Nearly two years ago Joss wrote a stirring post on Whedonesque in response to news of the so called “honor killing” of Du’a Khalil Aswad. Du’a, a 17-year-old Iraqi Kurd of the Yazidi faith, was not only stoned to death, but people at the stoning filmed the incident on their cellphones. The exact cause for the stoning is in dispute, be regardless of the reason the result is the same – Du’a is dead. As Joss said, “There were security officers standing outside the area doing nothing, but the footage of the murder was taken – by more than one phone – from the front row. Which means whoever shot it did so not to record the horror of the event, but to commemorate it. To share it. Because it was cool.”

Joss Whedon fans, such as myself, were horrified. For a fandom known for supporting Joss’ favorite charity – Equality Now, known for loving Joss’ portrayal of women as more than just victims, known for rallying behind a teenage superhero and women warriors: we were more than disappointed.

This April 7th has been dedicated to be the international day against ‘honor killings’. According to the folks at www.stophonourkillings.com there’s been approximately 300 more honor killings since Du’a’s death.

If you would like to get involved in helping people remember Du’a’s death or raise awareness they have some suggestions and resources from their website (special thanks to TonyaJ for pointing this out on Whedonesque):

7th April will be the 2nd anniversary of the horrific stoning death of Du’a Khalil Aswad, which we have nominated to be the international day against ‘honour’ killings.

In remembrance of Du’a, you are invited to:

1. Leave a tribute on this remembrance page
2. Visit a memorial service to be held in Rt.66 Hotel & Conference Center. Springfield, Illinois, April 7th from 6:30pm until 8:00pm
3. Spread the word: Write a letter to your local papers, raising the issue of so-called ’honour’ killing.
4. Blog for Du’a: Write a blog entry for Du’a Khalil on the 7th April, perhaps using one of our graphics available here, or post about her life on your forums
5. Contact the KRG: Email the Kurdistan Regional Government asking what progress there has been in finding and prosecuting Du’a’s killers and what they intend to do to reduce the rate of ’honour’ killings in Kurdistan (there have been at least 300 other victims since Du’a’s death.)
6. Sign the petition: Sign here
7. Put up a poster. Print out and put up a poster in your window to show that Du’a Khalil is not forgotten [Big PDF]
8. Buy Nothing But Red, the anthology written in Du’a Khalil’s honour
9. Use this graphic as your Facebook or MySpace profile for the day

Best Regards, International Campaign Against Honour Killings Staff

From CSTS Global:

We sent the signal out and a few of the brave and bold with their brilliant artistical skillz took up the gauntlet (and their pallets) to create this year’s promotional art.

We know it’s gonna be a challenge – but we need you, the good folk of the `Verse, to help us choose which one will become the official artwork for CSTS 2009. You can only vote once and you’ve only got until March 12th to get your voice heard and your vote counted.

So vote and then tell your friends to spread the word and come help us choose the best of the best.

View Entries
http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/2009-art-contest-entries/

Vote Now
http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/artvote2009/

Voting Closes March 12, 2009 12:59 PM PST

Okay. this is it. The last couple of years we have been promoting and raising lots of money here in our own small part of the verse, helping charities and showing muchos love for Firefly and also Serenity, the subsequent film. This year though, we wanted to really go for it in a big way…. and offer Browncoats and Joss Whedon fans worldwide the chance to win loads of great prizes and raise even more money for his charity of choice, Equality Now – helping them to end violence and discrimination against women throughout the world.

Also where appropriate, we will be helping out other charities too with promotion and donations, such as Freedom From Hunger, MS Society, Marine Corps – Law Enforcement Foundation and several other deserving but often overlooked charities around the world. So rest assured that alongside Equality Now, you will almost certainly also be helping others in your part of the world too.

If you wanna dive straight into this: CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS