Report of Strike 2001

We are the Feminist Group of the 8^th of March who supports the worldwide action Global Strike of Women, which is held on the 8^th of March every year. That is why we have decided to organize a happening at námestí Míru in Prague 2 on the 8^th of March 2001 to express solidarity with this global action and indicate concrete problems in the situation of women in the Czech Republic. This happening will be preceded by a two-week informational campaign.

We all live in a system based on inequality and exploitation. We refuse hunt for profit, ruthless competition, social inequality, consumers´ lifestyle. We demand a society based on equality and social justice regardless of sex, age, ethnicity, nationality or sexual orientation. We are aware that it is not possible to separate problems of women from social problems, inspite of that we have decided to target especially women´s issues at this time.

More than half of the Earth´s population are women, who do 2/3 of world´s labor, for which they gain only mere 5% of global income. 2/3 of this labor is done without the right of award. 95.5% of the world´s property is owned by men, and only 4.5% by women. Powerful agents of globalization are in most cases white men – politicians, financiers, businessmen and property owners. The logic of capitalism derives itself from the economy of production and market, not from the economy of household and reproduction, which is the very core of human life. Women´s work, although it is undervalued, and is not expressed in economic statistics, is the condition for survival and reproduction of humankind in all societies all over the world.

Women are discriminated against in labor market. In the Czech Republic, the average monthly salary of a woman is approximately by 30% lower than a man´s. The labor market is clearly divided into male and female professions, and feminized sectors of work are undervalued by the whole society.

Also, women are forced by the social convention to take on the whole responsibility for childcare, the care for their relatives, their partner and the functioning household. Women often become victims of domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape. Women are objects of exploitation, traffic and trade – this concerns not only prostitution and its other hidden forms, but also the every day manipulation with women´s bodies in the media.

The society has been firmly shaping the roles of men and women, producing stereotype behavior patterns, which are often not comfortable for either sex. Men also want to raise their children, women also want to take an active part in the public sphere. What we want is equal division of labor and responsibility between men and women. What we want is the change of present social relations, development of new communication, which will help us rename and rearrange social and partner relationships. Everyone should have a chance to determine his/her goals and choose ways of their fulfillment.

With regard to the social status of women in the Czech Republic, we attempt to make these particular changes:

• society based on principles of solidarity, equality, decentralization of power, love, mutual respect and respect to nature

• appreciation of non-paid work of women and men by the society

• even division of childcare and housework between men and women

• elimination of discrimination in labor market: equal pay for equal work, equal opportunities in gaining jobs regardless of age, sex, looks, family status, number of children, health; prospective introduction of daycare facilities in employment.

• higher allowances for people on parental/maternity leaves

• elimination of beauty myth – refusal of abuse of the human body in media and advertisements

• higher participation of women in decision making in the public sphere (not limited to the career within political parties)

• putting an end to hidden sexual violence in employment, marriage and relationships

• improvement of the distortions of feminism in the media

• promoting women´s issues in civil society

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