Women's WG

by Liz Bernstein

There is a movement growing in Cambodia, a people’s movement, led by women. It is a movement of peace and of people excited by the new possibilities dawning in their country. The possibility of laying down weapons after more than 20 years of war, where a new constitution may finally provide them with basic human rights. The movement began as a coalition of monks, nuns, women’s groups, student associations, development and human rights groups who were determined to seize the current unique opportunities in creating a new peace.

The War Resisters’ International statement issued for the UN World Conference on Human Rights dealt with the Issues of refusing military conscription, the need to extend the right to asylum, and the issue of violence against women. Excerpts from the statement concerning this last issue are quoted here.

by Maggie Helwig

The WRI Women’s Working Group met in Verona, Italy, in July, for the first time since the intense—and exhausting—experience of the Women Overcoming Violence conference in Bangkok.

Violence against women is finally being recognized as the major international issue that it is. At the United Nations’ Conference on Human Rights (held in Vienna this summer), the hard work of feminist organisers paid off. The final Declaration of the conference stated that violence against women—in both public and in private—is a human rights abuse. The Declaration also recommended that the UN appoint a Special Rapporteur on violence against women. (You can read excerpts from WRI ‘s statement to the Conference against violence against women in the following pages).

Freedom from Violence, edited by Margaret Schuler (354 pages, 1992), is a collection of 14 essays on violence against women (including an article by a WRI Women’s Conference speaker, Siriporn Skrobanek). Voices from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and the United States share their sources of Inspiration and common threads of agreement about what needs to be done to confront the violence In women’s lives in all its aspects: physical, social, economic, cultural and legal.

RAPES IN EX-YUGOSLAVIA

Rape and Sexual Abuse by Armed Forces, a report on the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war In ex-Yugoslavia, was released by Amnesty International on January 21. The report documents organized centers specifically set up for the rape of women by soldiers. The report does not conclude that rape was deliberately chosen as a weapon of war by top military leaders, but does state that local officers were aware of and condoned mass rapes. Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, London WC1, UK.

SOLIDARITY WITH FOREIGN WOMEN FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION

“He hit me on the mouth. I fainted. When I came to, I was raped again. While I was still conscious I was raped by eight of them, and I don’t know what happened afterward…One of them lay on me, pressing the barrel of his automatic weapon against my temple, looking Into my eyes for a long time. Another man was running the blade of a knife over my breasts…”
—Azra, age 15

After almost five years of hard work, the 4th War Resisters’ International Women’s Conference was held in late November in Thailand. The most ambitious conference yet, and the first one held outside Europe, the conference drew 170 women from 63 nations together. Judging by the participants’ evaluations, it was a success. Another measure of success was the fact that the core organizers were energized enough to want to work on the 5th women’s conference!

IRISH PRISONERS STRIP SEARCHED

Ulla Eberhard of Germany recently sent a questionnaire to previous participants of WRI Women’s Conferences (France, 1976; Scotland, 1980; Ireland, 1987) in order to gain a historical view of the conferences. The results of some of the interviews were published in the German magazine on nonviolence “Graswurzelrevolution”. Here are some excerpts:

The 4th War Resisters’ International (WRI) Women’s Conference is planned for November 25 to December 1, 1992 near Bangkok, Thailand. The conference will be organised by WRI and five Thai women’s groups. Participation is being limited to 150 community-based women activists who have shown a commitment to nonviolent social change, with a strong emphasis on promoting exchanges between women from the Southern hemisphere. The Conference’s 7 languages will be Thai, Spanish, French, English and at least one other Asian language.