In 2010, we – activists of the World March of Women from all five continents – will be on the march once more. We will march to demonstrate our perseverance and our strength as collectively organised women with diverse experiences, political cultures and ethnic backgrounds, but with a common identity and goal: the desire to overthrow the current, unjust world order that provokes violence and poverty, and to construct the world we want based on peace, justice, equality, freedom and solidarity.

We will march in solidarity with those women who do not have the freedom to do so as a result of war and conflict; the sexual division of work that maintains women prisoners in their own homes; the capitalist and patriarchal systems that determine that the public sphere – the streets, the workplace, spaces of learning, spaces of leisure activity – is the reserve of men; and the lack of time women have, as they juggle their responsibilities as primary care-givers.

We will march to demand our rights. We will march to resist those who would seek to take away the rights we have already gained in our struggle against the offensive of religious fundamentalisms and conservative sectors of society and the State. We will be on the march for the world we want, in which autonomy, self-determination and solidarity are the pillars of the organisation of our societies.

We will march in the struggle against the commodification of our lives, sexuality and bodies. We are not objects to be bought and sold! We refuse to be treated as pieces of meat for the pornography, trafficking and advertising industries! We will not accept violence in our homes and workplaces. We will be on the march until all women lead lives free of violence and threat of violence.

We will march to denounce the sexist, racist, homophobic capitalist system that exploits the daily reproductive and productive work of women while concentrating riches in the hands of the few. We demand equal pay for equal work, a fair minimum wage, the reorganisation and sharing of care-work and social security, all without discrimination of any kind. We will be on the march until all women achieve economic autonomy.

We will march for the immediate end to conflict and to the use of women’s bodies as spoils of war. We will march to demonstrate the economic interests behind conflict – the control of natural resources, the control of peoples, the profit of the arms industry. We will be on the march until women are recognised and valorised as protagonists of peace and reconstruction processes, and in the maintenance of active peace in their countries.

We will march in our fight against the privatisation of natural resources and public services. We will march for food and energy sovereignty, and against the destruction and control of our territories and false solutions to climate change. We will be on the march until our rights to healthcare, education, drinkable water, sanitation, land, housing, and autonomy over our traditional seeds have been fulfilled.

Join us in our Action!

The World March of Women (WMW) 3rd International Action will be organised around two prominent moments:

- The 8th – 18th March, with simultaneous national marches and mobilisations of different types, forms, colours, and rhythms that will also mark the 100-year anniversary of the Declaration of International Women’s Day by delegates of the 2nd International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen in 1910;

- Simultaneous marches and actions during the 7th – 17th October period, with an international mobilisation in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as a way to strengthen women’s protagonism in the resolution of conflicts.

Mobilisations, actions and activities will also take place between these two key periods, in various different countries and also at regional level:

- Americas: 21st – 23rd August, Colombia

- Asia-Oceania: 12th – 14th May, Philippines

- Europe: 30th June, Turkey

The International Action is open to all groups of women and women who would like to join us in our struggle for the construction of the world we want, based on women’s alternatives. Come and march with us!

If you live in a country in which the WMW is organised as a National Coordinating Body (NCB), the first step is to get in touch with the sisters who participate to ask them what activities are being prepared during the year. Please search for their contact information on our website by clicking on the following link: http://www.marchemondiale.org/structure/cn-groupes/en/, or write to us at info@marchemondiale.org for more information. The second step is to get involved!

If you live in a country in which there is not yet a NCB, please feel free to organise your own mobilisations and activities! They could take many diverse and creative forms: marches, rallies, symbolic acts, conferences, debates, the launching of campaigns, the distribution of written materials, cultural presentations (music, dance, films, etc), press conferences and releases, workshops, forums, direct actions, vigils, the use of visual symbols (flags, bracelets, posters, marionettes, bandanas, etc), meetings with authorities, theatre, batucadas (drumming groups), frontier meetings, and the presentation of demands.

We also encourage you to regularly visit the Third International Action website to look at the texts, logos, and other materials that can be used to prepare for the action as well as news from the various participating countries: . http://www.wmw2010.info

And finally, don’t forget that here at the International Secretariat, we are always available to support you and your group in any way we can. Write to us to let us know what you’re planning, who is involved, and how we can help: info@marchemondiale.org.

