October 2005, Volume 8, Number 5

Waves of Actions in Pursuit of the Sun on October 17
Your Hour of Solidarity Instantly Visible
Send a Solidarity Message to Feminists Everywhere!
Promotional Material
Scholarship for Young Burkinan Woman
Aung San Suu Kyi, Ten Years of House Surveillance
Collaborators

PAKISTAN
In Pakistan the solidarity day will be observed in Hyderabad (Sindh) with women working in a bangle-making factory, a small bells factory (metals), a crockery making factory and bonded labours. These women get very small wages and are very poor. It is a full day programme, in which these women will hold stalls to sell at low prices. There will be a Cultural programme and speeches on the Charter and a demonstration on their issues. In Lahore the programme will be held with peasant women.

NINTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST/ARAB WORLD AND AFRICA (Greenwich +3)

BULGARIA
The group of Bulgarian women will orient their efforts towards schools (for both girls and boys). For instance, they will distribute copies of the Women's Global Charter for Humanity in a High school in Sofia and will hold a debate with students and teachers. They will listen to their points of view, will give them examples from around the world, and will search together for solutions.

Bulgarian women are also organising a joint action with Greek women at their shared border against over-exploitation in Bulgaria and other Balkan countries and unemployment in Greece.

DJIBOUTI
In Djibouti, the Network for Sustainable Development and the Association for Women’s Education and Health of ARTA/WEAH will organize activities on October 17. One hundred and fifty women in the region will participate in a three-kilometre march to show that women want more rights and freedoms. An appeal will be made to the women of Djibouti and a discussion held on equality between women and men, poverty and the elimination of genital mutilation. An open letter to government representatives will be presented along with a song about freedom and independence for women. After that will come a play telling the story of a woman named to the position of Minister and the resulting revolt by the men.

GREECE
In the North of Greece, the WMW network in the small town of Serres is organising an activity at the border with Bulgaria, together with Bulgarian women, against unemployment in Greece and over-exploitation in Bulgaria and other Balkan countries.

In Athens, the Social Forum is preparing an activity for Saturday, October 15th against the Bolkenstein directive and privatisations. The Greek network for the WMW will participate. Women are also exploring the possibility of organising an action on the 17th outside a beauty shop in the central square of Athens, to arouse the question of women's unemployment, closure of factories, poverty and flexible hours, which have recently been extended.

KENYA
Women of Korogocho, a slum in Nairobi, will be organising an activity on October 17, particularly because domestic violence and sexual abuse of young girls are very common in this area. They will be inviting women lawyers from FIDA to give a talk to the women on domestic violence, protection of the girl child and support for one another as women. They also want to have a demonstration walk in the entire Korogocho slum with messages on common issues affecting them as women.

LEBANON
An interview will be held between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. on an Arab wide regional media called HIYA (which means “She”) with one of the WMW members. At the same time (between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m.), there will also be a solidarity action with poor families in Tripoli by collecting and distributing clothes. This action is especially important before the celebration after the fasting of Ramadan months.

TURKEY
Actions will be taking place in several places in Turkey, namely Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and in rural areas as well.

In Ankara, women are organising a street demonstration at the centre of the city in front of the Human Rights Statue. On October 17th women will submit the Charter to the authorities, including the parliament and the president, and will also ask for the results of their demands submitted on May 6th. Also, in certain workplaces where women constitute the majority and in female segregated schools, feminist solidarity actions will take place from 12:00-13:00.

Before October 17th, cultural activities will be staged in the city.

TENTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – EUROPE AND AFRICA (Greenwich +2)

BASQUE COUNTRY
In the Basque Country, On October 17, women will organize noisy rallies outside town halls between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. and later on, they will march in five capitals.

BELGIUM
In cooperation with the women’s councils, Belgian women are organizing for Sunday, October 16, a huge party, given the name Confêttia. At the party, the March will challenge the five Equal Opportunity Ministers about the Belgian demands regarding poverty and violence during the Great Debate. There will also be a march through Brussels. Some 10,000 women are expected to participate.

