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Peace, a very important value during the Relay
When the Charter was taken through Colombia, Ecuadorean leaders Doris Trujillo and Blanca Chancoso expressed their deep concern over the militarization and authoritarianism their countries' peoples are experiencing.
Angela de Pérez, the wife of a senator kidnapped three years ago, stated that the mobilization helped make the government aware that the armed conflict in Colombia will only be resolved once all sides_the government, groups outside the law and civil society_sit down together to talk.
In Cyprus, Turkish and Greek Cypriot women from the March staged an action together, and each one made a patchwork quilt square. The press described the event as having international importance!
In Switzerland, women organized a debate on women soldiers. In Italy they discussed the role of women in peace building.
In Japan, women voiced their opposition to the remilitarization of the country and denounced a revision of Article 9 of the Constitution. As for Korean women, the sign appearing on their quilt square is a peace symbol. This highlights the importance they attach to this value.
Women from India and Pakistan also came together, as a delegation of Indian women travelled to Pakistan to stage “an event on behalf of peace and hope,” as Shashi Sail, coordinator of the March in India, remarked.
Arab women also launched an appeal for peace in their region during the Relay of the Charter, whether in Lebanon, Tunisia or Jordan. At a Women in Black conference held in Jerusalem in late August, a group of participants journeyed to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian women.
“The Charter is a declaration on behalf of all the women of the world to demand equality, justice and freedom,” said Salwa Abu Khadra, General Secretary of the Union of Palestinian Women.
From Jerusalem the Relay went on to Sudan and the Great Lakes region of Africa, where women from Burundi, Congo and Rwanda have collaborated for many years to build a society free of conflict and war. Women emphasized on peace and solidarity between themselves. On October 17, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the relay ended with a naming ceremony of the Place de la Femme pour la Paix (Women’s Peace Square).
Following
the mobilization 2005, many women have decided to see each other again to
organize joint actions and maintain the bridges built. “The European meeting in
Marseille allowed many women from the region and from other countries
(especially in North Africa) to join the meeting. This was possible because the
World March of Women is a movement for which, above all else, solidarity with
women all over the world comes first and those who suffer the most come before
anyone else,” the European women noted.
Last modified 2006-02-21 11:37 AM
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