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WORLD MARCH OF WOMEN NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 3 – OCTOBER 2009

Index

1. Editorial    1
2. Plans for the 2010 International Action are already well on their way...     2
3. Honduras Special: Resisting the coup and demanding a Constituent Assembly    3
4. II WMW Americas Meeting: Gaining strength, Consolidation and Solidarity    6
5. The repression of Turkish trade unionists continues    8
6. Consolidation of the WMW’s newest NCB, Sri Lanka    9
7. The WMW Philippines demonstrates its solidarity with the sisters and brothers of Burma    10
8. Agenda / Next Edition    11
9. Contact Us    11


1. Editorial
 
Dear sisters,

At the International Meeting in Lima in July 2006 we posed ourselves the challenge to organise ourselves as a movement to be reckoned with. This means having the strength to influence the increasingly complex political, economic, and social context of our world and our countries, and also to change it. This is what we are striving for as we prepare for the 2010 International Action and allow ourselves to dream, plan, and build actions that may seem daring to others.

But we know that it is possible. We are translating our Action Areas into a daily agenda.  Our presence is felt as feminists in anti-globalization movement activities, in places as diverse as the Kurdish territory and Zimbabwe. In October, for example, we will join forces with demonstrations planned in defense of Mother Earth and against the commercialization of nature. In November, we will carry out debates and demonstrations to denounce violence against women, especially on the 25th November when we remember the assassination of the Mirabel sisters by the military dictatorship of the Dominican Republic. In December, we will be participating in the Klimaforum and demonstrations to denounce the false solutions to climate change, above all in Copenhagen.  

In addition, during this period, we will dedicate time and reflection to the process of evaluating the work of the World March of Women from 2007 to 2009. We are halfway through our term as the International Secretariat in Brazil, and are on the eve of our 3rd International Action. We must pause and reflect on what we have learnt in order to define our strategic plans for the period that lies ahead.  

Nurturing ourselves with poetry, we end with a verse written by our WMW sister in Chile, Mafalda Galdamez: “The time is not far off when the voices of protest will join together to form multitudes.”
 

2. Plans for the 2010 International Action are already well on their way...

In all five regions of the world where the WMW is present – Africa, the Americas, Asia / Oceania, Europe and the Middle East / Arab World –, National Coordinating Bodies (NCBs) are coming together, planning, and preparing themselves politically, logistically and financially for our 3rd International Action.

Activities will be taking place throughout the period from the launch of the International Action on International Women’s Day (8th March) to its end on the International Day for the Elimination of Poverty (17th October), during which we will be “re”united as sisters across the world, mobilising and focusing our activities and demands around our four Action Areas: Peace and demilitarisation, the Common good and public services, Violence against women and Women’s work (Women’s economic autonomy). The idea being that each NCB chooses the Action Area(s) and specific questions within each Action Area that best relate to their national realities and struggles, while also making the most of this opportunity to raise awareness of the connections between these questions, the connections between local oppressions / repressions and the global patriarchal and capitalist systems, and the connections between us all as women from different backgrounds around the world.

As you are already aware, our 3rd International Action will be organised around two prominent moments:
- The 8th – 18th March, with simultaneous national marches and mobilisations of different types, forms, colours, and rhythms that will also mark the 100-year anniversary of the Declaration of International Women’s Day by delegates of the 2nd International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen in 1910;
- Simultaneous marches and actions during the 7th – 17th October period, with an international mobilisation in Sud Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as a way to strengthen women’s protagonism in the resolution of conflicts.   

We, WMW activists, never let an International Women’s Day go by without mobilising and making our presence seen and heard on the streets where we live, and as the launch date of our International Action approaches, our plans for 2010 are already well on their way, 6 months in advance! NCBs are preparing national mobilisations* that bring together women from different provinces and towns in Bangladesh, Belgium (Brussels), England (London), Quebec (Montreal), Switzerland (Bern) and the Philippines (in 12 centres of the archipelago, under the slogan “Women’s March against Violence: Militarisation, Sexism and the WTO Retreat!”) While other events – workshops, talks, cultural and sporting activities – to mark the launch of our International Action are being planned in Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou) and Mozambique (simultaneously around the country).