On October 17, at noon, 500 women will occupy the steps outside the Stock Exchange under the slogan “Money versus poverty: Women don’t have, or have too little, access to money.” Sirens, bells, horns and gongs will signal the beginning of the action. The demonstrators will underscore the Charter values using a number of creative and artistic means such as the squares of the Belgian patchwork quilt, a “spoken choir,” messages written on dishtowels and shoes as a symbol of “women who travelled the world in 2005… let’s leave our baskets behind and roll up our sleeves.” The main theme of the day is international solidarity.

Other actions will be staged at noon on October 17. For example, in Amay, women will share a meal and trade ideas on a project related to the international day against violence against women.

BURUNDI
Between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m., women in Burundi will organize activities in solidarity with women who have suffered rape and violence.

DENMARK
In Denmark, a debate will be held on the evening of October 13 with various organisations and politicians focusing on the five values of the Charter. The organisations invited are all committed to either grassroots or professional work on topics concerning or involving these five values. They will tell true-life stories emphasizing life as seen from the perspective of women living under conditions where the intentions of the Charter are neglected. They will also look at the conflicts between their real life situations and the politics of a Danish state, which has signed international treaties, such as CEDAW and the Declaration of Human Rights, and yet constantly breaches them.

The politicians will be invited to comment on these stories and hopefully make demands to take action with the women present. These demands will be delivered to the parliament on October 17th between noon and 1:00 p.m. local time.

FRANCE
In Marseille, the Collectif 13 DDF will assemble in the Old Port with all the organizations that attended the European meeting in May. They assure us that the noise they will make will reach all of us! Women will make speeches, sing, bang on pots and pans, a brass band will play and there will be street theatre.

In Paris and on the Ile de France, the action will be part of demonstrations on the occasion of Refusal of Poverty Day, organized at the initiative of several associations, including ATD Quart Monde. Activities will be staged outside City Hall during the day and at the Trocadéro at night. The March plans to make an intervention from the podium on “poverty of women in the world” and to be present under the marquees. It will distribute the Women’s Global Charter for Humanity and will invite people to write feminist words on the March banner. Between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m., the women from the March will ask everyone present to make a gesture of solidarity with women the world over and remember the arrival of the March in Burkina Faso. They will release balloons that will have Charter demands written on them. At night, they will have a stand at the Trocadéro.

ITALY
For the 24 hours of feminist solidarity, the WMW participating groups in Rome will stage an activity at noon at the University. The aim is to call students’ attention to the problems of lack of job security and the dismantling of social services, which make it harder and harder for young women to lead an independent life. At the same time, the WMW Relay will come to an end in Burkina Faso and the rest of the world.

In Brindisi, the port city that received the Relay from Greece, and other Italian cities, films on violence against women will be shown simultaneously, followed by discussions on the situation of women the world over.

LUXEMBOURG
Organizations in Luxembourg (women’s groups and free unions) will take part in the 24 hours of feminist solidarity through an action to raise public awareness and another directed at politicians.

MOZAMBIQUE
The women of Mozambique will organize study days on women’s human rights. These activities will be held simultaneously in schools in the city of Maputo.

Similar study sessions will be held at Eduardo Mondlane University, the country’s main postsecondary institution.

SPAIN
In Catalonia, women’s groups will celebrate the day in each town. In Barcelona, cloth panels with quotes from the Women’s Global Charter for Humanity will be hung in the square where the buildings of the government of Catalonia are located. A manifesto will be read and then women will gather for a rally in the afternoon.

Women teachers are planning special activities in schools in Valladolid between noon and 1:00 p.m. They will set up tables in markets and distribute the Charter, pamphlets, lilac-coloured ribbons, music, etc.

SWEDEN
In Göteborg on October 17th there will be a gathering in town with singing sisters and they will possibly put small lights along the canal, as they used to do on every August 6th. There will also possibly be actions in Stockholm. The Göteborg Social Forum will be held on the weekend of October 7-9 and the World March of Women will be participating with a presentation (song, music, speech) for peace and emancipation. The World March will also be present at a large book fair that will be held the weekend before.

