> Women Rising for Peace and Justice
>
> Friday, January 17, 2003
>
> Women1s Anti-War Day of Action
>
> Part of a National Week of Resistance for Justice
> and Peace in the spirit of
> Martin Luther King
>
> War, poverty, and racism, the three evils named by
> Martin Luther King, are
> intimately linked to the oppression of women.
> Together they form strands of
> a rope binding people worldwide. Untangle that rope
> by joining in a women1s
> day of action. In conjunction with a week of
> resistance to the U.S. war
> against Iraq, we weave a multicolored web of peace,
> to bind and transform
> the warmakers.
>
> Why a women1s action? Because women have a unique
> stake and a valuable
> perspective on issues of war and peace.
>
> Poverty is a women1s issue: The vast majority of
> people worldwide living in
> poverty are women and children. The war against
> Iraq will divert
> desperately needed funds from social programs,
> health care and education.
>
> Racism is a women1s issue: Women of color and women
> of discriminated groups
> bear the double burden of race and sex oppression.
>
> War is a women1s issue: Women die under the bombs,
> see their homes,
> families, and ability to provide for the next
> generation destroyed. War
> exalts the values of toughness, hardness and
> aggression that a patriarchal
> culture assigns to men, and denigrates compassion,
> nurturing, tenderness,
> and love.
>
> Make January 17 a day to express our solidarity with
> the women of Iraq,
> Palestine/Israel, Colombia, and other war-torn areas
> of the world and call
> for a shift of national priorities away from war and
> militarism and toward a
> national agenda that affirms life.
>
> Come to Washington DC for Martin Luther King
> weekend:
>
> ***Hold our women legislators accountable, and
> support, reward, and
> generally cheer on the women of courage among our
> elected representatives.
> ***Weave a web of peace in a candlelight vigil and
> ritual at dusk on Friday,
> January 17.
> ***Participate as a contingent in the January 18
> peace march.
> ***Form women1s affinity groups to participate in
> the larger, all-genders
> nonviolent civil disobedience on January 19<ETH>and
use
> our peace web to bind
> and transform institutions of war.
> ***Join the Women1s Peace Vigil at the White House.
> The women1s peace vigil
> was initiated on November 17, 2002 and will continue
> through March 8,
> International Women1s Day. The vigil is a constant
> presence directly in
> front of the White House and a constant reminder to
> the decision-makers in
> Washington, DC, that millions of people in the U.S.
> and around the world
> oppose a pre-emptive att ack on Iraq.
> Drop by the women1s peace
> vigil while you1re in DC for the MLK Jr. weekend
> activities or any other
> day. For more information, call. (202) 393-5016.
> Consider extending your
> stay in Washington DC so you can to join the vigil.
> The Vigil can help you
> with housing if you are participating in the vigil
> for at least two days.
>
> All actions are women initiated and women led, but
> men are welcome to join
> and/or support.
>
> Organize in your home communities!
>
> ***Organize a women-led candlelight vigil in your
> community at dusk on
> Friday, January 17. Encourage participation by the
> diversity of women and
> women1s groups that make up your community.
> ***Stand with Women in Black in your community in
> opposition to the war.
> ***Organize a meeting, teach-in, speak-out, and/or
> press conference on how
> women in your community are affected by the three
> evils of poverty, war, and
> racism.
> ***Lobby your women Senators and Representatives.
> Set up meetings with your
> women representatives to ask them to speak out
> against war and push for a
> national agenda that reflects the values of peace,
> compassion, generosity,
> and recognition of the interconnectedness of the
> whole human family. We
> need them to use their positions of power to lobby
> for our agenda!
> ***Contact the media. Organize localy a women
> against war press conference
> that includes women from the business and labor
> communities, religious
> women, women community leaders, and others. Write
> opinion pieces and letters
> to the editor and call in to radio talk shows to put
> out the message that
> women oppose war and want the $200 billion that
> would be spend on a war
> against Iraq redirected to health, education,
> housing and the welfare of our
> children.
> ***Put a light in your window to symbolize your
> commitment to peace.
> International Women:
>
> We ask for your support and solidarity. Please let
> us know if you can plan
> a vigil or activity in support of our actions, and
> send us your messages of
> support.
>
> Please post your events to www.unitedforpeace.org,
> and/or
> www.codepink4peace.org. For more information,
> contact the Women1s Peace
> Vigil at 202-393-5016. You can also join our
> organizing listserve by
> sending an email to
> ufp_womenscaucus-subscribe@???,
> with 'subscribe1 in the subject heading.
>
> Mid January is THE crucial time to stop the war
> against Iraq. Thousands of
> people are expected to come to Washington, DC on the
> Martin Luther King Jr.
> holiday weekend to participate in anti-war protests
> and commemorate Dr.
> King1s legacy of organizing against war, militarism,
> and injustice. United
> for Peace, the new national anti-war network, and
> Black Voices for Peace are
> coordinating a week-long calendar of anti-war
> activities, including a
> non-violent civil disobedience on Jan. 19.
> International ANSWER is calling
> for a mass rally on Jan. 18 with a solidarity rally
> in San Francisco.
> Black Voices for Peace is organizing a conference
> for justice and peace on
> Jan. 20 and is encouraging churches throughout the
> country to incorporate a
> peace and justice message into their services that
> Sunday.
>
> Women Rising for Peace and Justice is a caucus of
> United for Peace, and
> includes Unreasonable Women, Code Pink for Peace,
> many contingents of Women
> in Black, and other women1s groups.
>
>
>
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