In addition, there are those NCBs who are preparing themselves for marches and mobilisations during the whole 8th – 18th March period or on several days during that period. In Kenya, activities beginning on the 8th and ending on the 18th will include a road show, cultural events, a conference, marches, a vigil and community visits. In Brazil (as reported in the July edition of this newsletter), up to 3000 sisters from the WMW and allied movements will march for 10 days from one city to the capital of São Paulo state, while in Sri Lanka several organisations, including the WMW, will walk from one village / town to the next on a number of days between the 8th and 18th March, in a peace walk to promote violence-free communities for women and children.

We know of many other countries in which WMW sisters are preparing mobilisations and / or other activities for the launch of our 3rd International Action, or during the 8th – 18th March period. They include the Basque Country, Bolivia, Chile, El Salvador, France, Galicia, Guatemala, Mali, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey and Western Sahara. Those NCBs or Participating Groups who have not yet shared their planned activities for 2010 with their International Committee regional representatives and the International Secretariat, please send them to us urgently.

The other prominent moment in 2010 is the 7th – 17th October period, during which NCBs such as Quebec (as reported in the July edition of this newsletter) are planning their marches, due to weather restrictions in March. As well as national activities, an international mobilisation – being organised by the WMW in the country, with support at an international level – will also take place in South Kivu, DRC, from approximately the 14th – 17th October. A region that has suffered extreme conflict for many years, as well as being the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman due to the massive levels of violence (see December 2008 edition of this newsletter), national and African sisters – as well as an international delegation – will come together in the struggle for peace and demilitarisation as well as the strengthening of women’s protagonism in bringing an end to the conflict, in the construction of an active peace, and in the physical, social and political reconstruction of the region. Through our presence, we will demonstrate the strength of collectively organised women and express our solidarity with our sisters in this and other countries and regions in conflict.


*NB: although the date of International Women’s Day is the 8th March, in 2010 it falls on a Monday – a difficult day to mobilise and be visible – and therefore some NCBs have chosen to organise their activities either beforehand or afterwards.  


3. Honduras Special: Resisting the coup and demanding a Constituent Assembly

Repression and persecution of people who speak out openly against the dictatorial government.  “We have an empowered de facto government that owns the country more than ever, making arbitrary decisions and calling on people to discriminate against those of us who are resisting”, tells Lidice Ortega from the Honduran Centre for Women’s Studies and the Feminists in Resistance (Feministas en Resistencia) collective that is part of the National Resistance Front to the Coup.  

At the time of the meeting of the Americas, 46 days had already passed since the coup, days of heroic resistance. The Front demands a clear position from the international solidarity movement, particularly in the European Union and the United States – Honduras’ most important economic partners – to blockade those who have carried out the coup and to oppose new elections that aim to legitimise those who are committing grave human rights violations.

At the meeting, Lidice, who is a member of the WMW in Honduras, described the situation the people are living through since the coup on the 28th June when the military removed the constitutionally elected president Manuel Zelaya and installed the businessman and president of the National Assembly, Roberto Micheletti, in his place. The coup had been planned by a group composed of the military, businessmen, political parties, and churches.  

Since then, ongoing peaceful protests such as marches, roadblocks, strikes, and vigils in front of strategic buildings such as the UN, the OAS (Organisation of American States) and various governmental institutions, have been used by the resistance to denounce the instigators of the coup. All manifestations have been violently repressed by the army and the police. At the same time, those who carried out the coup are organising pro-coup manifestations in the streets, dressed in white, and are obliging or paying workers to participate.  

