COSATU salutes the women of the world March 8, 2000 Today is International Womens Day. COSATU would like to take this opportunity to salute all the women around the globe for their courage and for the contributions they continue to make in the fight against poverty, violence, oppression, injustice, wars, famine, disease. Despite the massive contribution women make around the world, they still fall into the category of the poorest and the most oppressed. Massive technological advances and the development of the global village have done little to benefit women around the world. In fact, in many instances it has actually increased their hardships. Multinationalcompanies find it easier to search the globe for areas that offer cheap labour and poor working conditions. Women form the bulk of casual and informal labour. It is women who are mostly to be found in sweatshops and who are least likely to be organised. And when they are organised into unions, women struggle to climb the ladders of power in those movements. Women who do not have formal employment lead equally difficult lives, characterised by poverty and hardship. It is a well known fact that while women continue to produce most of the worlds food they also are the most likely to face starvation. Gender inequalities throughout the world ensure that men, even poor men, are always better off than women. Because of this imbalance in gender relations, we believe t is important o analyse the issue of poverty from the view of women. Women and girls do 2/3 of the world's work for 5% of the income. So when women stop everything stops. While $700 billion a year is spent on military budgets world-wide, less than $20 billion is spent on the essentials of life (accessible clean water, health, sanitation and basic education)! The gap between the rich and the rest is "grotesque" and growing: the wealth of the three richest families is greater than the yearly income of 600m people in the poorest countries. 1/3 of the world's population depends on firewood for fuel which is collected by women and children. In Africa, women and girls grow 80% of the food consumed there. In Asia, many women and girls spend up to five hours a day gathering firewood. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 25% of the population - up to 90% among Native people - have no access to safe drinking water. In industrialised countries, women doing waged work still earn only about 50% of what men earn. Women's yearly unwaged contribution comes to at least $11 trillion. Society, and even the market, would not survive without the unwaged work of women, in the home, on the land, in family businesses, in places of worship, in neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities. We further call for the abolition of "Third World debt". The work women do - massively increased by structural adjustment programmes imposed by the International Monetary Fund - has more than repaid the debt. In any case, these"loans" must be contextualised within 500 years of colonialism and theft? We demand that all women have access to clean drinking water and ecologically sound technology all women deserve cookers, fridges, washing machines, computers . . . just because women are poor doesn't mean they have fewer needs. In addition to the spectre of poverty haunting women across the world, they face a daily threat of violence. In the past century we have seen a massive increase in the levels of rape and domestic violence. Capitalism has widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots and has ensured that women have become even more disempowered. Violent crimes however are not limited to the poor women from all classes find themselves victims of rape, domestic violence and abuse. This takes a sharper form however when women are poor, because they are often forced to stay with abusive partners because of their financial dependence. In addition to this, the security systems are very seldom sympathetic to the poor, especially when they are women. This results in very few women reporting incidents of rape and domestic abuse. In South Africa the situation is also very grim for many women. Poor women are trapped in abusive relationships because of their economic dependence - The reproductive roles given to women limit their ability to conduct sustainable economic activity - Womenget employed in the most exploitative areas of labour because of their low level of education and skills - Women have more difficulties in accessing land - And because of their subservient status women are more likely to contract HIVAIDS than men - Women,especially unemployed women in rural areas, townships and informal settlements experience the worst effects of poverty. We as representatives of the organised working class are determined to change this situation changes. We will fight for an end to poverty and economic oppression of women. We will fight for an end to violence and abuse against women. We will fight for economic and social justice across the globe! We demand the following for women across the globe:
COSATU salutes all those heroines who have worked tirelessly to advance the struggles of the poor and the oppressed (who are mainly women). We continue to be inspired by these revolutionaries, and believe it is fitting a day should be set aside to pay them their well deserved tributes. Issued by Kim Jurgensen on behalf of COSATU - for more information contact: 082 821 7456 |