International Days of Action for Women's Rights

At the WRI 4th International Women's Conference, held in Thailand in 1992, the participants called for strengthening links between women around the world by taking up the tradition of organising common women's actions in different countries. In 1993 one series of events centred around November 25, which has been observed in past years in South America, Asia, and Europe as an International Day of Action to End Violence Against Women. Women from the WRI network reported back on actions that took place in Britain (London, Leeds, Bradford and Glasgow), Canada (Toronto), Croatia (Zagreb), France (Albi), Germany (Köln, Tübingen, Bonn and München), Israel/Palestine (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa), Mali, Serbia (Belgrade), Taiwan (Taipei) and Zimbabwe (Harare).

For March 8, International Women's Day, 1994, WRI has promoted actions on the theme of "Crossing the Lines" to make plain that, many times, solidarity between women can be strong enough to overcome divisions created by governments, armies, and systemic inequality. The Sarvodaya Fellowship Centre in Cochin, for example, planned a candlelight rally on the eve of March 8 to "proclaim the Gospel of Peace and Nonviolence by women of all strata of life, irrespective of caste, creed, or class". In Europe, women from Zagreb and Zenica launched a common protest against the war in Bosnia and Hercegovina and against war in general. For March 8 they have asked concerned women's groups, organisations and individuals to sign their appeal for immediate peace and send letters to Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Other groups —notably in India and Cambodia— have chosen to continue their actions on the theme of violence against women and help break through the wall of silence on domestic and sexual abuse.