Those Asking To Hear Our voices - Appeals For Support
The following are on-going cases already sent out through the IFN, but which still need international support.
Family Law in Greece
A call to solidarity with women In Greece In pressuring the Greek government to make real changes In Greek law In order to improve the situation of Greek women.
The present law recognizes the man as head of the house, giving him the right to decide everything which concerns the household without obliging him to take into consideration the opinion of his wife or other members of the family.
When a woman marries she loses both her name and nationality, taking in both cases that of her husband. She needs her husband's authorization in order to start business, and her husband can forbid her to work outside the home if it causes her 'to neglect the household'.
According to the Constitution of 1975, Greek men and women have the same rights and duties and all laws according women second class status must be abolished by 31 December 1982. As of today nothing essential to this end has been done.
The Minister of Justice, Mr. Stamatis, declares that he will not permit the endangering of the 'institution of the family'. That is to say, he publicly and categorically avows that the family is based upon the submission, the differentiation, and oppression of women. It is therefore clear that the intention of the Government is to ignore the voices of women. One can understand that the Government will only impose those superficial changes which will not affect the patriarchal character of the Greek family.
Faced with this position of the government the women's organizations have realized certain demonstrations of protest:
In 1979 gatherings in the theaters of Athens, Saloniquy, and Patras. In 1980 open air demonstrations in Athens, Patras, Chaina, and Saloniquy where a march of women was stopped brutally by the police.
Both demonstrations demanded the abolition of all inequalities of Greek women; the right of the man over the woman, the patriarchal form of the family, the elimination of domestic imprisonment, and the abolition of the difference in rights between illegitimate and legitimate children
We continue our struggle, and invite you to join in solidarity with us by:
— sending letters of protest to the Greek Parliament, Athens, Greece
— exposing the situation of women in Greece in your mass media
— demonstrating in front of Greek embassies and consulates in your country We also ask that you send articles on Greek women and Greek law which appear in your local media to the following address:
Venetia Stavropoulou
Mouvement des Femmes Democrates
9, Rue Xenophanous
Pagrati - Athens TT 502
Greece
The Women in Armagh (Ireland)
Pauline McLaughlin of Creggan, Derry, was arrested on October 20, 1976. Over a period of two days she was subjected to psychological intimidation and sleep deprivation in Strand Road's Royal Ulster Constabulary Barracks. She signed a statement placed before her containing an admission of murder.
After spending 14 months on remand she was tried in a Diplock juryless court. The only evidence presented against her was the statement she had signed, a statement the court was told she had read over before signing. Evidence for the defense proved this could not be true. Pauline McLaughlin is illiterate and apart from her name and address is unable to read or write. She was declared guilty and on her birthday, February 10, 1978, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment and detention "at the Sec. of State's pleasure".
The women in Armagh live in virtual solitary confinement, with no reading or writing material, no T V or radio, and denied visits and exercise. They are forced to use their cells as toilets, breathing day and night the stench of their own body wastes.
Technically, Pauline was entitled to political status as her alleged offense was committed before March 1, 1976. When this was denied her she joined others claiming political status in their no-work protest.
For three years the women in Armagh have claimed political status and refused to do prison work. As a result they have been denied educational and recreational facilities, free association, food parcels, remission of sentence, and proper medical care. In February 1980, several women were seriously beaten by male warders specially brought into the prison to carry out cell searches, and all women were denied washing, laundry and toilet facilities. When this attempt by the prison governor to break the spirit of the women on protest failed, he offered to return the facilities as 'privileges'. The women knowing these 'privileges' would be granted only at whim, refused and began a 'no wash' protest.
For Pauline McLaughlin there was the added discomfiture of having to lie in her own vomit. She had always had difficulty in retaining food and this medical problem was aggravated by the prison diet. Continual vomiting after meals brought her normal weight of 133 lbs. below 84 pounds. Her comrades prevailed on her to give up her protest and she was transferred to the prison's hospital wing.
