One girl’s view of her work in Uganda:
“In many families, girls do more work than boys.  They walk very far to collect firewood, collect water, plus cook and wash dishes.  But the boys play football, sometimes they do a little work, picking and drying coffee beans.  But that is the only work they do.  Some families don’t want to send girls to schools – they want girls to marry or be at home working for the family or working for others.  If a girl goes to school the father feels he will lose money, which he would get from the man who marries her. Girls are sent to work for other families – the money the girl gets is sent home, or she is not paid at all, just food and clothes.  So many times, girls are raped and abused by men who employ them, or by men in the family.” 

Emily, 18, England
"I joined the strike because I wanted to make a difference. I dropped out of school when I was 16. I am currently unemployed and have been since October 2005. However, I haven’t just been wasting my time, since May 2006 I’ve been a full time volunteer at the Crossroads Women’s Centre. I went to a public girls’ school where we were pressured to achieve the highest grades possible. We were taught that being rich and successful should be our ultimate aim and this was how we’d gain equality. We were told that our careers should come first and it was suggested if we had children we shouldn’t allow them to interfere with our career. We weren’t even allowed to contemplate the idea of being a housewife as that went against feminist ideas and was not considered useful or fulfilling. In one of the richest countries in the world parents barely see their children as people in the UK work the longest hours in the UK. I for one didn’t want to have to make such sacrifices like missing seeing my children growing up.

Living in London one would expect that things would be better because this is where the government is based and therefore they should tackle the problems on their doorstep before they tackle the rest of the country. But throughout London and the UK woman are being discriminated against. There is a lack of benefits for mothers and those women that do work are often under paid. What’s more women coming to this country seeking asylum are given even less support. In addition to having escaped traumatic experiences in their home country, they are then imprisoned when they come here. And so I strike in an effort to change this and the many other problems women face."

Another young woman speaks about why she is joining the Strike:
"I lived close to a military airport in Sweden (one of the safest countries in the world) and as the planes flew overhead, I never felt I could trust them not to drop a bomb on us.  I also worried (and still do) about my dad and two younger brothers being conscripted to some awful war, because military service is compulsory for men.  And now in the name of feminism the government (in collaboration with the left party) wants to make it compulsory for women as well.

At school and university (which I never finished) I always felt frustrated – I wanted to learn but we were seldom taught something really useful.  Also, almost all of the teachers chose not to see the psychological and physical violence that I and others suffered at school.  In considering our grades more important than our emotional well-being, the school establishment valued our ability to work for the killing machine rather then giving us a caring upbringing

I joined the Strike because  . . . we should have real healthcare instead of drugs pushed by the pharmaceutical industry; good food instead of poisoned food because we can’t afford anything else; and because the cruelty against animals created in these industries must stop.  Last summer, during anti-capitalist demonstrations in Gothenburg, Sweden, the police shot and almost killed several unarmed protesters.  When this happens in what is called the “safest country in the world", you know the world is in big trouble" 

No wonder girls and young women have been centrally involved in the GWS since it started.  In Uganda, young women joined other rural women who walked for 3 days with no food and their babies on their backs to join the Strike, which won some free hospital care for all. 

In Europe and the US, students in Barcelona, Galway, Sheffield, London, Kent, Cambridge, Brighton, Los Angles, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia are involved in the Strike.  In London, we had a Whistle-Stop Tour and Cacerolazo (pots & pans protest) to Sweep Out the Global Killers, from the Shell Centre (piped poison), to the Ministry of Defence (global killers), Institute of Director (pushers of arms, poisoned food & drugs), and ending at the World Bank (global loan sharks).

Why not write your own statement individually or with friends?  Send it in, and we'll publish it on the website.  Also, volunteers are always welcome at Crossroads Women's Centre.

More statements from young women

Home