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- Bangladesh
In Bangladesh all women's organizations across
the country will be marking March 8th with International
Women's Day. Major organizations within the movement
such as Mahila Parishad and Bangladesh Women's Lawyer's
Association are holding rallies and meetings on themes
pertaining to political objectives such as "Direct
elections of women to the Parliament".
This year members of Naripokkho, a Bengali women's
organisation that focuses on human rights, are commemorating
International Women's Day under the theme of "Evaluation
of women's work in all sectors at all levels". A broad
swath of women's organisations have collaborated to
plan a rally through parts of Dhaka, culminating in
a public meeting, a cultural programme and leaflet
distribution. The programme for the day will be observed
by 450 women's organisation members of Naripokkho's
Network Programme where local-level participants will
include community leaders, members of government and
non-governmental organisations, civil society and
the media.
Prominent and politically motivated artists, including
Njera Kori will be staging a celebratory cultural
programme of music and dance in the evening.
- Malaysia
In Malaysia, International Women's Day will be marked
under the umbrella of the Women's Aid Organisation,
and in cooperation with Sisters in Islam, Amnesty
International, All Women's Action Society and Malaysian
AIDS Council, employing the theme "It begins with
respect". These non-governmental actors in the women's
movement have organised a day of activities geared
towards empowerment in the face of violence towards
women. "A
Girl's Day Out-It Begins With Respect" is the
theme of a day wherein for a free admission young
women can experience an environment of support for
a safe, secure and loving environment.
The daylong event will include self-defense demonstrations,
challenges, competitions and celebrations of women's
right to access public and private spaces safely and
freely. The event, scheduled for March 13th and 14th
is planned to create a forum that will encourage the
next generation of political activism among young
women. In keeping with the theme of this year's IWD,
the Women's Aid Organisation will be focusing much
of its energies on reforming the Domestic Violence
Act and on publicising the Rape Helpline (03-79603030).
- Fiji
In Fiji, women have organized two marches to mark
International Women's Day at 10am and again after
dark with a "Reclaim the Night March" through Suva
City. An Indigenous Fijian Women's association will
host a Garden Party at 3pm. Unifem Pac has planned
to launch its "Profiles of Pacific Women" on March
8th and will be facilitating a CEDAW workshop in order
to familiarize attendees with the convention. The
CEDAW workshop will take place directly after IWD
commemorations between the 9th and 11th of March.
Also planned for this time period is an HIV/AIDS workshop
that will be facilitated by UNAIDS.
The Fiji Women's Rights Movement will be using March
8th as a launch date for its latest publication, entitled
"HeadStrong" and targeted at young women aged 14-18
years of age. The publication is intended to inspire
young women to make healthy choices and will be launched
at a poor, rural school outside of Suva during the
IWD assembly in preparation for its planned distribution
to other schools around the country.
- Philippines
International Women's Day in the Philippines will
be marked with a campaign by the GABRIELA
Women's Party to "blow away" President Arroyo, as
a continuation of an earlier campaign by GABRIELA
to act as whistleblowers in the area of violence against
women and children. The women of GABRIELA link these
two campaigns by proclaiming Arroyo "the number one
perpetrator of violence in the country" for violence
that includes the insidious effects of economic as
well as military brutality. GARBIELA sites Arroyo's
consistent failure to protect the rights and welfare
of Filipinas and their children as being evidenced
by rampant poverty. This poverty carries with it a
corresponding increase in child labour and vulnerability
to sexual assault in the workplace. The imposed violence
of the Arroyo regime threatens the lives of women
in the Philippines in a myriad of ways.
- Thailand
Women's voices in Chiang Mai, Thailand can be heard
at Tapae Gate on March 8th when women's groups led
by Migrant Action Programme (MAP Foundation), joined
by the APWLD secretariat celebrate International Women's
Day, bringing ethnic women, elderly women, lesbians,
nurses, migrant women, peace activists, sex workers,
social workers, students, teachers, women living with
HIV/AIDS together. Under the theme, "Raise Our Voices!