Pauline McLaughlin has not as yet received the medical treatment demanded by her deteriorating physical condition. A recent visitor reports: "She is just a heap of bones, her arms are like chicken legs, her skin is drawn tightly over her face, her fingers are bony spindles, her once black hair is now heavily streaked with gray and her teeth are decaying. She is suffering from dizzy spells and black-outs, and her bones, which protrude from her fragile body, ache if she sits in any one position for any length of time". The prison regime currently refuses to reveal her precise weight.
Conditions at Armagh — like the grossly inadequate medical care suffered by Pauline McLaughlin - violate the International Codes laid down to protect human rights. Further, whatever the political basis for incarceration at Armagh, the women in Armagh are subjected to such treatment because they are women. Clearly, then, the women at Armagh are in need of support of women around the world.
Donations, requests for more information, and letters of support to:
Women Coordinating Group on Armagh
c/o A Woman's Place
48 William IV Street
London WC2
UK.
Solidarity with Women Workers of CONEL (Peru)
We received this letter from Peru recently, with a note that the struggle is still going on, so please send letters or telegrams as soon as possible. The address of the President is presumably simply Lima, Peru.
Forty women workers of the Consorcio Electronico who took over the factory in December 1979, to defend the stability of their jobs, are asking for support and solidarity to continue their struggle and to take over the administration of this enterprise.
The managers of CONEL decided to close the factory, alleging that they were in a difficult economic situation. This maneuver was encouraged by the authorities of the Ministry of Labour. For ten months the women workers — most of them mothers of families — have not received their salaries. They are living in a precarious situation: sleeping on mats or in the factory yard, not knowing if there will be food from one day to the next. On 3 January 1980 they were attacked by fifty thugs sent by the director of the factory. They defended themselves courageously.
The decision to remain inside the factory was taken in order to prevent the owners from removing the machinery. CONEL is a business which makes replacements for electrical appliances and which mainly employs women. The workers have verified that the owners have established new businesses with the profits of CONEL...
The forty women remain inside the factory, ready to face renewed violence from the thugs and the police, inspite of an eviction order. Among them are two mothers in late stages of pregnancy, as well as children of two, three and four years.
ALIMUPER is requesting letters* to be sent to President General Morales Bermudez, demanding the end of violence against the women workers and that they be permitted to exercise their right to work.
Lima, Peru, February 1980
ACCION PARA LA LIBERACION DE LA MUJER
PERUANA (ALIMUPER)
* Please send a copy to ALIMUPER
Apartado 2211
Lima 100
Peru
Women in Namibia
Women in Namibia face a double oppression — as Namibians under the illegal occupation of the South African regime, and as women under traditional forms of oppression. Now, in the process of the war of liberation which is being fought by SWAPO, both these forms of oppression are being confronted together.
Putuse Appolus, Organiser of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) Women's League: "Within African society women were long considered commodities and brought up as slaves for the men — told how to cook, bring up the children, be loyal and friendly to the husband — not to speak badly to him but to bring him a nice plate of food... It was just another form of repression... On the front all the work is shared without question. Everyone takes their turn in the hunting, skinning and cooking of the animals. They all wear the same uniform and it's interesting to see that the girls don't treat themselves as 'girls' ... It's a matter of 'comrade', a communal sort of life (without the sexist division)".
Women in the west can give very real support to the women of Namibia by sending contributions - either of tampons and underwear, or of the money to buy these in bulk — to:
Namibia Support Committee
21-25 Tabernacle St.
London EC2
U.K.
Sexism in Japanese Broadcasting
On 13 of April about 50 feminists did a sit in at N.H.K. (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) protesting against an English conversation program and demanding the broadcasting of it be canceled because of its discriminative character
Please read the translation of our protest letter to N.H.K. which follows. You can easily see the sexist contents of the program.
Despite our protest N.H.K. did telecast the program. Omitting the sentence, "A man has got the right to treat his wife as he sees fit", from a repeating excercise does not change the discriminative character of the whole conversation. Apparently they did not understand our point, or to say it more exactly, they did not listen to us. N.H.K. ignored our continued protest and re-telecast the program on 16 of April.
As N.H.K. is Japan's public broadcasting system and more than 100,000 people are watching the program all over Japan, we regard this as a very serious breach of human rights. We are now making protests against N.H.K. not only to protest against this program but to prevent further discrimination in mass media.