Coup supporters control almost all the media, enabling them to generate broader terrorism against the resistance. “Those involved in the coup are calling on people to remain silent, not to give their opinions, telling them to forget about it, that it is a question that has already been resolved, that things are as they are. And that it is better not to say anything, because those in the resistance are very violent and attempting to kill people who have opinions different to their own”, says Lidice. She adds that the media strategy polarises the country and that there are no options for speaking out through the media. There is persecution of leaders and those media that have given voice to the movements opposed to the coup. “They are killing so many people, people are disappearing, and that is why we worry about the strength of the de facto government”.

Lidice warns that the San José Agreement, brokered by the United States and mediated by Costa Rica, is not a solution to the coup: “We don’t believe in this. We are completely opposed to it. In a way, they are asking Zelaya to renounce the National Constituent Assembly. They are asking him to forge a deal between the coup government and his own cabinet, which is impossible. It is not possible to leave anyone who was named by the de facto government in place; they are part of an illegal government that they have put in place by force”.  

For this reason, the Honduran resistance is requesting drastic measures from organisations such as the OAS, the UN, the UNDP (UN Development Programme), and all international human rights organisations: “At this moment, they are saying that there is a blockade, that there is no support for Honduras, but we know that they have installed people supporting the electoral process. There is still a lot of money being received from them to organise elections; elections that no one knows in which framework they will take place. Half-measures are unacceptable at this point. Half-measures only serve to strengthen the coup leaders”.  Lidice emphasised that “at this point, it is not known whether Zelaya will return or not. At this point, the scenarios are still uncertain, and we are so afraid, because at some given moment they will not think twice about repressing people, because the people in this country are already in total conflict; differences of opinion exist even within families”.

Many participants in the meeting reported that the media in their countries have simply ignored the State coup in Honduras, or discredited Zelaya and the resistance by treating the coup as a “crisis”, guaranteeing the dissemination of justifications for the coup (which have already been responded to in practice by lawyers and activists of the national and international movement), hiding the protests against the coup, and giving visibility to those who support it, and finally, pressing for “dialogue” as outlined in the San José Accord.  This demonstrates that the coup strategy reaches across national borders.  

Lidice finished by saying, “We are calling on everyone to show solidarity with the resistance in Honduras, because this time it is us, and it is the country of Honduras, that have suffered a military coup, but we do not know if another coup is being planned elsewhere, and above all, we do not know if we are prepared to resist it. So this is a good exercise in resistance and good preparation for what lies ahead, which is a toughening of the political right”.

The Significance of the coup
In the discussion during the Meeting, it was pointed out that the coup goes against an entire political process of change - with its conflicts and contradictions, deeper in some countries than in others – that has been occurring in the south of the continent and that has reached Central America. In Guatemala and Honduras, governments that are considered moderate have shown interest in participating in these change processes, more specifically in the Bolivian Alternative of the Americas (Alternativa Bolivariana de las Américas - ALBA). This is also the case with El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Such change processes demonstrate a possible way forward for defeating the neoliberal model. Zelaya’s government cannot be considered left-wing, but has nonetheless promoted public policies in support of the people, including increases in the minimum wage (from 3000 to 5000 lempiras), the guarantee of free schooling for girls and boys, school lunches, assistance plans for the poor, and has also stopped the process of privatisation of public assets, such as electrical energy, bridges, and the health care system.  

Zelaya also began a process of taking back control of the police and the army, structures that have historical links with drug trafficking and support of military dictatorships in the region (with the organisation of armed groups that acted to destabilise processes in countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua). His strongest action was to promote a consultation that was to take place on the 28th June, a process that would have encouraged citizen and social participation of the population in political decisions. It would have represented the beginning of a more aggressive process of change in the face of oligarchic powers.  

The coup is also seen as a warning to government leaders in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and particularly in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, demonstrating how market interests prevail over governments, even when the latter have been endorsed by voters. It points to possible reactions to any initiative to block markets and distance countries from their traditional subordination to U.S. policies.  For example, the ALBA accord included an agreement to purchase medications from Cuba, which would significantly lower dependence on multinational pharmaceutical monopolies (which operate in all Central American countries) and, consequently, reduce their sales.  The same would happen with foodstuffs and other products. There are also obvious economic interests with respect to control of oil reserves in the region.