SWITZERLAND
Actions in Switzerland will be decentralized. In Geneva, a rally will be held in Square de Plainpalais, with songs and speeches under the slogan “Women Call for a World without Poverty or Violence.”

An action will be staged at the train station in Fribourg. Women will invite passers-by to share a snack of a bowl of squash soup with them while talking to them about the kinds of discrimination women encounter in Switzerland and about women’s long struggle. There will be a photo exhibit, T-shirts, flyers will be handed out, etc.

ELEVENTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – EUROPE AND AFRICA (Greenwich +1)

CHAD
In Chad, women are preparing a march, which will be followed by a discussion on the UN Millennium Development Goals. At noon they will ask women to stop all activity in markets and offices and make a racket to have people understand that women play an important role in development and want to be actively and effectively involved in programs and projects.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
A conference is planned for October 17 in Kinshasa on women’s real control over their lives and respect for the rights of Congolese women. In particular, the activity will stress solidarity with young homeless mothers, to encourage them to take charge of their lives. Three hundred women are expected.

Other activities will be held in the DRC, in solidarity with women who have been raped and victims of war crimes in the country.

GALICIA
All over Galicia, women will organize actions for the 24 hours. In Vigo, for example, women will go through the city symbolically, carrying the Galician patchwork quilt of solidarity and globes bearing slogans on the Charter values. Then they will hang their banner from the balcony of the House of Culture, in Constitution Square. Other activities, such as a video show about the March, will follow.

In Ferrol, activities will be held in schools, including a rally and a creative exhibition involving circus elements. Public actions and media events are also planned in Pontevedra, Corunha, Arteixo and Carballo.

A group of women from the Canary Islands, who joined Galician women to receive the Relay, will also organize an action.

NIGER
Planned for October 17 is a trip to a place in the region of Dosso, 139 kilometres from Niamey, to meet with rural women and talk about poverty, violence against women and the culture of peace. A gesture of solidarity will be made for the malnourished children of Dosso, given the food crisis gripping Niger. During WMW participants’ various demonstrations, a call to help these children will be made.

PORTUGAL
The World March of Women Portuguese coordinating body will publish the fourth issue of its magazine on women’s human rights, called ART. ♀. The theme is “Women’s Solidarity, Local and Global”. The aim of the magazine, staffed by women exclusively, is not only to produce different kinds of information but also to raise women’s visibility and highlight their contributions to peace, justice, solidarity, equality and freedom.

TWELFTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – AFRICA

BURKINA FASO
Women from every continent are going to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to greet the Relay on October 17. On the day before, they will take part in the official reception of the Charter, which will be followed in the evening by a cultural sharing event. At noon on October 17, women from around the world will march in the streets of Ouagadougou to the site of the final activity, which will be the dedication of a WMW "Peace Square." The Charter will be presented to an official of the Government of Burkina Faso.

Also, on October 17, we want to mark the arrival of the Women's Global Charter for Humanity in Africa with a expression of our solidarity with African women. As a concrete expression of our solidarity, we plan to give a young Burkinan women a scholarship for journalism school. For us, this is a way to underline the role the media could play in women's emancipation if more young women were news makers and producers.

GHANA
In Ghana women in the informal sector will hoist flag-lets with the theme of PEACE in their headgears, fish mongers on the beach will in addition blow whistles as they shake hands and wish each other peace, religious based groups will hold an hour-long inter-faith prayer for national and world peace, women in offices will hand out leaflets on peace and a group will visit the female prisons to spend the hour with the inmates and distribute toiletries to them.

IVOIRY COAST
The pan-African organization of young women for peace (MOPAJEF) is planning large women's gatherings in Abidjan and in the country's interior (Sikensi) to demand a return to peacetime and the eradication of poverty and war in Africa. The women in this organization are organizing a telethon to raise funds for the education of two young girls who were orphaned by war.

