Call For Participation: International Women’s Day March On March 8, 2013

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

International Women’s Day March on March 8, 2013

For a Life Free from Violence Against Women and Girls!

During the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57), taking place at the United Nations in New York from March 4-15, 2013, Member State representatives will discuss the advances they have made in the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. In response to this discussion AWID, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, United Methodist Women and the Women & Global Migration Working Group are calling on women’s organizations around the world to hold rallies, marches and vigils on International Women’s Day, Friday March 8, 2013, to advocate that States respond, protect, and prevent violence against women and girls in all their diversity!

This march calls on States to take concrete steps to end impunity, one of the biggest challenges to achieving justice in cases of violence against women; fund programs and services for gender equality and the realization of human rights; decrease military spending, one of the driving forces of violence against women; and protect women human rights defenders, who are at the forefront of defending women’s rights and who face increased levels of gender-based violence globally.

Given the challenges women and girls face, we invite you and your organizations to join us in demanding that governments:

  1. Take Concrete Steps to End Impunity! Today, millions of women and girls still suffer disproportionately from violence both in peace and in war, at the hands of the State; non-state actors, including transnational corporations; and in the home and community.  Around the world women in all their diversity are beaten, raped, mutilated, and killed with impunity.[i]  State policy must explicitly address the realities of women and girls who experience multiple oppressions due to race, ethnicity, language, religion, class, sexual orientation, marital status, age or national origin, including rural women, immigrant women, indigenous women, if ALL women are to be able to fully claim rights.   States have the obligation to prevent, protect against, and prosecute violence against women whether perpetrated by private or public actors. [ii] States also have a responsibility to uphold standards of due diligence and take steps to fulfill their responsibility to protect individuals from human rights abuses. [iii]   But there is a lack of State accountability when it comes to government’s role in perpetrating violence against women, the role of transnational corporations that work in tandem with States to usurp natural resources and displace entire communities violently, and in protecting women and girls from violence in the home and community.  Within militarism’s culture of violence, individuals in positions of authority believe they can commit crimes with impunity, which is exemplified by high rates of sexual violence within the military, threats by police to women reporting cases of violence, ongoing harassment and intimidation, forced “virginity tests” on female protestors by authorities, and violence against women living and working around military bases. [iv]  Women human rights defenders who work on issues related to economic, social, and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights are also targeted. [v] This State failure to bring perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence to justice remains a critical challenge to ending violence against women.  Across the globe more needs to be done to prevent violence against women and to prosecute those who perpetrate violence against women.[vi]

  2. Fund Gender Equality and Human Rights Instead of Militarism!  Military expenditure, the arms trade and conflict often exacerbate violence against women as well as decrease financial resources for social and economic rights and the promotion of gender equality.  States have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill economic and social rights.  The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) specifies in Article 2.1 that, “Each State Party…undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures.”  Rather than allocating high levels of expenditure toward the military, States should increase financial resources to advance economic and social rights and women’s rights to build a culture of human rights instead of a culture of militarism. 

  3. Protect Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs)! The world over, against all odds, Women Human Rights Defenders work tirelessly for the protection and promotion of human rights.[vii]Yet, violence against these advocates is increasing around the world.[viii] As human rights defenders, Women’s Human Rights Defenders face the same types of risks faced by all defenders who work to uphold the rights of people, communities and the environment; as women, they are also exposed to gender-specific risks and are targets of gender-based violence, such as sexual abuse, harassment, violations from husbands/partners and male colleagues, and violations by the State. [ix] They also face heightened risks and vulnerabilities because of their work on women-specific rights/issues that frequently challenge cultural stereotypes and religion. Their work can raise levels of hostility, more so because women are considered markers of culture and religion.[x]

Get Involved!

Commemorate international women’s day by joining us in this effort!  We are inviting organizations around the world to co-sponsor the march; to carry out their own marches and actions in their own cities and towns and or to carry the messages and slogans from this march in their activities on March 8, 2013. For those in New York City for the CSW we invite you to join us for a local march on March 8^th, 2013 from 10:00am-12:00pm. We will assemble at First Avenue and 42nd Street starting at 10:00am. The march will depart at 10:30am and will proceed to Third Avenue and 47th Street and on to Dag Hammarskjold plaza.  At the plaza we will hear from women human right defenders from all over the world expressing their demands for a life free of violence against women and girls and commemorating our day! The rally will end at 12pm. To co-sponsor and participate please contact:

Carol Barton, United Methodist Women, at CBarton@unitedmethodistwomen.org.
Natalia Cardona, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), at NCardona@awid.org
Savi Bisnath, Center for Women’s Global Leadership, at savi.bisnath@rutgers.edu

Co-sponsorship involves endorsing this call, putting your name on the flyer and doing outreach to your networks.  No costs are involved. The deadline for co-sponsorships is February 28^th, 2013.

To see a chart of all participating organizations and activities please click here.

