adrenaline rush before the deep dive in a rollercoaster ride, only a day left to One Billion Rising!

The entire ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) team is on their toes: some making placards while others are hanging banners on the streets and but the team that can’t take the glee of their face is the ones responsible for distributing flyers and brochures on the streets.

A bunch of curious pedestrians gathered around the banners with their inquisitive questions. The seizing moment was the exuberance of enthusiasm armed with shades of anger that voiced violence against women should stop now and forever.  A man drowned the crowed with his remark:

Violence against women will not stop until women are equally empowered like men!

The energy vibe has rolled out of Dhaka to remote corners of the country into 63 people’s organizations and 16 Stop Violence Against Women (SVAW) networks supported by AAB are rising tomorrow. The hullaballoo of the phone throughout the day expressed the local fever of One Billion Rising.

Some of these organizations have taken their own initiatives but the preparation took months. They have been tracking down the violence in their area and tomorrow they are standing to commit to beginning of a new era: no more violence against women. Even the indigenous people of the Bandarbans have been mobilized by BNKS, a local partner of AAB.

While I sip on to my coffee and watch the sunset on my windowpane, I feel my heart pounding to that extra beat while the final countdown began. This time it better make a difference…