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Women's News, Ireland's Feminist Monthly, Feb 2002 STOP THE WORLD AND
CHANGE IT! GLOBAL WOMEN'S STRIKE, As corporate power and its wars threaten every corner of our lives, people everywhere have formed massive movements - to reclaim our land and our planet and stop the theft of water, seeds and genes. The Global Women's Strike (GWS), women's independent voice in this great movement, calls for investment in caring not killing, reclaiming military spending for caring, feeding, healing, learning. Women do the work of giving birth to, feeding and caring for the whole world. But those in whom we have invested our lives are slaughtered as 'collateral damage' or turned into killing machines. And so we have been central to movements against war and injustice. It is a disaster that only half the human race is trained to care and the other half to believe it has 'more important things to do'. $800+ billion is spent on arms each year - and more has been committed to bombing countries like Afghanistan where people are starving, and silencing any opposition. At this crucial moment, we must make our voices heard and our collective power felt. A strike is the strongest weapon workers have, and women, who do two thirds of the world's work, are the hardest workers. For GWS 2001, women in 60 countries on every continent participated. We expect GWS 2002 to be even bigger. Women (and men who support us) are invited to join actions wherever you are. For a world that values all women's work and every life; and an end to "America's new war" and all wars, and to globalisation - end no pay, low pay and too much work worldwide. |