Women and the 21 Century - Feminist Alternatives
The building of a WORLD of solidarity, peace and equality means raising consciousness as to the essential links that exist between the struggle against neo-liberalism and the defence of a secular culture, between the struggle against patriarchy and militarism and the defence of the right of women to full citizenship and their right over their bodies and lives. Deadline for registrations: April 30, 2010.
Background
Over 150 women and men from the Balkans, The Middle East, Caucasus, Europe and USA, participated at the International Conference: “Peace and Security –Feminist Alternative” held in Skopje on 05-06 October, 2009. As a follow up, several national and international organisations and networks took initiative to co- organise a Global Conference to promote feminist and secular alternatives for Peace and Justice in the spirit of the Beijing’s Declaration and Platform for Action, Millennium Development Goals, CEDAW and the UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, UNSCR 1820 and 1888/89. These are:
Antico, Women’s Civic Initiative - R. Macedonia, organizer of Skopje ConferenceArab Women’s Solidarity Association (AWSA), EgyptEuropean Feminist Initiative Network (IFE-EFI)Organisation for Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), IraqWomen’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development (ACT), EgyptHEYA Foundation for Women, Egypt
The Cairo Global Conference Dec 2010
The Conference “Women and the 21 Century - Feminist Alternatives” in Cairo, 16-18 December 2010 is one of the steps to be urgently taken towards global peace and justice. It will elaborate a feminist critique of the international development and politics and will provide space for exchange of feminist analyses and feminist grassroots work. The Conference expects to gather participants from all parts of the world and contexts who work for promoting a secular and peace world where women and men enjoy equal rights and where religious structures are separated from state and politics. Progressive film makers, writers, key media figures will join to debate and raise their voice for alternatives to dominance and superiority power.
Goals of the Conference
- Elaborate on the link between feminism and its proposals for peace and justice with secularism, as a global precondition for democracy and development, that contributes to fostering peace at the local and global level; - Provide a space for exchange of views, experiences and knowledge among feminists, peace activists, researchers, practitioners, progressive women and men from the civil society and the political sphere globally; - Promote secular and feminist alternatives to the present increasing influence of religious fundamentalisms and conservative thoughts of patriarchal hegemonies; - Open broader channels for solidarity communicating, networking, strengthening of the egalitarian community globally.
Content of the programme
The Conference will raise and discuss during two days links and issues as:
♦International politics and feminist critique to development;
♦Political religious groups, military violence and limiting the freedom of women;
♦Global Patriarchal and social sexual violence against women;
♦A Global-Local Solidarity and feminist movements for secular society as essential precondition for real democracy, just peace and full equality between people regardless of gender, class, religion or other characteristics;
♦Feminist analyses on structural violence against women and its continuum in peace and war;
♦The fundamentalist economic system and its relation to patriarchy, militarism and neo-colonialism.
Inscriptions will be taken until the 30th of April. For more information please contact contact@antiko.org.mk
