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April 2002 - From global to local
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From global to local
The two global themes of the March are articulated in 17 concrete and specific demands that aim for the elimination of all these situations. They include the adoption by states of a "legal framework and strategies for the elimination of poverty" to guarantee access to basic resources (water, food, housing, health), education, equality in employment, pay and the sharing of household tasks, the implementation of the Tobin tax (a 1% tax on financial transactions), the benefits of which would be earmarked for development projects (particularly for women), and debt cancellation for all poor countries.
The demands concerning violence include ratification of international agreements aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, the adoption of legislation prohibiting violence against women, and rejection of the justification of violence based on custom, religion and cultural practices. March participants came to a consensus on most of the demands. The demands concerning violence against lesbians were met with some resistance due to cultural barriers. National coordinating bodies defended the world platform in their countries, using it to advance their own demands. Fifty of them drafted national platforms reflecting their specific concerns and priorities.
This process, spread out over many months, was accomplished through consultation with grass-roots groups, discussions, and collective decisions. It allowed groups that had been working in isolation up until then, to forge bonds of solidarity at the regional level (common platforms were adopted in the Arab world, Europe, the Great Lakes region of Africa, and by Indigenous women). Despite communication difficulties (geographic distance, telephone, post) and meagre funding, women believe they reached the people in their countries.
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 It is estimated that 60,000 women are battered by their husbands or male lovers in Bulgaria. Only 1% of rapes are reported to the police (according to UNICEF).
Since 1989, economic restructuring in Eastern European countries has resulted in the loss of 26 million jobs. Roughly 14 million of these were held by women (according to UNICEF). |
The feminization of poverty, a reality that is gaining ground. |
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The March demands are read out in the Central African Republic on March 8, 2000. |
In 1997, 300 Pakistani women were assassinated by a male family member in "honour" crimes.Marital rape is considered a crime in only 17 states on the planet. |
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| It is estimated that four million women and girls are bought and sold every year throughout the world, to future husbands, pimps or slave merchants (United Nation Population Fund-UNFPA).
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Defending women's situation: the Yemeni publication Our rights, organ of the HRITC, devoted its March 1999 issue to this question. |
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Drawing taken from "Contra a pobreza a violência sexista," Marcha Mundial das Mulheres, Brazil 2000. |
Roughly 70% of the 4.5 billion persons who live on less than US$2 per day are women and children.It is estimated that over 585,000 women die every year due to preventable complications in pregnancy or childbirth or after an abortion performed in unsanitary conditions.Out of 300 million children who have no access to education, two thirds are girls. |
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Last modified 2006-03-23 03:09 PM This item is available in Français, English, Español |
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