The staff of the program asserted repeatedly that the contents were not sexually discriminative and that they were confident of it not being so even if judged internationally.
We decided to ask help and cooperation from abroad. In Asia, the stereotyped concept of women is much stronger than in American and European countries and we feminists are still very much in the minority.
We need your help and cooperation!! We will appreciate it very much if you make protests with us and write protest letters to N.H.K.
Address: N.H.K. T.V. English Conversation Program
Jinaan Shibuya-ku Tokyo, Japan
Thank you very much!!
International Women's Year's Action Group, Japan
Nitsue Yamada
Mariko Higuchi
Green Mansion Apt. D, 1-10 Wakaba Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, Japan
— Translation of the Protest Letter —
The President of N.H.K. 12 April, 1980
Tomokazu Sakamoto
Dear Sirs:
The contents of an English conversation program of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (N.H.K.) telecast on 13 and 16 are apparently sexist. We believe that telecasting such discriminatory contents as an educational program not only preserves the sexist reality in Japan but also encourages it.
We protest against its contents strongly and demand that the program for Sundayand Wednesday be canceled.
The lesson is titled "The Domineering Husband" and its contents are the conversations between an American woman journalist and Japanese wife and husband (See enclosed copies of the text).
We protest against this discriminatory content because of the following reasons.
1. "A man has got the right to treat his wife as he sees fit.", "It's her job to serve me"., "A woman must regard her husband as her lord and master...", "Your husband seems to think of you as a servant", etc. Women's rights and dignity are totally ignored in these sentences. To let the audience repeat these discriminatory sentences as a practice of English conversation is nothing but encouraging sexual discrimination in Japan. Especially, it implants discriminatory concepts in young students and audiences.
N.H.K., as Japan's public broadcasting system, must be accused of its responsibility in broadcasting such a discriminatory educational program.
2) The stereotyped concept, "men should go out to work and women should stay at home" fixes women's lives to stay at home and serve their husbands, and it denies a basic human right — women's right to work — the right to lead economically independent lives. This stereotyped, discriminatory concept was put into the conversation as a matter of course.
Moreover, they described women's jobs at home as women's special rights at home, though in reality all the housekeeping chores and taking care of children are great burdens on women's shoulders.
By distorting this reality, they hide the essential qualities of the sexual discrimination and weaken natural angers of women. Judy's anger was turned into false understanding of the situation in which the real controller of the house is the wife. Her anger disappears at the end of the conversation.
On the other hand, by the expressions like "He is just a great big baby", "She does everything for me. I don't think I could live without her", "Without me nothing could be done in this house after all" they tease the husband's inability to do everyday life chores and make it seem like women have more power at home. They hide the husband's power supported by the economic system. After all, these conversations play a big role in preserving and fixing the present discriminatory situation and the stereotyped roles of men and women.
3) In the preface of the textbook titled "To the audience of 'English conversation II' it says 'This year's 'English conversation ir will have lessons in supposed situations where we explain Japanese concepts to foreigners in Japan". However, the contents actually give false information about the discriminated situation of Japanese housewives.
In Japan husbands give the salary, not necessarily all of it, to their wives and the wives have to think how much money should be spent on food, education, clothes etc. However, it does not mean that Japanese wives hold "the purse strings". Most of the time, when a wife wants to spend some money on something, she has to have her husband's approval. It is wives who have to make a budget within a limited amount of money and thus husbands get rid of those troubles. As long as husbands are the ones who go out and earn money, wives cannot really hold purse strings.
We think it inexcusable that they described this as if it were a special right of Japanese wives and used it to rationalize the sexist contents and oppressed situation of Japanese women
As you can see, the contents of the lesson 'The Domineering Husband" is nothing but sexual discrimination, and it is inadmissible for us women.
The stereotyped concepts, "men should go out to work and women should stay at home" is sexual discrimination. Both men and women should have the responsibility of a household. This has become worldwide common sense.
Last December "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women" was adopted at the United Nations.
