Women Resist Crisis and War! Fight for National and Social Liberation!

MARCH 8 – INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

STATEMENT

 
Women Resist Crisis and War! Fight for National and Social Liberation!


The current economic and financial crises of the crumbling capitalist system hit women the hardest. The economic and ecological repercussions of these crises increased the vulnerability of women to the different forms of oppression, discrimination and violence inside and outside the home.

Women of the working class were the first to suffer the brunt of the crises. They were the first to be laid off when factories closed down or went bankrupt and had to suffer lower wages and difficult flexible working conditions when hired. Peasant and indigenous women who are the world's number one food producers have become the world's poorest facing unprecedented hunger and poverty as transnational corporations, local landlords and governments rush to steal away millions of hectares of lands for corporate farming, mining, infrastructures, dams, tourism and military use. They are dislocated and dispossessed from their lands, communities and way of life.

Unemployment, lack of social security, and budgetary cuts for social services put women in dangerous positions: they were forced to leave their families to work as domestic or factory workers in other countries where they face exploitation and abuse, in addition to discrimination and xenophobia immigrant workers are subjected to in host countries. Many poor women were also forced into prostitution or become victims of trafficking.

Resistance against imperialist greed are met with violence and repression. The capitalist countries led by the United States wage wars of aggression and occupation in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. They collaborate with repressive and corrupt regimes to curtail the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people. They impose anti-terrorism and counter-insurgency measures that target progressive and resistance movements in which women play active roles in the defence of rights, land, livelihood and freedom. States also tolerate reactionary practices and violence against women, such as femicide which has been on the rise in some countries in Latin America and Africa.

The crises awakened and heightened the spirit of resistance among the oppressed women of the world and taught them the need to break free from the chains that bind women to historical oppression. From organizing communities to joining national liberation movements, women are at the forefront of every struggle for rights, survival, freedom, justice and peace.

Women workers join strikes and marches to demand for jobs, decent work, higher wages, better working conditions, job security and workers benefits. They initiate actions calling for the protection against discrimination in the workplace and assert their right to unionize, peacefully assemble and seek redress for their grievances.

Rural women organize themselves and lead campaigns against transnational corporations, landlords and land grabbers. They organize petition signing, consultations, international investigations, missions and tribunals and wage land occupation campaigns to assert their rights to food, water land and other productive resources.

MARCH 8 – INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

STATEMENT

The International Women’s Alliance (IWA) is a global alliance of grassroots-based women’s organizations, networks, alliances, and institutions.

In capitalist countries, massive protest actions are being launched by the Occupy Movement against austerity measures and corporate greed. Tens of thousands of women of all ages, color, background, culture and religion have joined these actions which spread across the US, Europe, Asia and the Pacific and the Americas.

In the Middle East and North Africa, women not only participated but took leading roles in the demonstrations and actions that ousted the fascist and corrupt rulers subservient to the US. The Arab Spring provided an opportunity for women to challenge the old system based on patriarchy, fundamentalism and other reactionary values that bind women to exploitation, discrimination and abuse.

Women are breaking away from the chains of patriarchy and fundamentalism. They are conducting consciousness raising campaigns and demanding recognition, promotion and protection of women's human rights including their reproductive rights and the right to choose their sexual orientation. They are asserting women’s spaces in all spheres of life.

Women the world over are resisting war and occupation, of which they, together with children, are the main casualties. Women are organizing and joining solidarity and protest actions against US war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine, and against war of occupation and aggression in many parts of the world. More and more women are participating in the people's resistance movements attesting to the necessary and indispensable role of women in the struggle for national and social liberation.

This March 8, the International Women’s Day, let us celebrate 101 years of women’s struggles and resistance. Let us assert women’s role in the fight for rights, justice, freedom and peace. Let us spark the fire of inspiration for all the exploited people of the world to resist imperialist crisis and war. Let us reaffirm our commitment to the struggle for national and social liberation and women's emancipation. #

PINAY CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPH.
Honoring the Care given to Caregivers Montreal, February 24, 2012 –

PINAY will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Saturday, March 10th 2012, with a banquet fundraiser at the Ruby Rouge Restaurant. PINAY will honor two decades of activism and advocacy for the rights and welfare of Filipino domestic migrant workers in Quebec.

Guests include PINAY members and allies, local community members, university professors and students, advocates of social justice and elected representatives. The evening’s program includes guest speakers, recognition awards and entertainment by local dancers, singers and PINAY itself. PINAY President Evelyn Calugay will speak about the organization’s accomplishments while allies will address PINAY’s activism and the changes it made possible.

Founded in 1991 and run entirely by Filipino women volunteers, PINAY fights for the rights of Filipino women working as domestic workers in Montreal who suffer from employer abuse, exploitation of labor (e.g. no overtime pay) and family separation; issues that are still current today.

The banquet fundraiser will ensure PINAY can continue to fulfill its mandate, organize campaigns and deliver its programs. With the funds raised, PINAY can offer more skills training and workshops on labour rights, immigration regulations and Canada’s and Quebec’s charters of rights. It will also maintain its direct services such as free legal accompaniment, free legal information clinics and short-term accommodations for live-in caregivers fleeing abusive work conditions. Funds will also go towards operating expenses and securing a permanent physical space.

The evening of celebrations will be held on Saturday, March 10th 2012 at the Ruby Rouge Restaurant on 1008 rue Clark in Montreal’s Chinatown. The event starts at 6pm and includes a nine-course meal (drinks included). Tickets are $40 for PINAY members and Students, $60 for non-PINAY members and $75 for sponsors.

All proceeds go to PINAY. In case you cannot attend, you can make a charitable donation, our co-organizer, the Institute for Research and Education on Race Relations (IRRER) will issue tax receipts and the names of the donors will appear in our Souvenir Program.

For more information please contact Evelyn Calugay at 514-364-9833 or pinaycan@yahoo.com.