(L to R) Clara Tempongko (2004 Vagina Warrior), Marily Mondejar (President, Filipina Women's Network), and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris (2005 Vagina Warrior) shown receiving her award.

A Vagina Warrior is . . .

Someone who has suffered from or witnessed violence, grieved it, transformed it, and then goes on to do extraordinary work to make sure all types of violence do not happen to anyone in the Filipino community.

The Filipina Women's Network collaborates with V-Day's "Vagina Warriors: The New Revolution" in celebrating new activists and leaders who are working to end violence against women in their communities worldwide.

FWN's Vagina Warriors are the women and men who have experienced violence personally or witnessed it within their own communities and dedicated themselves toward ending violence against Filipina women and girls through effective, grassroots means.

From soccer moms to veteran activists, from lawmakers and law enforcers to young college students, Vagina Warriors around the world are "developing their spiritual muscle" leading their communities to that place of understanding and upliftment.

Recognizing the Vagina Warriors for their contributions to a violence-free society is the highlight of FWN's Filipinas Against Violence campaign.  The Vagina Warriors are honored during the English and Tagalog performances of "The Vagina Monologues" which will be held both in San Francisco and New York.  Both performances have an all- Filipina cast. "Usaping Puki" is the first all- Tagalog performance in the U.S. 

For special Vagain Warrior Award event tickets, go to http://v-diaries.eventbrite.com

The Vagina Warriors will be honored at a special awards event.  For tickets:

San Francisco: March 28, 7pm @ the Morgan Auditorium, Academy of Art University (immediately after the film screening of "Until the Violence Stops"  - a powerful documentary about the V-Day worldwide movement.

New York: April 18, 2008, 7pm @ the Philippine Center New York (at a special intermission feature)

Please support the publication of the V-Diaries, our anti-violence resource guide. To place an ad, go to

http://v-diaries8.eventbrite.com

Questions?  Email us at vday@ffwn.org

NOMINATE A VAGINA WARRIOR NOW. 

Click to submit your nomination online.  DEADLINE - March 15, 2008.

The online submission form will need the following information:

• Nominee's Name
• Position / Job Title
• Company Name
• Address
• Phone Nos. (home/work/cell)
• Email address
• Reason(s) for nomination (attach extra pages if necessary). Please answer these questions - (1) Please tell us how your nominee suffered from or witnessed violence, grieved it, and transformed it? (2) Please indicate at least two examples of nominee's extraordinary work to make sure all types of violence do not happen to anyone in the Filipino community.
• Do you have nominee's permission to submit your nomination?
• Nominator's name
• Nominator's contact info (email and phone nos.)

Let's celebrate the Vagina Warriors and Leaders in our community. Make them visible. Empower them. Support them. Honor them. Nominate them.

Be part of a collective voice, a voice that refuses to be ignored, a voice that says NO to violence against women and girls.

FWN's Vagina Warriors 2007:

• Al Perez, President, Creative I Studio; President,  Filipino American Arts Exposition (FAAE)
• Bettina Santos Yap , Marketing Consultant; Senior Director, V-Day FWN (The Vagina Monologues and Usaping Puki)
• Elena Mangahas , Co-Chair, Little Manila Foundation; V-Day FWN (The Vagina Monologues and Usaping Puki)
• Krittika Ghosh, Queens Coordinator of the Community Empowerment Program at CONNECT, New York
• Laureen Dumadag Laglagaron, Equal Justice Works Fellow at Asian Pacific Islander (API) Legal Outreach in San Francisco; Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute at its new National Center of Immigrant Integration Policy, Washington DC
• Perla De Jesus , Owner, Perla’s Hair Salon
• Rudy Asercion, Executive Director, West Bay
• Venessa G. Manzano, Director of Programs for the National Asian American Society of Accountants, Inc.; Executive Director of the Filipino American Human Services, Inc. (FAHSI)

FWN's Vagina Warriors 2006:

• Beverly Upton, Executive Director, San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium & Partners Ending Domestic Violence
• Dorka Keehn, Chair, CCSF Justice & Courage Oversight Panel
• Gloria Megino Ochoa, Deputy Chief Counsel, California Senate Judiciary Committee
• Imelda Oppenheim, Trainer, Excel Personal Training
• Jonah Oliverio, Community Educator, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA)
• Ligaya Hattari, Project Manager, California Indian Manpower Consortium
• Sarah Jane Ilumin, Vice President, Yashi Okita Design
• Tess Crescini, Broker, RW-Heritage Homes & Investments

FWN's Vagina Warriors 2005:

• Kamala D. Harris, District Attorney, San Francisco
• Giovannie Pico, Actor
• Gloria Ramos, Elementary School Teacher
• San Francisco Commission and Department on the Status of Women, represented by Dr. Emily Moto Murase, Executive Director
• Rita Villavicencio Schmidt, Vice President, The Lodge at Blue Lakes
• Velma Roset Veloria, former State Representative for District 11, Washington (four terms)

FWN's Vagina Warriors 2004:

• Blesilda Ocampo, Child Support Officer, Dept. of Child Support Services, City and County of San Francisco
• Cherie Querol Moreno, Community Outreach Coordinator, CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse)
• Clara Tempongko, mother of Claire Tempongko who was killed in 2000 in front of her two young children by her abusive ex-boyfriend, Tari Ramirez
• Genevieve Dwyer, President, Genevieve's Corporation
• Leni Marin, Managing Director , Family Violence Prevention Fund
• Tisa Mendoza, TV show producer
• Vangie Canonizado Buell, Author, Editor, Speaker