The Asia Safe Abortion Partnership has had an amazing run on Twitter, thanks to our brilliant followers, but International Women’s Day presented us with two very exciting opportunities.

We were proud to be part of the #RingTheBell Campaign on International Women’s Day. Launched by Breakthrough in 2008, the campaign urges men and young boys to become part of the change, by taking an oath to stand up against domestic violence.

Bell Bajao, spearheaded a social media storm between 6 and 9 p.m. on March 8 this year, and ASAP was asked to help moderate the event.

The idea behind the event was simple: men are not the enemy; they can be allies. This presented ASAP an excellent opportunity to explore the idea of patriarchy, which we are already examining on our blog this month.

During the event, Bell Bajao tweeted questions that asked the audience to question masculinity, patriarchy, the status of women in patriarchal societies, and political commitment to enforcing laws that challenge such norms. It was extremely encouraging to see several young men stand up for women’s rights, and tweet about the need to encourage male participation in issues like sexual violence.

ASAP was able to keep the conversation going by offering our perspective on violence.

We also got a chance to tweet alongside some Indian celebrities, including renowned Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who decided to #RingTheBell and join the battle for gender equality and equal rights!

Earlier that evening, ASAP also participated in IPPF’s tweetathon to #EndVAW ! This was a global effort that allowed non-profits and independent advocates to tweet throughout the day.

In addition to these, ASAP tweeted our columns on marginalized women, written specially for International Women’s Day. Social media on the whole has been an exciting means to connect with our audience, but on a day like this we feel empowered! Thanks to the exciting following we’ve enjoyed, of course!!