Altogether, ASF was attended by 15,000 participants representing 140 social movements, organisations, networks, coalitions, alliances and campaigns that are committed to fight against neoliberal globalisation and ethnic/caste/religion/gender based discrimination.

The thematic areas of the ASF were:

> Peace and Democracy;
> Debt, Development, Trade, Finance and Investment;
> Nation State, Democracy, and Exclusion;
> Social Infrastructure, Planning and Cooperation;
> Ecology, Culture, Knowledge; and
> Alternative and People’s Movements

For APWLD, ASF was a forum to express, deliberate and further develop its position on women’s human rights, violence against women and globalisation. Since all of our programmes address critical issues of women in the region in the context of globalisation, it was an important venue for APWLD members.

Women and Environment Programme (WEN) has identified the ASF as a venue to further contribute to the campaign for food sovereignty. Rural and Indigenous Women (RIW) Programme supports most marginalized groups of women such as Dalit, fisherfolk, peasant and farmer, indigenous women’s movements fighting against globalisation for their rights. Violence Against Women (VAW) Programme advocates against various forms of violence against women, particularly those perpetuated by the local and nation state patriarchies and women’s struggle for democracy against oppressive regimes. Women’s Right Human Rights Programme (WRHR) focuses on the religious fundamentalism and women’s rights.

APWLD delegation at the ASF comprised of 20 participants, members of the Women and Environment Task Force, Rural and Indigenous Task Force and network members.

The delegation was really diverse across regions, generations, but with the unifying critique of the prevailing social and economic injustice in the world under the neo liberal policies of globalisation.

Our participants came with different purposes too; some wanted to learn from experiences of other countries in order to sharpen their own vision and analysis of the situation, whilst others wanted to share and influence social and people’s movements on the pressuring issues.

APWLD delegation attended and organised activities at the Asian Social Forum (ASF) and People’s Movements Encounters (PME) at which we focused on the following topics:

> Food Sovereignty
> Caste Discrimination
> Violence Against Women
> Fundamentalism and Women’s Human Rights
> Globalisation and Terrorism
> Impact of Globalisation Women

More specifically, we aimed to promote the concept of food sovereignty and its women angle amongst social movements; to explore and formulate elements of alternatives on food sovereignty from women’s perspective; to facilitate campaign of Women’s League of Burma against military regime and the use of rape by the regime as a weapon of war; to contribute to increasing awareness of social movements on religious fundamentalism and its impact on women’s human rights; to support struggle of Dalit women against caste discrimination and neo liberal policies; to contribute to capacity building of women to advocate on their national issues at regional level.

In the Workshop on Women and Food Sovereignty speakers shared the situation and impacts of globalisation on rural and fisherfolk women in India, Thailand, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan.

Dr. Vandana Shiva called on women’s groups to unite for food sovereignty. She argued that food should be a primary issue of feminist movement since food is in the heart of women’s lives. Women centered economies are taken away by corporate centered patriarchal economies. Globalisation destroys livelihoods. Food sovereignty is based on women’s knowledge and is centered on women. The ways to achieve food sovereignty is to get rid of TRIPS on seed and bring back the culture of sharing; WTO must be out of Food and Agriculture; Corporations should not be allowed to take control of food. Therefore, Asian women should combine their struggle against corporations and patriarchy. The Diverse Women for Diversity, a leading feminist group working for food sovereignty, calls for “Let the Global Markets eat left-overs. First and best Food must go to Women and Children”.

Frances Quimpo Dongeto of Kalikasan Peoples Network for Environment, Philippines, gave a thorough analysis of WTO, AoA, TRIPS and Phyto Sanitary Agreement, showing why WTO should be out of Food. Rita Baua, of RIW TF and ILPS representative, strongly emphasized how the increasing militarisation threatens people’s food security.

The second half of the workshop was spent on exploring alternative ways of achieving food sovereignty. Thai participant Valarat Chaiyatap spoke on how Karen communities in the Northern Thailand preserved community resources and women’s role in seed preservation. Participants emphasised that the principles of Sustainability and Continuity as well Freedom and Peace are the essential to food sovereignty.

Boonpan Masem shared her struggle to get back land taken by the government to landless farmers in the Northern Thailand. She suggested that land banks can be established to provide loans to small farmers to buy land and give land ownership right to communities.

South Korean Women Farmers Association reported that about 100 womens’ groups and NGOs united in the Solidarity Network for Food Sovereignty who are working to get rice out of WTO. They aim to influence domestically as well regional (e.g. APEC) and international players.

Fathima Burnad shared the experiences of TNWF which organises Food Festivals every year aiming to promote local, healthy alternative foods such as small grains, millets, fruits, vegetables, local drinks made from flowers, leaves, toddy instead of fast food, Coke and Pepsi cola. Despite the fact that women play a major role in the producing and preserving food they have less control over the resources, particularly over land. Rarely they own land and any property, have less access to water, their wages are too low. Food should be given to women first, and it should be good quality food, she insisted. Land reform should be undertaken and landless Dalit women must be given land. Land, Water, Work and Food crops! That was the main call of the workshop emphasizing on the women’s right to food, right to land, right to safe water/seeds, calling to fight for land reforms, better wages and the right to sustainable livelihoods.

Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum (TNWF), Tamil Nadu Dalit Women’s Movement (TNDWM) and Society for Rural Education and Development (SRED) co-organised a series of events at the People’s Encounters, which went under slogan “Drive TNCs to Hunger”. They started a rally with 10,000 women, men, workers, tribals, farmers from India, Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nepal and Bangladesh. Rallyists went 7 kilometers with various performances with musical instruments and masks. The public meeting addressed the current social, economic, political and cultural crisis, that TNCs, WTO, US imperialism with G8 allies, local government elite are responsible for the misery of people.

Fathima Burnad reported that 600 leaders from grassroots organisation from Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu traveled long distance in over crowded train, standing all night, but the overwhelming feeling that of “People’s power”, “People’s Unity” at the activities in Hyderabad.

Together with other organisations, TNDWM organised Tribunal and Seminar on Caste Discrimination, Dalits and Land Alienation. Voices of most silent, marginalised women expressed that Dalit women bear most of the burdens of persisting caste discrimination. On top of this, shift to export crops, prawn culture and mechanisation / modernisation of agriculture have created more unemployment among Dalits. Landlords with support of police suppress any protests by Dalits. Violence against Dalt women increased, they are trafficked, raped and murdered. But people not only revealed those atrocities, but also proposed what should be done to change the situation. Addressing landlessness amongst poor peasants, there is need to conduct a genuine land reform with redistributing land to landless Dalit men and women, instead of giving unlimited areas of land to companies. Legal actions can be taken against each case of violations of rights of Dalits.

SRED also co-organised a seminar on Trafficking, Migration and Gender Insecurity. One of the issues raised by SRED was an issue of Mathamma, when sexual exploitation of women is justified in the name of religion. Migrant women from Asian countries experience discrimination and violence.

Titi Soentoro, SC member from Indonesia led the seminar on Export Credit Agencies (ECA). She also contributed to the People Voices Struggles of Courage, Resistance and Hope by submitting a story of Indonesian woman migrant worker and a story on the struggle of local people against PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation of USA, in Buyat Bay of Indonesia.

For sure, the objective to strengthen solidarity of women’s organisations with broader social and people’s movements working against neo liberal policies on the issues of food sovereignty, violence against women, fundamentalism and women’s human rights was achieved in Hyderabad.

amarsanaa@apwld.org