In the preface it says "...the upbringing of children requires a sharing of responsibility between men and women and society as a whole", "Aware that a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality between men and women", and also in Article 10 (C) it says, "The elimination of any stereotyped concepts of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging coeducation and other types of education which will help to achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and adaption of teaching methods".
In the International Women's Year's World Plan of Action they emphasized roles of mass media in abolishing sexual discrimination.
Thus, abolishing sexual discrimination has become world wide common sense, and it is a responsibility of mass media to recognize it.
If N.H.K. refuses to carry out this responsibility and telecasts the discriminatory program despite our protest, it will go against the international trend of uplifting human rights.
Again, we strongly protest the sexist contents of the program and demand that the broadcasting of it be canceled.
International Year's Women's Action Group
Green Mansion Apt. D, 1-10 Wakaba Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo Japan
Contraceptive Action Programme, Ireland
This year in the twenty-six counties of Ireland we will see the introduction of new legislation on contraception. Both houses of parliament have just finished debating what many consider to be a draconian piece of legislation. Far from extending right of access, establishing family planning clinics throughout the country and de-criminalising contraceptives, their sale and distribution, the Bill further restricts the right to choose.
Briefly the new Bill aims to: distribute condoms on doctors prescription through chemists shops only; give authority to doctors to decide on "bona-fide" cases and the right to opt out of providing a service; restrict distribution of information to those who have been licensed by the government; insist all outlets for "artificial contraceptives" be licensed (natural method clinics are exempted). The effect of the Bill will be to hand over to private enterprise (doctors) what should essentially be a State funded and organised service; discriminate against the working class who will not be able to afford a doctors and chemists dispensing fee; give moral authority to the medical profession to veto the personal behaviour of individuals (and implicity restrict the sexual and personal behaviour of youth and unmarried); and effectively force many women to opt for the most accessible and not necessarily most suitable form of birth control with possible disastrous consequences.
Though the Bill has met some opposition in the parliament, most of the opposition it has faced has come from the supporters of our campaign. We are fighting for the Right to Choose for All; for a fully comprehensive family planning service as part of the general health service; for the training of doctors, nurses and layworkers in all matters of birth control and finally for the provision of a sex education programme in all schools at first and second level.
CAP has organised many public meetings, demonstrations and probably most successfully opened a shop to sell contraceptives last November in direct defiance of the Law. To date there has been no action taken against us (possibly as the new Bill was under discussion) but we are sure that this will no longer be the case by the end of the year.
CAP believes that the successful enforcement of this Bill would mean a big blow for democratic rights, a defeat for the struggle of women on the right to choose and a major setback to those forces organising to liberalise Irish society. In this context, it is essential that CAP continues its campaign. We intend to do so, but in the face of severe penalties. For instance a £500 to £5000 fine and/or twelve months imprisonment, in the light of this, you will see how international solidarity is extremely important. We are asking you and/or your organisation to popularise the issues as widely as possible; to send messages of support to our campaign and of protest to any embassy or consul office in your country. Any solidarity activity you can organise would also be very important, meetings, pickets of tourist offices, embassies etc. A more ambitious project of course would be the organisation of speaking tours, but as we have small funds these would have to be self-financing.
Donations and requests
for information to:
CAP (Contraceptive Action Program)
c/o Students Union Trinity College
Dublin 2
Ireland
A Statement from Women Workers of the Philippines
We firmly believe that the conditions of women in our country should only be viewed in the context of the conditions of our society. We are a reflection of our society.
We belong to a Third World country which is basically agricultural. Our country is rich with natural resources. But our economy is dominated by foreign monopoly capitalists. The United States of America and Japan remain the major trading partners of and the top investors in the country. Because of this and the economic policies of our government — which are reflected in the presidential decrees, general orders and letters of instruction — we are subjected to conditions not any different from those of men or children. Basically we are oppressed and exploited as human beings.
