In
the International Women’s Day of the year 2000, COSATU would liked to take
the
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 an 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. Multinational companies find it easier to
search the globe for areas that
offer cheap labor and poor working condition.
Women form
the bulk of casual and informal labor. It is women who are mostly to be
found in sweatshops and who
are least likely to be organized. And when they are organized
into unions, women struggle to climb the
ladders of power
in those movements.
Women who do
not have formal employment lead equally difficult lives.
Characterized 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 it is important
to analyses
the issue of poverty from the view of women.
While $700
billion a year is
spent on military budgets world wide, less
than $20 billon is spent on the essentials of life (
accessible clean water, health, sanitation and basic education)!
the tap 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 industrialized
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
un-waged work to women , in home on the land in family
businesses, in places of worship, in neighborhoods in
villages, towns and cities.
We further call for the abolition for “Third World debt
“. The work women
do massively increased by structural adjustment programmers imposed by the International Monetary Fund has more than repaid the debt. In any case,
these “ loans” must be ontextualized 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, fridge, washing machines, computers ..
just because women are poor
doesn’t mean they
have fewer needs.
In addition to
the specter 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 an domestic
violence. Capitalism has widened the
gap between the “ "haves" and the “ have -nots “ and
has ensured that women
have become even more dis-empowered. Violent crimes however are
not limited to the poor women since all classes find themselves
victims of rape, domestic violence and abuse. This takes a
sharper form however when women are poor . 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.
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The reproductive roles given to women limit their ability to conduct sustainable economic activity.
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Women get employed in the most exploitative areas of labor because of their low level of education and skills
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Women hove more difficulties in accessing land
-
And because of their subservient status women are more
likely to contract HIV/AIDS than men
-
Women especially unemployed women in rural areas,
townships and informal settlements experience
the worst effects of poverty.
We as
representatives of the organized working class are determined to
change this situation. 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:
Affordable
and accessible housing and transportation. Protection against
all violence- at home, in the
factory, in the office, on the farm, on the street......
Pay equity
for all – equal pay for work of equal value internationally. Wages for caring work, is more valuable than raising children
and cringe for others?
Paid
maternity leave, breast- feeding bread and other benefits that
recognized
Women’s biological work rather than penalize us for
being women . Equal opportunities in the workplace and
measures to redress the effects
of patriarchal oppression.
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.
An article
written from South Africa on International Women's Day this year
Source :Proworker
--- Annual Publication of ITUN Secretariat,
Katmandu, Nepal