The resistance and sharing of information continues
The National Front against the coup continues to gather strength with the support of social movements and people from around the world. An International Meeting in Solidarity with Honduras is being planned for the beginning of October.  

The World March of Women denounced the coup immediately after it occurred (see http://www.marchemondiale.org/news/mmfnewsitem.2009-06-29.1868521814/en?set_language=en&cl=en). We have promoted the organisation of acts of protest against the coup in various countries and have sent delegates (one from Brazil and another from Mexico) to the International Mission for Solidarity, Accompaniment, and Observation in Honduras. We organised a demonstration at the end of the Americas Meeting (see http://www.movimientos.org/mujeres/encuentroamericas/show_text.php3?key=15323).  

It is important that we continue to mobilise and take advantage of all possible opportunities to unmask the interests behind the coup leaders’ discourses and strengthen the Honduran resistance, supported by daily coverage provided by alternative media in Latin America.  

Recommended reading:  
América Latina en Movimiento – ¿Golpe de Estado en Honduras? Laboratorio de dictaduras siglo XXI? – various articles are available (in Spanish) at http://alainet.org/publica/447.phtml. The complete interview with Lidice Ortega was published in this magazine and is available (also in Spanish only) at http://www.marchemondiale.org/structure/cn-groupes/ameriques/honduras/golpe092806/entrevista-LO/es.  
ALAI -
http://alainet.org/active/view_docs.php3?serializado=1&pos=0&idioma=eng&OrderBy=dinfo_key&overview=paises&sub=Honduras (many articles are in Spanish, but there are also lots in English).  


4. II Americas Meeting¹: Strengthening, Consolidation, and Solidarity

Our second Meeting of the Americas region was held from the 10th – 12th August 2009, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with the participation of 65 women from 16 countries of the continent:  Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, the United States, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Quebec, and Uruguay.  Participants included a mixture of delegates, invited guests from allied groups, observers, interpreters, and supporters.   

Sisters from Bolivia and the International Secretariat made a great effort to mobilise the necessary resources for the meeting. A special acknowledgement was given to them and also to the volunteer interpreters who, through their work, made dialogue amongst participants possible. We must also recognise the special efforts made by the National Coordinating Bodies (NCBs) and supporting organisations in raising funds for travel costs so that we could comply with the decision made at the meeting of the Americas region during the VII International Meeting (in Galicia in 2008), to carry out the 2009 regional meeting in Bolivia.

Following a small opening ceremony, the first day of the Meeting began with a debate around the current political-economic-social situation in the region. The objective of the debate was to provide information to contribute to thinking regarding how the 2010 International Action might influence the current situation in the continent. The discussion was organised around two initial presentations: one by Lidice Ortega (Honduras) about the State coup carried out by the Honduran elite with the aid of the military; and the other by Nalu Farias (Brazil) about the possibilities for confronting the crisis of the capitalist and patriarchal model of development in a region characterised by relatively progressive governments (mainly South America) and initiatives for integration. Within this scenario, the WMW is faced with the challenge of deepening our feminist vision and strengthening our proposals for the changes that we are promoting.

In the afternoon, participants worked in groups to discuss what common actions to organise in the Americas region with respect to the demands outlined in the Action Area texts, the debate around the current situation, the ongoing struggles in each country related to these themes, and communication as a transversal axis. Each Working Group elaborated a synthesis of the prominent ideas that they discussed:

Women’s Work (Women’s Economic Autonomy):  make visible all the types of work done by women; women’s right to work with dignity; payment for and division of the wealth created by women; sharing of domestic work and care-giving with men.   

