Dear sisters and friends,

We are now well into preparing for the 3^rd Global Women’s Strike on 8 March.  We hope you received our previous letter and want very much to hear from you about your plans for this year’s Strike.

We are very excited not only by our own planned activities for the day but also by Strike actions we are hearing about from women in many countries.  Women in Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Ghana, Guyana, Ireland, India, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand/Aotearoa, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay and the US, are organising Strike activities for the day.  We have also heard from women in Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Congo, France, Nigeria, Poland and Scotland.  As before, women are using the global power of the Strike to strengthen their local demands.  Last year women in Uganda won some free health care services for everyone nationally.  Payday is co-ordinating men’s support for the Strike – so far, men from 18 countries have written statements of support; some recent ones focussed on men refusing the military.

Our London event is a whistle-stop tour and cacerolazo (pots and pans protest) with giant puppets, banners, costumes, drums and clowns to help us target the global killers.  We will start at the Shell Centre in Waterloo, past the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall and have a final speakout at the World Bank in Haymarket.  Women from many different backgrounds are taking part and everyone is welcome.  We will raise the global demands of the Strike on issues such as war, the media, oil, food and water.  Can you or your group send us a statement outlining the demands you want raised at these venues, and why these demands are relevant, to you and the women in your organisation, region or county?  Other people are organising protests which will either join or converge with our tour.  For example, women of different faiths will bear witness at the Ministry of Defence from 12 noon.  And we expect to be met at the World Bank by campaigns representing Third World struggles of women and communities.

Get in touch. Let us know what you’re doing and planning to do for the Strike, or contact us so we can discuss what is possible, and maybe help with problems.  Any action, no matter what size, is an inspiration to other women internationally.  Your news and plans will go up on the website http://womenstrike8m.server101.com and be publicised in other ways.  An exciting 27-minute video of the first Global Women’s Strike is also available.  Women in many countries look forward to hearing from you.

Power to the sisters to stop the world and change it!

Selma James