Between noon and 1 p.m. they will light thousands of candles. Also, the Forum national de lutte contre la dette et la pauvreté ("National Forum Against the Debt and Poverty") is in the process of setting up a WMW coordinating body with other participating groups in the country (a meeting has been scheduled, followed by a media scrum and a large-scale action).

MALI
Women in Mali are asking all women to come out and make as much noise as they can as they head to a meeting point that has yet to be determined. There are two possible locations for the rallying point: one, on the left bank, and the other on the right bank of the Niger river. They have planned to present a play on October 17, in Mali.

SENEGAL
Women in Senegal are planning a one-hour march wearing white armbands. They will march to the RTS (Radio-Télévision Sénégalaise) to transmit their message to the media and government officials.

TOGO
For the Togolese action, all World March participants are invited to wear a white scarf bearing the Togolese March logo between noon and 1 p.m.

THIRTEENTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – THE AMERICAS

ARGENTINA
The women of Argentina will close off an avenue close to the Plaza de Mayo, at the intersections, and distribute the Charter along with banners and leaflets explaining the March. They will also distribute these materials in all the lead-up activities.

BRAZIL
In 14 states of Brazil, the women of the March will be in the streets between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. to hold activities and actions around the central issue of a minimum wage increase. In Maranhão, a song will be presented that tells of the arrival of the Charter in Africa and a seminar will be held on freedom, with emphasis on the right to abortion. In Paraiba, a broadcast of a cultural activity is planned along with a petition for which housewives will collect signatures. The minimum wage and violence against women are subjects that will also be addressed. In Pará, during a march and a public rally, a Batucada (percussion group) will start to play at noon and lilac-coloured balloons will be released. Rio Grande do Norte will be the scene of workshops, a crafts fair, the making of a banner of feminist solidarity in a public square, which will be broadcast. Other actions are planned in public squares in Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul.

CANADA (Nova Scotia)
In Antigonish, Nova Scotia, events will be taking place on October 16th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm (an evening of celebration and information-sharing) and October 17th from noon to1:00 pm (a gathering will take place in front of the Antigonish Town Hall).

SURINAME
The United Nations Association (UNA) of Suriname will be holding a 5 km march in Paramaribo and will be holding a 5 km march in Paramaribo and will invite all women’s organisations to participate in the event.

FOURTEENTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – THE AMERICAS

BOLIVIA
The national coordinating body, in collaboration with the department committees, is planning a day of actions with main ceremonies being held in the city of Tarija, where delegations from different departments will converge. These delegations and women’s groups from the city will rally and meet with Tarija municipal officials. A press conference will be held on progress made by women and commitments to carry out programs for women. A cultural festival for “the eradication of poverty and corruption” is also being organized.

CANADA (Ontario)
The Daring Hope for Gender Justice Network of the United Church of Canada (Hamilton Conference) will organize a Solidarity Lunch. “Marking our Time in the 24 Hours of World Solidarity. As we follow the sun’s path, we are determined to follow our dreams and build a world of equality.”

CUBA
In Cuba, women will broadcast a message on the TV channels at noon to say that, at this moment, they are linked to women the world over in this action. They will also hold meetings in workplaces employing many women and read out the values of the Charter. The Guidance Houses for Women and Families will host activities where the values of the Charter and women’s struggles will be highlighted, and a replica of the patchwork quilt will be displayed.

QUÉBEC
Diverse actions, in the form of rallies, vigils, popular education activities, talks, lunch meetings, celebrations and artistic events in the schools, etc., are being planned throughout Québec. Al the actions will share a common component—a reading of the Preamble to the Charter and another shared text and a call to women to wear the colour orange indicating their support for the WMW demands. Women will demand answers from the government with regards to the five Québec demands (a comprehensive status of women policy; protection of women sex trafficking victims; assistance to cover essential needs of people on welfare and people living on educational bursaries and loans; equal treatment for workers with atypical status (self-employed, etc.) and a broad-based awareness-raising and education campaign on violence against women).

FIFTEENTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – THE AMERICAS

COLOMBIA
The women of Cucuta will hold a meeting on October 8 to make known the Charter to women who aren’t familiar with it. After that, they will organize an “invasion” of local radio stations to broadcast messages denouncing the violation of their rights. On October 20, they will stage a sit-in the city’s main park; there they will denounce everything that is harmful to them and that they are afraid to talk about. There will be cultural activities at the same time. The sit-in slogan is “Let the pressure cooker blow,” that is, that day we women will let loose with our denunciations and raise our voices for peace.

ECUADOR
On October 17, varied activities will be held in different parts of the country. In Guayaquil, a boat covered in posters extolling the five values and full of women will sail along the Estero Salado estuary. At the same time, on land, another group will gather for a rally. In Loja, actions against poverty will be staged with women from the city and from the Indigenous communities of Saraguro. Organizations in Paltas and Espíndola will light white candles. In Otavalo, an Indigenous zone in the Sierra, there will be protests against the privatization of water; similar protests will be held simultaneously in the city and communities. In Cayambe, women from rural areas will stage actions, and in Tulcán, on the country’s northern border, the theme of the mobilization will be solidarity with Colombian women displaced by the armed conflict. In Quito, the capital, the mobilization will focus on opposition to the free trade accords and the multinationals.

HAÏTI
In Haiti, women will distribute copies of the Charter in Creole in schools, at the University and among peasant women’s groups in the provinces. October 17 is also a national holiday in Haiti, the commemoration of the death of Dessaline, the founder of the country. Défilée, an important woman in Haiti’s history, dared to recover Dessaline’s remains after he was killed in an ambush. On the occasion of the 24 hours of solidarity, the women of the WMW will therefore stage a huge, highly visible action during the big national parade.

MEXICO
In each state of Mexico, women will release between 100 and 200 balloons with the WMW logo printed on them and a message taken from the five values in the Global Charter. The message will be taken to public squares, markets, universities, entrances to subway stations, local bus stops and other places where many people gather. The public will be asked to sign a paper to support the Big Noise Campaign for Trade with Justice after the campaign’s objectives are explained. In Mexico City, women will gather in the main square of El Zócalo. This activity will take place in many towns and municipalities in the state of Jalisco as well. In Chiapas, 100 women will gather in the square of San Cristóbal de las Casas.

PANAMA
During the 2nd Meso-American Meeting in Panama, the Alliance of the Women’s Movement of Panama, with the participation of the Women’s Coordinating Body of Popular Organizations, is convening a conference called “Weaving Our Dreams Together,” with a discussion of the World March of Women’s Charter.

PERU
The WMW in Peru will convene the organizations making up the March in Lima, as well as the Call for Action against Poverty, to participate in a cultural event. We will demand the elimination of poverty and violence against women, and develop a position on the MDG, on the free trade agreement with the United States, and their effects on women’s lives. At the cultural event there will be a passacaglia and a musical band, and figures of women holding women’s demands and proposals. The women will prepare a critical statement about the Millennium Summit. The March Regional Committees in Arequipa, Cusco, Piura and Lambayeque have promised to organize activities on that day as well.

SIXTEENTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – THE AMERICAS

CANADA (Alberta)
The YWCA in Lethbridge and District, in partnership with the University of Lethbridge Campus Women’s Centre will be hosting “Peace Talks” at noon. Also, the Westlock Human Rights Education and Awareness Foundation (WHREAF) will be holding an event.

NICARAGUA

The members of the Nicaraguan Women Physicians Foundation are holding their annual congress and will take part in the WMW actions for the 24 hours. They will join in a meeting at this event.

