gender and militarism

by Shelley Anderson

by autonomous Women’s Groups in Belgrade, Serbia

Women’s autonomous groups in Belgrade are communicating publicly in order to condemn the Serbian regime’s violence in Kosova. The war in Kosova has begun. The violence of the Serbian regime is the continuation of the apartheid policy which the regime has applied for the past ten years. And the present situation shows that territory is sacred, not human life.

by Ellen Elster

Newest WRI Women Member

Congratulations to Simone Maria Helwig on becoming the youngest WRI Women's Working Group member! Simone was born December 20, the first child of WRI Women's Working Group coordinator Maggie Helwig and former "Peace News" editor Ken Simons. Congratulations to the happy parents! Maggie and her family will be returning to Canada in a few months, where they will continue their peace work.

African women peace activists were very visible during the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and the parallel NGO Forum, which took place in Beijing, China, in September 1995. A highlight of the opening ceremony for the NGO Forum featured the presentation of a peace torch by the African Women for Conflict and Peace Project. "The woman is the first person to promote peace, because she is the first victim when there is no peace," said one African activist. Below is a brief sketch of some of the peace work African women are involved in.

Women in Argentina's Military

Women, formerly banned from Argentine's military, are now being accepted as volunteers. The move came last year after mandatory conscription for men was abolished. Conscription ended because of public outrage over the death of a conscript after being beaten by his superiors. Over 5,000 women have applied to join the military, only ten percent of whom have been accepted into the Army, for communications, administrative and medical work. Three hundred women are now serving their first one-year term. Competition for the few jobs open to women is fierce.

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Press Communiqué

On Wednesday, 9 August, a group of 11 women will publicly present themselves as CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS at 8.30am in front of the Human Rights Commission. In Paraguay there are already 8 women who have previously presented themselves as objectors, but this is the first group made up of only women. We would like to therefore express the motives behind our objection:

A peace march of mothers of Russian soldiers began at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia, on March 8. The participants offered flowers in front of the memorial to all the victims of the Chechen war. Mothers who had been to Chechnya in attempts to save the lives of their sons read poetry about their experiences. Each marcher then expressed her or his commitment to not use violence, even in self-defense. The Mother's March for Life and Compassion is demanding the immediate end of the war in Chechnya.

Mary is a statistic. She is a Karen, one of the largest minority groups in Burma. She is also a refugee, forced to flee her home near the rebel capital of Manerplaw when it fell in late January. The 46-year old civil war in Burma has created at least 100,000 refugees along the Thai-Burma border; the recent fighting has increased that number by 10,000 people. Mary belongs in this latter number.

Last November 1,000 women from every province in Cambodia came together for a display of traditional skills. The display also kicked off the "Women Weaving the World Together" project, with Khmer women connecting pieces toegther they had woven, to form a ribbon one kilometer long. Organizers hope to collect 20 kilometers of cloth (from pieces one meter wide, of any length, and from any fiber) from individuals and groups around the world. The ribbon will be sent to the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing. Organizers hope to raise US$ 50,000 for a women's project fund as well.

Daily violence - Social and urban insecurity

Convenor: Ana Chavez (SERPAJ-Argentina)

The Clothesline Project

The idea is simple. The result is chilling. The Clothesline Project is collecting 250,000 shirts, designed by women survivors of violence, their families and friends. The shirts--T-shirts, sweatshirts, children's blouses--are sometimes decorated with poems or drawings by abused children, and sometimes with photographs of women who died from being battered. The shirts will be displayed during the Actions to Stop Violence Against Women in Washington DC, April 8-9, as an attempt to educate the public about violence against women.