Common goods and public services:  defence of common goods, water, the earth, biodiversity, and the air; universal access to good quality public services, above all health care and education; re-structuring of the model so that it places the sustainability of human life at its centre and takes into account reproduction; the struggle for food sovereignty.  

Violence against women:  work on prevention of violence against women; legal framework to combat violence within the judicial system; a WMW declaration for the 25th November; how to work with men so that they refuse to accept any form of violence against women; legalization of abortion; solidarity with Haiti.  

Peace and demilitarisation: analysis of the utilisation of U.N. Resolution 1325; meeting and working with women who live in conflict zones; work on the idea of peace with justice, economic autonomy, food sovereignty, etc.  

The second day of the meeting was mostly dedicated to discussing the 2010 International Action. Following a general presentation, each country reported on their plans and / or efforts for constructing activities within the framework of the International Action. We noted that the NCBs do not have the same level of definition regarding concrete activities that they plan to carry out. Some are in the stage of defining what they plan to do, such as Guatemala and El Salvador; others are initiating this discussion now and have not reached consensus on what type of action to carry out at a national level; and a few already have concrete plans at the national level, such as Brazil and Quebec. National-level activities are moments of mobilisation, and contribute to increasing the visibility of the WMW and building it as a movement.  

As part of the International Action at a continental level, three proposals were debated:
1.    Joining together with the Women’s Social Movement Initiative against War and for Peace in Colombia – a meeting of women in August 2010, in Colombia.  
2.    Joint actions in each of our countries to demand the removal of troops participating in the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
3.    Using every opportunity to discuss integration from a women’s perspective.  In particular, during the next Social Forum of the Americas planned to be held in Asuncion, Paraguay, in 2010, and organising a dialogue with presidents to present our demands.

In the second part of the afternoon, we carried out a debate beginning with the presentation of the WMW’s alliances policy during which representatives of the allied groups who had been invited to the meeting were asked to speak, allowing us to learn from them and share experiences and ideas. The fundamental principle of the alliances policy is our action to change the world and, at the same time, the lives of women, which implies the construction of efforts, analyses, and proposals in different fields and themes. The construction of alliances challenges us to broaden the political content of our struggles and demands; it also motivates allied movements to take up the WMW’s demands and proposals for alternatives.

The morning of the last day of the meeting, we concentrated our energies on forming a continental Working Group (WG) to coordinate the steps to be taken and information needed regarding the 2010 International Action in the Americas. Delegates from each country met together to elect a sister from each sub-region to the WG: northern sub-region, Emilia Castro from Québec; Central American sub-region, Sandra Moran from Guatemala; Andean sub-region, Albina Mendoza from Bolivia; Caribbean sub-region, Marie Frantz Joachim; Southern cone sub-region, Nalu Faria from Brazil. To complete the morning’s work, we took a first collective look at the general agenda of mobilisations, meetings, and events for 2009-1010, highlighting some as priorities for mobilisation for the 2010 International Action. We also expressed our solidarity with our sisters in Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, and Turkey.   

In addition to the work of the international participants in the plenary sessions and in WGs at the Americas Meeting, parallel activities included a public debate held with our Bolivian sisters the morning of the 12th August in the centre of Cochabamba. In the afternoon, we all joined together for an attractive, popular, and noisy demonstration of women in the streets of the city, rallying around the slogan “We are all Honduras!”’
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[¹] The first WMW Americas Meeting took place in Havana, Cuba, in 2004, and therefore this meeting in Cochabamba was the second of the WMW in the region. However, it is the first held since the International Meeting in Galicia in 2008.


5. The repression of Turkish trade unionists continues

In the July edition of our international newsletter, and via emails to NCBs in June and July, we have been keeping you informed of the repression being suffered by social and trade union movements in Turkey, as demonstrated by the illegal arrest and imprisonment of their activists. 22 activists (the majority trade unionists) remain in prison, 4 of whom are World March of Women members: Elif Akgul, former women’s secretary of the Teachers Union, and Yuskel Mutlu, retired teacher and member of the Human Rights Association and the Turkish Peace Assembly; Songul Morsumbul, women’s secretary of KESK (Confederation of Public Employees Trade unions of Turkey) and Gulcin Isbert, member of Egitim-Sen, the Teachers Union.

