Tibetan Women Uprising Day (03/12/1959)

On this date, more than thousands of women gathered peacefully outside of #Potala Palace in #Lhasa. This demonstration was the spark that initiated the Tibetan women’s movement for the Independence of Tibet. It was in a such critical situation that the Tibetan women rose to defend the sovereignty of their country. Women from all walks of life and from different parts of Tibet were spontaneously drawn together to form the first national association of Tibetan women.

The leader of this nonviolent demonstration was Pamo Kusang. This demonstration, now known as Women’s Uprising Day (started women’s movement for independence). On March 14 at the same location, thousands of women assembled in a protest led by “Gurteng Kunsang” a member of the aristocratic Kundeling family and mother of six who was later arrested by the Chinese and executed by firing squad.

To honor their memory and keep the fire of the Tibetan struggle burning bright, Tibetan women and their allies gather in Dharamsala, Toronto, New York, and across the world in exiled communities.