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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2009
Jollene Levid, GABNet Secretary-General
GABNet of The Mariposa Alliance
secgen@gabnet.org
Tel: 323-356-4748
GABNet of the Mariposa Alliance On the 6th Year of the Invasion of Iraq
VIOLENCE AGAINST NATIONS / VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
GABNet of the Mariposa Alliance marched in protest even before the bombs
fell in 2002. We opposed the war then; we condemn it even more so now. War
is a concentrated form of the violence that class society has inflicted
and continues to inflict upon women, especially working women, since the
beginning of historic time.
Because we women comprise the majority population in any country in the
world, any unleashing of violence against a nation, against a people,
against a civilization, impacts us exponentially. Because women the world
over are the least enabled to deal with and/or protect themselves against
violence, especially in situations of armed conflict, the collateral
damage of war are women and children. And because women are the most
dehumanized and marginalized the world over, war that dehumanizes the
subjugated thrust women even deeper into a more intensified and more
brutal dehumanization,
Thus, loss of public space, loss of rights, rape, trafficking and
prostitution become women’s mode of existence in the wake of war.
We have seen the truth of this, from Afghanistan to Iraq, from the
Philippines to Palestine.
Abeer in Iraq and Nicole in the Philippines were raped in the practice of
war. The women of Gaza were blown apart by Israeli bombings. The women of
Afghanistan continue to be subject to the most abysmal of cruelties in the
hands of the warlord coalition on which the Karzai government is based.
Indeed, militarism and the oppression and exploitation of women were the
twin Original Sins contributory to the rise of slave ownership, property
and the institutionalization of class. U.S.-led imperialist globalization
continues the course of this fetid river of oppression and exploitation of
women -- the majority of the human population.
We who reside in the U.S. must begin the dismantling of the whole system
of hierarchical oppression and exploitation. With small steps, such as
opposing this war, we can help shape a future where the very idea of
marginalizing women and other population segments would be anathema. Let
us demand an immediate end to US-inflicted and US-supported wars in
Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, Palestine and other parts of the
world. Let us demand a re-orientation of government policies toward
ensuring just, humane and democratic societies, beginning with the U.S.
society. And finally, let us take cognizance of our duty to the world by
demanding that all agreements between the US and other countries contain
specific provisions for the protection of local women and their
communities, as well as provisions against sexual violence, trafficking
and prostitution.
As we transition into an era of profound social transformations, let women
shout out loud their collective demands, lest the same hierarchy of
oppression and exploitation re-births itself in a different guise.
Work for the liberation of women from the violence of war, invasion and
occupation. Work for the liberation of women toward equality, justice and
democratic rights. Work for the dawn of true liberation for humanity!
US troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Philippines!
Return Palestinian Lands!
End the Bush wars of occupation, macho-dominance and subjugation!
End the neo-con’s dream of an untrammeled imperialist control of the
world!
Lay down the New Women’s Agenda!
Onward to women’s liberation and the liberation of humanity! --###
--
Jollene Levid
GABRIELA Network USA
www.gabnet.org
--
"It seemed faint-hearted meekly to yield...before the battle started."
- Sor Juana Ines de la
Cruz (1648/51-1695)
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