Unemployment is high — 11.1 million out of a labor force of 27.7 million, or an unemployment rate of 46% . Our daily wage is pegged at Pl3.00/day ($1.73) even as the government's wage commission estimates that the average cost of daily food and other basic necessities for a family of six is P46.27. In spite of the rise in GNP and allowances granted, real wages have gone down by 39.1% . The ADB notes that the average daily consumption of food in the Philippines is the lowest in Asia. We are malnourished. We live in shanties built of cardboard and junk. We live with the barest of facilities.
As workers we are denied our rights. Wages are low, working conditions are almost inhuman, quotas are unreasonably high, ranging from 1,000 pieces per day for garments workers to 15,000 pieces for electronics workers. But we are not allowed to resist. General Order 5 bans all strikes, rallies or demonstrations. Presidential Decree 442 put us on preventive suspension if we actively participate in unions, strikes or stand up for our rights.
As women we are doubly exploited. Feudal concepts of women relegate us to "unproductive" housekeeping and caring for the children. We are discriminated upon in work and wage rates. We are relegated to highly monotonous jobs. Promotions to managerial positions are rare and are reserved for men. Wage rates for women are lower. Average weekly cash earnings of men are 1 1/2 times more than ours. We are exploited sexually. Sometimes we must "lay down or lay-off". And to this we add the increasing prostitution and sexual exploitation in the country as a result of tourism and the present economic crisis.
We protest against these conditions. Together with our fellow workers, we demand:
1. the right to strike
2. just and decent wages
3. the right to organize and form unions
4. security in work tenure and humane working conditions
5. return of civil rights
6. nationalization of foreign dominated industries
We demand the right to genuine education. An education which liberates us from oppression and exploitation. An education which conscientizes towards a just and democratic Philippine society.
We ask for your support!
Send letters of support to:
Filippijnengroep Nederland
van Lidth de Jeudestraat 26
3581 GJ Utrecht
Netherlands
Filippijnengroep Nederland
van Lidth de Jeudestraat 26
3581 GJ Utrecht
Netherlands
Danner House : Copenhagen Women's Centre
Once upon a time there was a woman whose name was Louise Rasmussen. She was born out of wedlock in 1815. Louise entered the Royal Danish Ballet, where she met the king of Denmark, Frederik the 7th. She became his mistress, and he made her a Countess of Danner.
Louise never forgot her poor background and built, among other things, a big house containing 52 small apartments to give women from the working classes free shelter.
One hundred years later, in 1978, 30 women's groups got together in Copenhagen - they wanted to take over the house as it had been criminally neglected for decades and was only inhabited by four old women. The rest of the house was blocked up. As we were not able to get in contact with the board of the Danner House, whom we knew to be negotiating to sell it to a building firm, we decided to storm and occupy the house on November 2, 1979. After we had been there for six weeks the house was sold over our heads. We were confronted with the choice either to buy the house from the new owners or to move out. So what did we do?
We started a countrywide collection. We got ourselves registered as a charity and then went to work, arranging support dinners and demonstrations. We made collection boxes with the slogan: WOMEN GIVE TEN - A LITTLE MORE FOR MEN! We arranged jumble sales, and fleamarkets, and got artists to perform free. We had lists for support signatures and fundraising. A lot of posters and postcards were printed and sold. The media became very interested and gave us daily coverage. We became very popular and the money just poured in. A lot of private firms donated enormous funds. On the 1st of April 1980 the house was ours! We had collected over 3,000,000 danish kroner. The jubilations were endless!
The plan for the house is to open half of it for battered women and the rest of it for many women's groups so that the battered women can integrate naturally into the different activities, and through that to find out what they want to do with their lives. These activity groups are Women's Aid; a book cafe; a restaurant; workshops; cultural activities; feminist self defence; a media group; printing; a second hand shop; and many other things. At the moment there are about 25 women's groups working there, and many other women who just come in and participate. All women are welcome.
On August 1st, the house will become a building site. We have gotten support from the State and the local council to create an unemployment scheme for women. We have made a slogan: Women Build for Women. It is the biggest unemployment scheme for women in the history of Denmark
We are still collecting money, and hope we can open the house May 1, 1981.
Donations and requests for further information to:
The Women's Center
The Women's Center
Danner House
Nansensgade 1
Nansensgade 1
1366 Copenhagen K.
Denmark