Call to action: Americas Women Meeting Against War and for Peace

The Women’s Social Movement against War and for Peace and the World March of Women are initiatives that bring together women’s organizations and social movements in Colombia and internationally. We have joined forces so that, based on organization, mobilization, and dialogue, we might reflect and raise our voices on the critical situation of social and armed conflict that the people of the Americas, and Colombia in particular, are living today – a situation that affects the territory, the sovereignty, and the especially the lives, autonomy, and bodies of women.

It is us, women, who have suffered the ravages of war, which are social, psychological, economic, and physical. We and our bodies are considered spoils of war; we are lowered to the level of object and perceived as being the property of men. War aggravates violence, poverty, and inequality and their perverse effects, as well as displacement, feminicide, and disappearances, all of which affect women disproportionately. In addition, the responsibility for supporting the family falls on women as the State fails to offer basic services, prioritizing instead military projects.

Militarization of the territories poses a risk to the sovereignty of the people. Military bases in the U.S. and Colombia are instruments of military intervention for the political and social control of the people, posing a threat to the entire continent. Historically, military bases have served to control the territory, often through the invasion of indigenous and afro-descendent lands. They are also synonymous with an increase in prostitution, as houses are officially designated for the “entertainment” of the soldiers. For us, however, this represents sexual slavery and other types of violence, such as feminicide.

These are some of the multiple effects of war on the lives of women, and of the people, which urge us to join forces to resist war and build a proposal for peace on our continent. Within this framework we organize a meeting that will take place in three parts during the period from the 16th to 23rd August  2010 in Colombia. It will begin with an international humanitarian action in different parts of the country followed by a meeting of women in Bogota, and end with a public political action characterized by a protest march and a vigil for life and sovereignty.

We call to women of all the social organizations and our brothers and sisters around the world to participate in this great meeting in order to mobilize for life, autonomy, and sovereignty over our bodies and territories. We invite our comrades to show their solidarity with us in our common struggle for negotiated political solutions to the social and armed conflicts that affect our country, and to raise our voices against U.S. military bases in Colombia and in our America.

For further information or confirmation of participation communicate with:
The Women’s Social Movement against War (Movimiento Social de Mujeres Contra la Guerra y por la Paz), email movimientosocialdemujeres@gmail.com / phone: +57 7 646 88 69, Colombia. World March of Women, email: americas@marchemondiale.org / contact phone in Brazil: +55 11 3032-3243. Organización Femenina Popular, email femenina@colnodo.apc.org / phone: +57 7 646 79 63, Colombia.