by BI Yantao, China
Global Women Strike (GWS) is a nongovernmental organization headquartered in London, taglined as “International network for recognition and payment for all caring work, and the return of military spending to the community starting with women the main carers”. Cooperating with national co-ordinations in 13 countries and participating organisations in over 60 countries, Global Women Strike coordinates international action on 8 March, International Women’s Day, and throughout the year.
Global Women Strike demands:
* Payment for all caring work - in wages, pensions, land & other resources. What is more valuable than raising children & caring for others? Invest in life & welfare, not military budgets or prisons.
* Pay equity for all, women & men, in the global market.
* Food security for breastfeeding mothers, paid maternity leave and maternity breaks. Stop penalizing us for being women.
* Don't pay 'Third World debt'. We owe nothing, they owe us.
* Accessible clean water, healthcare, housing, transport, literacy.
* Non-polluting energy & technology which shortens the hours we work. We all need cookers, fridges, washing machines, computers, & time off!
* Protection & asylum from all violence & persecution, including by family members & people in positions of authority.
* Freedom of movement. Capital travels freely, why not people?
I got to know Global Women Strike six years ago, when I was studying in England. Since then on, I have kept in touch with my friend Ms Ruth Hall, a backbone of this international NGO.
For more information, please log onto http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/.