SEVENTEENTH WAVE OF ACTIONS – THE AMERICAS (Greenwich -7)

Canada (British Columbia, Yukon)
The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centers (CASAC) will be organizing an action at noon on Oct 17th at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “Women's Perspectives on Poverty: Photos and Stories by Women on Low-Income” will be in the Yukon from October 11-18. On October 17th it will be at the Yukon College foyer for a lunch time event and then an interactive evening event will be held. These activities are being organized by the Yukon Ant-Poverty Coalition, the Yukon Status of Women Council, Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, the Yukon Territorial Women's Directorate and others.

YOUR HOUR OF SOLIDARITY INSTANTLY VISIBLE

SEND A SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO FEMINISTS EVERYWHERE!

Between October 15 and 17, you can send a message of solidarity to the feminists of the world, and particularly to African women, from our Web site. It couldn’t be simpler. Go to the home page of our special section 2005 and click on Solidarity Notebook. (Another way is to follow the link: “Send a message of solidarity to feminists everywhere.”) Once there, all you have to do is type the subject of the message, your name, the message, and click on “Send.” Your message will appear immediately on our Web page!

PROMOTION MATERIAL

You can download from our Web site stickers, in one or four colours, which will be useful for your demonstrations. A high-definition version of the March logo is also on the site as are files from which you can print the 24 hours pamphlet. Go to the following address: http://www.marchemondiale.org/en/logos.html

SCHOLARSHIP FOR YOUNG BURKINAN WOMAN

Don’t forget to send your contribution for the scholarship that the March will award to a young woman from Burkina Faso wanting to begin studies in journalism. This is a concrete way of expressing our solidarity with the women of Africa. We also want to point to the role the press can play in the emancipation of women if more young women become actors and producers of information.

The scholarship we wish to confer is worth 5 000 euros ($US 6000). This represents four years of undergraduate study at the University of Ouagadougou in addition to related expenses: books, room and board, and travel. Some national coordinating bodies decided to ask the journalist unions in their countries for a contribution.

In practical terms, tell us the amount you will commit to giving. You may bring the money with you if you are coming to Burkina Faso or you may give it to your national coordinating body delegate if she is coming. Otherwise, send us a cheque or money order payable to the World March of Women (in US dollars or in euros) and write on it “Scholarship.” The International Committee and the Burkina Faso coordinating body will be responsible for attributing the scholarship.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI, TEN YEARS OF HOUSE SURVEILLANCE

Do you remember? It was March 8, 2000. We launched the World March of Women that day, and the image of Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi came to us via interposed video to express her support. She was under house surveillance. This year we wanted to contact Ms. Suu Kyi again to associate her with the end of the Relay of the Women’s Global Charter for Humanity. The answer from those who follow her situation closely: no one, with the exception of her doctor, may have contact with her. She is incommunicado, cut off from the world. In November 2005, she will have spent a total of ten years under house surveillance. They haven’t been ten consecutive years since during brief periods the authorities have allowed her to leave her house and even to engage in a few political activities. Nonetheless, they have been ten years of isolation, where she has been cut off from her family, friends and supporters.

Ms. Suu Kyi has headed the National League for Democracy (NLD) since 1998, when the military imposed martial law on the country. Despite the threats, arrests and killings that ensued, the League called for a democratic government. Ms. Suu Kyi was arrested at that time. Even so, in 1990, her party won the elections, but the military refused to hand over power. The repression has not stopped since then. Ms. Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She has waged a tireless, courageous fight against the regime, that continues to be as authoritarian as before and that she urges the whole world to boycott.

For more information: the Women’s League of Burma http://www.womenofburma.org/ oR Democratic Voice of Burma, http://www.dvb.no/talk/sanctions.html

Collaborators

Thanks to the women who collaborated on this issue of the Newsletter: Élise Boyer (translation into English), Michelle Briand (translation into French), Nancy Burrows (International Secretariat), Nicole Kennedy (translation into English), Diane Matte (International Secretariat), Magaly Sala-Skup (translation into French and Spanish), Alionka Skup (translation into Spanish), Brigitte Verdière (International Secretariat). And special thanks to all the women of the World March who sent us news about their October 17 activities!