Women, Be Heard" the women's rights activists will
be holding a march and a speak out on the urgent issues
affecting the lives of the women in Thailand. This
event also intends to contribute in making marginalized
women's voices louder than that of the leader and
members of Thai National Women's Commission who is
spending millions of baht for a lavish dinner as its
official Women's Day event, diverting public attention
to issues of erosion of human rights under the Thaksin
government. National women's groups have rejected
the invitation of the sister of the Prime Minister
Shinawatra, who is the head of the women's commission.
National groups based in Bangkok, led by the women
textile and garment workers, will be holding a demonstration,
pushing for the recognition of women's reproductive
rights and for the legalisation of abortion.
- Tamil Nadu, India
This year the International Women’s Day was
remembered and observed as ‘protest day’
by Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum / Tamil Nadu Dalit
Women’s Movement. A series of protest meetings
were held at different districts in Tamil Nadu.
a) Public Protest Meeting
In Vellore District meetings were held in membrance
on International Women’s Day at different villages
in protest of the increasing violence against women,
hazards of globalization on women, unemployment, poverty
and communalism. Public meetings were organized at
Thirumalpur, Sirunamalli, Parameswaramangalam, Bodaparai,
Marimangalam, and Anandapuram on March 8th, 2004.
In each village women ranging from 300 to 400 participated.
Public meetings were held on March 8th, in Tiruvallur
District at V.K.N. Kandigai, N.N. Kandigai, Narayanapuram,
and at Iluppur. The response for the protest was over
whelming in these areas. Women raised slogans protesting
against fundamentalism, migration, trafficking of
women, unemployment, domestic violence and State violence.
The participants expressed their grievances. It was
a platform for the rural women to come together and
to raise their protest voice together – to commemorate
March 8th International Women’s Day.
b) Hunger Strike Against State violence
on women
In observance of the women’s day on 12.3.2004, more
than thousand women sat together in a hunger strike
against the state violence on women. Grass root women
leaders from throughout the State, participated in
the protest and shared the different forms of violence
meted out on women by the state agencies. The protesters
raised their voice in support of the women leaders
who were arrested arbitrarily by the police for raising
their voices against illegal sand quarrying. The meeting
demanded the with drawl of the case and the release
of the arrested without any condition. The hunger
strike came to an end at 4.30 p.m. The arrested persons
were released on that evening after 17 days of Imprisonment.
c) Sex Workers Seminar
On 15.3.2004, more than four hundred sex workers from
Tiruttani, Thiruvalangadu, Perambakkam, Sholingur,
Arakkonam, Kancheepuram gathered together in a seminar
at the district head quarter Kancheepuram. The seminar
focused on ‘ prevention of HIV/AIDS and the rights
of sex workers’. Other than the sex worker several
participants from different districts, had gathered
together in support of the rights of sex workers.
Doctors and other professionalists shared their knowledge
on prevention of HIV /AIDS and the rights of women.
Ten sex workers from Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh participated
and shared their life stories and their status of
liberation. In that meeting women decided not to support
present ruling party which is anti Dalit and Anti
Women.
d) Public Meeting in Protest Against
sexual harassment on a 3 year old Dalit Girl child
On 17.3.2004, a public meeting was organized at Chinnammapettai
in Tiruvallur district. The meeting was in protest
against the child sexual atrocity. A sixteen year
old boy Gothandapani raped a three year old Dalit
Girl child on 7.3.2004. Sexual atrocity on Dalit girl
children are more in the locality. The public meeting
demanded stringent punishment for the perpetrator
and insisted the state to adhere into preventive measures
against such practices. The demand was made by the
participants for a new legislation with stringent
punishment for the offence. More than five hundred
women participated from the victim’s village
and the surrounding villages. Women activist and professionals
participated and addressed the participants and shared
the violence in the light of the national and international
human rights standards.
Tamil Nadu Women's Forum,
Society For Rural Education and Development,
Tamil Nadu Dalit Women's Movement.
23.3.2004
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