March Co-Sponsors:

ActionAid

"Acuarelas, mujeres en Movimiento" Asociación Civil - Córdoba- República Argentina 

ADEPROFE: Association pour le Développement et la Promotion de la Femme (Cameroun)

Adéquations

African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)

Amnesty International USA

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)

ASSOCIATION "HORTENCIA", Madagascar

ASSOCIATION LUCOVIFA, Cameroun

ASOCIACIÓN POR LOS DERECHOS DE LAS MUJERES

Association for Women’s Rights in Development, AWID

Association of War Affected Women, Sri Lanka

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice 

BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights

Breakthrough

BRIDGE

Broadway Temple United Methodist Women

CATAPULT

Cause Rurale

Centre for Girls & Interaction (CEGI), Malawi

Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy (CHRAPA), Bamenda, Cameroon

Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers University

Centro de Mujeres Indigenas Aymaras Candelaria, Bolivia

Closet de Sor Juana, Mexico

Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW)

Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de las Mujeres (CLADEM)

Cultural Survival

Débout Fille, RDC

Deltawomen, Nigeria

Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) 

Education International (EI)

Eileen Fisher Community Foundation

Eileen Fisher, Inc

Equita Consultora, Argentina

Feminist Task Force (FTF)

FOKUS - Forum for Women and Development

Foro de Mujeres por la Vida, Honduras

FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund

Fundacion Arcoiris por el respeto a la diversidad sexual, Mexico The Young Feminist Fund

Gender at Work 

Generation Initiative For Women and Youth Network(GIWYN), Imo State, Nigeria

Genre en Action

Ghandi Peace Center, India

Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP)

Global Fund for Women

Global Goods Partners (GGP)

Groots International

The Grail

HOFNA Cameroon

Hope for Domestic Violence Society, Kenya

Huairou Commission

Initiatives des Femmes en Situation Difficile pour le Développement Intégré (IFESIDI), RDC

International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict

International Development Exchange (IDEX)

International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA)

IndustriALL Global Union

Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración, AC (IMUMI), Mexico

International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere

International Research Foundation for Development (IRFD)

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

International Women's Anthropology Conference (IWAC)

International Women's Human Rights Clinic, CUNY Law School

IWRAW Asia Pacific

Just Associates (JASS)

JUSTO Y SUSTENTABLE ARGENTINA 

Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas

MADRE

Masreya horra .. Etkalemi” (Free Egyptian Woman .. Speak Up)

Medical Mission Sisters

National Alliance of Women (NAWO, INDIA)

National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Nigeria Network of NGOs

Organization of Active Women in The Ivory Coast/OFACI

Organisations de Paix pour les Opportunités du Développement

Osez Le Féminisme

PACOPA, RDC

Participatory Human Rights Advancement Society,  Bangladesh

Partners for Law in Development

Peace is Loud

Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)

Presbyterian Women Inc.

Public Enlightment Projects, Nigeria

Public Services International (PSI)

Red Latinoamericana de Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (Latin American Network of Catholics for the Right to Decide)

RED NACIONAL DE PROMOCION DE LA MUJER, Peru

SAFEHAVEN DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE,  NIGERIA

SAKHI for South Asian Women

Sholay Productions

Socio-Economic Development Association

South Asian Women's Creative Collective (SAWCC)

South Asia Women's Watch (SAWW)

Social Transformative Action Network for Development (STAND)

SUPAMAMAS, Kenya

The Association of War Affected Women, Sri Lanka

The Department of Women's & Gender Studies, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

The Hunger Project

The Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ Zone D including 4 states Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue and Kaduna)

UFER - International Movement for Fraternal Union among Races and Peoples

Under the Rainbow - Creative Strategies for Positive Change, South Africa

UNI Global Union

United Methodist Women

Village des Femmes, RDC

Wasandi Women Welfare Association (WWWA), Jati District Thatta Sindh Pakistan

WaterAid

Wesley Foundation, Japan

Why Do I Exist? / KUKI NDIHO RWANDA ORPHANS SUPPORT PROJECT

Women of Africa, DRC

Women for A Change, Cameroon

Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

Women and Global Migration Working Group

Women's Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI)

Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice

Women Initiative for Peace and Good Governance, Nigeria

Women Inspiration Development Center

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)

Women's Intercultural Network (WIN), USA

Women’s Learning Partnership

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)

Women Protection Organisation (WOPO)

Women Thrive Worldwide

Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN)

Women's VOices Now

WORKING WOMEN FRONT (UNION)

World Pulse

Young Women Leadership Club, University of Botswana

Youth Agrarian Society

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[i]Amnesty International, http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/violence-against-women

[ii]Amnesty International, http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/violence-against-women

[iii]Amnesty International, http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/violence-against-women

[iv]Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Campaign Theme Announcement, http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/2012-campaign/theme-announcement

[v]Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Campaign Theme Announcement, http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/2012-campaign/theme-announcement

[vi]Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Campaign Theme Announcement, http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/2012-campaign/theme-announcement

[vii]Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, http://www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/contexualising.php

[viii]Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), http://awid.org/Our-Initiatives/Women-Human-Rights-Defenders

[ix]Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, http://www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/contexualising.php

[x]Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, http://www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/contexualising.php