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World March of Women: concerted action against poverty and violence
Montreal, August 30, 2000 - More than ever, the women of the world are determined to act in solidarity to put an end to poverty and violence against women. The solidarity is expressed in the World March of Women in the Year 2000, a planet-wide mobilization that will make history in the women's movement. With the fast approaching large-scale rallies of October, which will be the crowning point of the March, activities are multiplying everywhere.
Pan-African Women's Day
On July 31, 5000 women marched in Kinshasa
and in all provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their national
demands were delivered to the representative of the UN Secretary-General in the
DRC, and to the Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic. Both of them
undertook to deliver the demands to the UN Secretary-General and the President
of the DRC, respectively. On the same day (again marking Pan-African Women's
Day), the World March of Women Steering Committee in Cameroon organized a march
in which the Ministers for the Status of Women, for Social Affairs and for State
Supervision, and the Secretary of State for National Education all took part. In
Mali, thousands of women marched in the capital and the big cities on August 5.
Marcha das Margaridas
In Brasília, capital of Brazil, 25,000 rural
women workers marched in the Marcha das Margaridas on August 10. One of the main
objectives was to present a model for sustainable rural development, in contrast
with the current system that keeps women in a state of poverty, discrimination,
exploitation and social exclusion. The demonstration, organized as part of the
World March of Women, was named in honour of Margarida Alves, a rural workers
union leader murdered on August 12, 1983.
Activities in September
Hundreds of thousands of women in rural and
urban areas in many countries will meet in September. Taking part in the World
March of Women, they will demand concrete measures to eliminate poverty and
violence against women. The many different demonstrations will attest to the
determination of women everywhere to engage in concerted action and solidarity.
In September national marches will be held in Benin; in Togo; in Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti; in Italy; and in Lebanon. Representatives of a number of Arab countries will join a march in Cairo, Egypt. In Honduras, women from various Central American countries will demonstrate outside the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. Meanwhile, Brazilian women will play an active part in the popular referendum on the country's foreign debt, and the women of Nepal will hold a people's trial about violence against women. A national conference on poverty and violence will be held in Portugal with the dual purpose of raising awareness and looking for solutions. In Mexico women are organizing national days to collect signatures to back the World March of Women demands. On September 17, a caravan of Mexican women marchers will begin their journey to New York and will arrive in time for the world rally on October 17. On September 22, women in Croatia will commemorate the massacre of three women in a courtroom. They will ask the Croatian government to declare that date as the official Day against Violence against Women.
Contact :
Brigitte Verdière
Communication
World March of women in
the year 2000
Tél. : (514) 395-1196 (poste 21)
Fax : (514) 395-1224
Last modified 2006-04-25 11:07 AM
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