December 22, 2009 was a historic day. It saw the birth of the first youth organization that has taken up patriarchy as its main enemy. So precise were the words of one of the leaders of the Youth and Students for the Advancement of Gender Equality (YSAGE), Ray Justin “Jong” Ventura, “I know that from hereon, there will be people who will be trembling in fear, they are the oppressors – the traffickers, perpetrators of violence against women, and those who defend patriarchy! I also know that today, there are people who will be jubilant – they are the oppressed, the women, the victims-survivors of violence!” Jong came from the strongest chapter of YSAGE, the one based in Palawan.

For three days, almost 100 youth leaders from 14 regions of the country gathered at Ridgewood Hotel in Baguio City to reunite with fellow graduates from 12 youth camps organized by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific (CATW-AP), and 9 echo camps organized by the graduates themselves.

At the Reunion camp, the youth leaders deepened their understanding of women’s issues as linked to other forms of structural inequality. Through the Power Walk, the young leaders emotionally revisited the various categories of human rights violations – by virtue of sex, class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, political opinion, and others. Their roots were traced to pervading structures of exploitation: racism, patriarchy, militarism, and capitalism. And learned that all these are interlinked, more so in the system of prostitution.

As leaders, they were trained by CATW-AP on the various human rights instruments that can be utilized, but also in tools for structural change. Through an adaptation of the popular game “Amazing Race,” the participants learned the 10 Steps in Organizing as well as Leadership Qualities. Popular Education Principles and Methods were also imparted using the “Frogs in the Well” story. The second day ended with sharing on “Good Practices” by the leaders from areas who have delivered successess early on in the formation of YSAGE – Palawan, Bicol, Marawi, Davao and Cotabato.

Emotional was the start of the formal launch of YSAGE on the third and last day, with testimonies of violence against women from Liza Gonzales, Policy Advocacy Officer of the prostitution survivors’ group Bagong Kamalayan and CATW-AP Executive Director Jean Enriquez. These personal testimonies were linked by Josua Mata, Secretary-General of Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), to the global issues that dictate the growth of demand for prostitution as well as the worsening of gender-based violence.

Riza Mae Palen of YSAGE-Davao and Jong Ventura of YSAGE-Palawan exhorted their fellow campers to unite and organize so as not to be defeated. Jong emphasized that this last day is not the end, but only the beginning of their long but triumphant road to equality.

The YSAGE orientation paper, by-laws, logo, structure and common strategic goal – “To establish YSAGE as a national organization campaigning against prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation and inequality” – were finalized through the facilitation of their own leaders. Provincial strategic plans were presented by the participants, who are strongly determined to work in their localities and raring to enjoin local institutions from various sectors. Of course, some of these chapters have already been implementing activities with sheer passion, soliciting required resources on their own as they conducted echo camps, exhibits, forums, rallies and produced information materials.

A national council was also elected democratically, as representatives from island caucuses. The set of leaders was reflective of the values learned during the entire reunion camp – a young Moslem woman, young women survivors of violence, a gay person – other than ensuring that more than half of the leadership is female. Towards the end, the participants, facilitators and guests held on to each others’ hands and sang:

Don’t lose your way
With each passing day
You’ve come so far
Don’t throw it away
Live believing
Dreams are for weaving
Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story
Faith, hope & glory
Hold to the truth in your heart

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die…

The bond that resulted from the camp not only strengthened the participants’ determination to pursue the principles of YSAGE, as the youth arm of CATW-AP, but established an organizational foundation and support system to ensure their sustained collective action. CATW-AP continues the “hand-holding” with the youth leaders, as YSAGE blazes the trail for their sector in the fight against gender inequality and other oppressive structures.

Jean Enriquez
Executive Director, CATW-AP
Telefax: +632-4342149
Mobile: +639178235326

Please copy paste this link to your browsers for photos. http://catwap.multiply.com/photos/album/2/Reunion_Camp_and_Launch_of_YSAGE_December_2009

Please copy paste the link below to your browsers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ocSa7k7xCs

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf-n-D8MFlM

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM9S0_1QLZo

Please help stop the cycle of injustices in the system of prostitution by supporting the passage of the Anti-Prostitution Bill. Victims and survivors of prostitution and CATW-AP give light on the issue of prostitution in the country on The Correspondents. Please see link.

http://www.pinoychannel.tv/watch/v-197151?title=THE%20CORRESPONDENTS%202/9/2010%20PART%204