International women's day activities

Off Our Backs, Mar 2000

March 8, 2000, International Women's Day, will be a date to remember in the history of the women's movement worldwide: the launching of a planetary solidarity movement involving marches and actions reflecting women's determination to shake up the powers that be. On March 8th, women everywhere will be launching the "World March of Women in the Year 2000" and publicizing the demands for concrete change to combat poverty and violence against women.

This dream of the Federation des femmes du Quebec is now becoming a reality. So far, over 3600 participating groups in 146 countries are currently involved in this unprecedented project. Already, 75 national coordinating bodies have been set up to develop and adopt women's national demands, plan actions and facilitate coordination of the many groups that continue to join forces.

Press conferences will be held in the following cities: Amman, Beirut, Buenos Aires, Brussels, Cairo, Calcutta, Dhaka, Geneva, Kigali,-Lagos, Lima, Lisbon, Managua, Maputo, Montreal, Mexico, New Delhi, New York, Ouagadougou, Ouidah, Rabat, Santiago, Seoul, Tokyo, Vancouver and Washington, and in several others.

A press conference will be held on Wednesday morning, March 8th, in Montreal to announce the official launch of the March. There will be satellite links with Geneva and New York.

Listed in the box below are some examples of the diverse activities from around the world scheduled for March 8.

A signature is also a commitment. Starting on March 8, millions of women and men will sign their names in support of the demands of the World March of Women in the Year 2000. These signatures signify individual and collective commitments to end poverty and violence against women. During the Montreal press conference, special guests have been invited to launch the signature campaign by signing the support cards. On October 17, 2000 a group of women will be delivering the millions `of signatures and support cards in front of the UN.

Reprinted from the website of the Federation des femmes du Quebec: ww.ffq.ca/march2000

Women's Actions Around the World

Peruvian women are organizing a canto a la vida that will include workshops, debates and theatre;

In Brazil, the Carnaval de Rio will be the setting ofthe launch ofthe World March;

In India, women's groups are organizing rallies, composing songs, creating street theatre and testimonies on the theme of poverty and violence against women;

Moroccan women are preparing a cultural festival where many artists will participate in the start of the signature campaign;

In Bolivia, the March will be launched with a Ch'alla, a spiritual ritual of the indigenous peoples of the Andes;

In Switzerland, a press conference is scheduled in Geneva, followed by a march leading up to the offices of the WTO;

Indigenous women plan to launch the World March in Panama during their third continental conference;

In Romania, the March launch will take place in Lasi;

French women want to hold a demonstration at the Place des Droits de l'Homme and rename it the Place des Droits de la Femme et de l'Homme (the Rights of Women and Men Square);

In Haiti, the media will broadcast songs composed to merengue rhythms during the month of February and in the streets of the capital during the three carnival days with the goal of raising the awareness of the population regarding the March demands;

Nepalese women are organizing a march in Kathmandu that will include floats followed by a contingent of women. marching hand in hand, dressed in rainbow colours of the silhouettes in the World March logo;

Mozambican women will be marching through the streets of Maputo from the Organization of Mozambican Women's Square to the Peace Square where they will hold a press conference;

In the Philippines, community assemblies, multi-sectoral forums, an evening torchlight parade and a cultural program will surely incite women to action;

From March 1-8, Pakistani women will be presenting dramas in different communities on women's issues;

In Thailand, the launch will feature a march, a seminar and an exhibit on women and social change;

Women from the Fiji Islands will launch their March activities by playing drums and conch shells (huge seashells) and dancing;

Zambian women are organizing marches and televised debates.