The indictment^[2] of 31 activists (22 in still in prison + 9 who were originally arrested and then released) was declared on the 8th August, but the first trial will only take place on the 19th and 20th November in the 10th Heavy Penalty Court in Izmir, a full 6 months after their original arrest on the 28th May. The length of time between arrests, declaration of indictment, and first trial is a violation of legal procedure and a clear indication of the Turkish’s government attempt to avoid international observation during the trial (due to the fact that the trial should have been held in September and that various organisations had planned to be present at this time).

Both the International Labour Organisation and the European Trade Union Confederation have expressed grave concern about the repression of trade union and other movements in Turkey, and of the activists who have been indicted, and are planning to send a mission to observe the trial in November. KESK, the Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions of Turkey, has also invited social and trade union movements around the world to observe the trial process in Izmir in November, and one or two international WMW activists will be present (as well as Turkish WMW members) in solidarity with our sisters and brothers.

We denounce the repression and criminalisation of Turkish social and trade union movements by the Turkish government. We demand the immediate withdrawal of the indictment against these 31 activists, and the immediate release of the 22 women and men still in prison. We call on WMW sisters and our allies to send postcards or letters to the 4 WMW sisters in prison: they have been allowed very few visitors and need to feel our solidarity. Please send your postcards or letters to:

Elif Akgul and/or Yuksel Mutlu and/or Gulcin Isbert and/or Songul Morsumbul
Bergama M Tipi Kapali Cezaevi
Izmir
Turkey

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^[2]Formal accusation that a person has committed a criminal offense
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6. Consolidation of the WMW’s newest NCB

With the objective of consolidating the WMW’s newest NCB, sisters from grassroots organisations met on the 29th and 30th June in Thalahena Negombo, 35 km far from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. The women participants present belong to 18 local organisations representing fisher women and men, local communities and organised women groups (such as the United Women’s Organisation and the Housewives Organisation). The meeting took place in Sinhala and English, with one of the participants helping with interpretation.

After the opening ceremony and an introduction of participants, the 2-day meeting began with a discussion of the position of women in Sri Lankan society. Participants shared with each other examples of the repression they suffer on a daily basis: they don’t have permission from their husbands to leave the house late at night or to attend social gatherings; they are responsible for house work and other jobs during the day and if they have to work at night a male member of the family has to pick them up from her place of work, under the threat of physical violence if they don’t obey this order. The sisters at the meeting explained that they wished to join a women’s organisation in order to struggle for freedom from these restrictions and for the respect of their rights in Sri Lankan society. They would like to acquire more knowledge about women’s issues in order to be able to express their grievances, more easily mobilise other women to join with them in the struggle for rights, obtain better access to government services and to help solve court and police problems.

During the second day of the meeting, the discussion was based around the objectives and functioning of the WMW, our four Action Areas and the 2010 International Action. This information was very well received by participants (although the material they received needs to be translated into Sinhala, as English is not widely understood, see below), they are keen to be part of the International Action and would like to work with other South Asian NCBs. A national coordinator (Prema Gamege who used to work for Oxfam) and co-coordinator (Niranjala Fernando from the Fisheries Development Solidarity Centre) were elected and have committed themselves to contacting other organisations who are working on women’s issues and to organise a meeting to discuss a WMW Sri Lanka action plan with them, as well as contacting coastal area organisations and mobilising them for the 2010 International Action.

Thanks to Niranjala and Prema who made a huge effort to arrange this 2-day meeting with a very inclusive, friendly atmosphere, and to the participants who participated attentively and actively in the meeting. Thanks also to Father Leo Prela who took part in the meeting and encouraged women to struggle for their rights. And finally, many thanks to sisters Prema and Laticia who committed themselves to translating WMW materials from English to Sinhala and to distribute this new material among participants.


