Diverse Alternatives For Global Changes
At one of the panels organized today by Latin American Information Agency (ALAI) and other networks, called “Diverse Alternatives for Global Changes” among other panelists were Sylvia Borren, Executive Director of the NOVIB, the Duch Oxfam and feminist/lesbian movement activist, Diane Matte from World March of Women organization, Medha Patakar, famous Indian human rights activist.
“Reality is that out of the poorest of the world 70% are women. If you do not address specifically the complete reality of women's lives you are not changing anything. With increase of poverty women are also being targeted through sex trafficking for example, if you think of the rise of fundamentalism women are targeted as the main targets for right wing organizations. I don't think we could fight poverty without making sure that, of course, we can have an issue based campaign, or issue based actions of but I think that in our analysis we have to integrate connection between poverty and violence against woman. Women are poor very often because their rights are violated, they are poor because they are trying to escape dangerous relationships and they have to go underground or leave their job or their family... It is clear that poverty just increase the reality of violence against women.” In Diane Matte's words fight against capitalism is not solving women issues but also by using integrated analysis to approach issues and find alternative solutions. “We have to have integrated analysis of what is the reality of peole, men and women, and how can we go beyond just looking and giving one solution for everything. I don't think that feminism is solution to every problem in the world but I don't think also that fighting capitalism we can solve the women's issues. So we have to have integrated analysis but also work across movement in order to have the opportunity to exchange our different vision of the situation and try to find together what are the best alternatives for everyone to build another world.” Another speaker, Sylvia Borren, from Holland, thinks that WSF should become place for more concrete activities and actions. “At the moment it's a wonderful place to meet and for everybody to WSF show its own work and it's a very creative interaction. I hope it will always be diverse as it is now. I hope it will become place where more concrete activities, actions, strategies worked out. And where is more interconnection between trade unions, the women movements, disabled people movements, the indigenous movements, sexual identity movements etc. We have to make more connections, to make a people's movement for fair and equatable world. We can do more then we are doing now.” She also said that inclusiveness is one of the very important issues, no matter of which minority we are talking about. “WSF is very important to make a new connections between people and regions and to make sure that we work together against, what I call, a global feudalism. The power concentration and corporations in the rich countries. We have to break through that and to make sure that civil society also is democratic and inclusive, that they are more faced forward with children, and for people of different minority or identity.” Sylvia's message to the WSF groups, organizations and participants is to ask themselves are they inclusive as they should be. “Keep talking and thinking, and analyzing and researching but take much more time to organize actions, activities and check your self weather you and your organizations are being as inclusive of others as you should be.” |
Printable version
Back to top
