FIVE YEARS after the 2000 World March of Against Poverty and Violence, this March 8th, the World March of Women (WMW) is officially launching its Women's Global Charter for Humanity in Brazil.
During 2000 thousands of women in all corners of the world participated in local, regional and international actions to raise our presence and our demands.
Since then the World March has been present in all the main actions and meetings of the global justice and anti-war movements.
The WMW developed this new document in partial response to the questions posed by the global justice movement and the slogan of "Another World is Possible". What other world do we as feminist imagine? What is our practical utopia?
The Women's Global Charter for Humanity is a set of 31 affirmations supported by two documents that explain it purpose.
In 2005, this charter will be circulated around the world, handed from country to contry by women involved in action for its adoption.
Participants will also be involved in creating quilts which will be put together regionally and then globally
The list of countries, along with a map, is impressive. Unfortunately it does not include Britain, where the weakness of the women's movement made it impossible to organize any action in 2000.
There will be a European rally on May 28-29, in Marseille, in the south of France. During these two days women will hold debates and workshops on the different themes of the Charter and on the 17 demands.
"We will also have a march, and we're expecting 25,000 to 50,000 people," says Judith.
Beginning in March, the French coordinating body will go into schools "to explain the process of drafting the Charter to the children.
We'll ask them to make
Every time a law or
governmental
proposal fails to live
up to the Charter's
standards we will declare, "impossible - women of the world
do not agree quilt squares and then we'll vote on the square that will be added to the global quilt."
Other groups will also be addressed, including civil society, the media, and elected officials.
"We'll ask elected officials who are sympathetic to our ideas to present the Charter to their colleagues, and to declare, every time a law or governmental proposal fails to live up to the Charter's standards, 'impossible - women of the world do not agree."
The Charter will end its global trip on 17 October 2005 in Burkina Faso with a welcome by women from that country and an international delegation.
On the same day, there will be actions at noon in every country around the world that the Charter has traversed - all in support of actions and affirmations that Another World IS Possible.
Women from Britain who are interested in looking at the possibility of organizing action here for October should contact Terry via [email protected]
Further information from www.marchemondiale.org