7. The WMW Philippines demonstrates its solidarity with the sisters and brothers of Burma

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma was recently sentenced anew to 13 months of house arrest by the military junta.  Prior to her sentencing, members of the World March of Women in the Philippines, led by the Coalition against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific (CATW-AP), Alliance of Progressive Labour – Women (APL-Women) and Bagong Kamalayan Prostitution Survivors Collective, held rallies together with members of the Free Burma Coalition to clamour for justice.

On the 31st July and 11th August 2009, these solidarity activists organised a rally in front of the Burmese Embassy in Manila, demanding the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all the more than 2000 political prisoners still languishing in prison. This number includes 220 monks and nuns who participated in the peaceful demonstrations of September 2007. At the time of writing, thousands of Burmese ethnic people are fleeing the military operations in their country. Since the 27th July 2009, the regime's troops have burned down over 500 houses in Shan communities, scores of granaries, and forcibly relocated almost 40 villages, mostly in the Laikha township. Over 100 villagers, both men and women, have been arrested and tortured. At least three villagers have been killed. One young woman was shot while trying to retrieve her possessions from her burning house, and her body thrown into a pit latrine. Another woman was gang-raped in front of her husband by an officer and three of his troops.  


8. Agenda / Next Edition

1st – 5th October: WMW International Committee Meeting, City of Quebec, Quebec

6th – 9th October: WSF International Council Meeting, Montreal, Quebec

6th – 9th October: Southern African Social Forum, Maseru, Lesotho

8th – 12th October: Quebec Social Forum, Montreal

24th – 25th October: WMW European Regional Coordination Meeting, Thessalonica, Greece

12th – 16th October: Week of Global Mobilisation in defence of mother Earth, against the commodification of life, militarisation and criminalisation of social organisation.

17th October: International Day for the Elimination of Poverty

16th – 18th November: FAO (Food and Agriculture Association) Food Security World Summit

25th November: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

30th Nov – 2nd Dec: Ministerial WTO Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland

7th – 20th December: Klimaforum, Copenhagen, Denmark (12th December: Global Day of Action for Climate Justice)

Next edition:

WMW IC Meeting
European Regional Coordination Meeting
Mobilisation for our 3rd International Action!
Preparation for South Kivu mobilisation in October 2010

Please send us news and photos of your NCB’s activities and mobilisations by the 15th November to be included in the fourth and final newsletter of 2009.


9. Contact Us

WMW International Committee:
Miriam Nobre (International Secretariat), Nana Aicha Cissé and Wilhelmina Trout (Africa), Emilia Castro and Gladys Alfaro (Americas), Jean Enriquez and Saleha Athar (Asia), Michèle Spieler and Tereixa Dacosta (Europe)

WMW International Secretariat:
Rua Ministro Costa e Silva, nº 36
Pinheiros,
São Paulo, SP –  Brazil
Post code: 05417-080
Tel. +55 11 3032-3243
Fax: +55 11 3032-3239
E-mail: info@marchemondiale.org
Website: www.worldmarchofwomen.org

IS Team:
Alessandra Ceregatti, Celia Alldridge, Júlia Clímaco, Miriam Nobre

Texts written by:
Alessandra Ceregatti, Celia Alldridge, Jean Enriquez, Miriam Nobre, Saleha Athar, Yildiz Temurturkan

Translation and revision:
Anne Kepple, Claudine Charran, Maité Llanos, Nelly Martin

Photos: Alessandra Ceregatti, Bernadete Monteiro, Carol Calef, Initiatives for International Dialogue, WMW Archives

Design: Luciana Nobre

Financial support: Oxfam NOVIB, Global Fund for Women, Fund for Non-Violence, Oxfam GB South America, Development and Peace, E-CHANGER.

São Paulo, October 2009