Women & Global Corporations : work, roles and resistance.

Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, August 11-13, 1978.

Run by the Nationwide Women's Program (NWP) of the American Friends Service Committee, this conference will bring together US and other women who have been struggling to oppose the practices and growing power of global corporations. Will examine the corporate impact on women, and women's responses, with an emphasis on the United States. Three target multinational industries will be dealt with; agribusiness/food, electronics and textile/garment, since they have a high concentration of women workers. Inquiries and ideas to: Linda Nunes/Conference Organizer, Nationwide Women's Program, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102.

Women and Nuclear Power Conference

To be held at Bradford University, Yorkshire, England, 28-29 July 1978. Conference for women with workshops, films, social, food , creche. Suggestions f r om children welcome for the creche. Registration : 2 pounds. Contact Sheryl Crown, 25 Northdale Road, Bradford, 9, England. Telephone : 0742-493010 .

The lesbian Summer Camp

Sejero,
Denmark

The lesbian movement is holding a summer camp at the is land of Sejero, Denmark from 16 June to 25 August. All women are welcome. The price for one week is D.Kr. 250. Money should be sent to Sejerogruppen, Kvindehuset, Gothersgade 37, DK-1123 Copenhagen, Denmark. Giro number is 3297462. At the camp there will be five tents with room for about twelve women in each, one tent for common activities and one tent for a kitchen. You should bring a sleeping bag, something to shield you from the ground, eating utensils and an electric torch - there is no electricity at the camp. The address of the camp is : Kvindelejren, Mastrup, 4562 Sejero, Denmark. Tel. 03 490.

To get there from Copenhagen :

Central Station

Women and the War in Northern Ireland

An International Tribunal on Britain's presence in Ireland planned for Autumn 1978 in London. A special sub-committee for women has been formed, and they give the following information :

Deliberate Sexual Humiliation

15.000 soldiers are in the North of Ireland, supposedly an impartial force there to 'keep the peace' and protect civilians. For ordinary Irish women, this is what the British presence means :

• arbitrary arrests, followed by beatings and 'strip searching'. This can involve examination of anus and vagina, and often with men present.
• being stopped in the street for 'body searches' by (male) soldiers. Pubescent girls appear to be a favourite target.
• the imposition of solitary confinement on the women in Armagh Prison. Many have now been in solitary for nearly a year. Denied exercise, companionship, and any reading material save the Bible, most are severely depressed. and dependent on tranquilizers. At least two are pregnant, and receiving no medical attention.
• sexual abuse from soldiers - 'whore'. 'slag'. etc, - is a daily event; and when the man's armed with a gun, you're not in a good posit ion to answer back.
• rape and sexual assault. There is the case of soldiers being allowed to return to his unit in N. Ireland to complete his tour of duty after being convicted to
  5 years for rape in Britain. While in Derry, he then took the opportunity of beating and sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl. It is believed that rape and sexual assault occur on a far larger scale than is reported.

These and similar abuses have been revealed in inquiries by Amnesty International, National Council for Civil Liberties, and many others. Reports of intimidation have been so widespread that even the Association of Police Surgeons - doctors employed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary - were recently moved to protest at the brutal treatment of persons undergoing interrogation.

Freedom of Speech

But to all such protests the British authorities have remained indifferent. The media have been happy to promote 'Peace Women' Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan whose condemnations of violence are noticeably one-sided. The women we do not get to hear of are those like Katheleen Stewart, whose son was killed by a soldier, his skull cracked by- a plastic bullet fired at point blank range. He was 13 years old. Last year, Kathleen and two other women whose children had recently beer killed by the Army came to Britain to ask for justice am to publicize the circumstances in which their children died . Despite the Army having admitted liability, then were no television interviews for them, no peace prizes They were ignored completely.

The International Tribunal

It is for reasons like this that, early next year, there will be an International Tribunal on Britain's Presence in Ireland . It will investigate evidence on all aspects of Britain's military, political and judicial control in the North of Ireland, including :

allegations of torture : repressive legislation : the operation of no-jury courts : crimes against women : civilian harassment : press censorship, and any other alleged violation of human rights.

Prominent international defenders of civil liberties will act as 'judges' and a 'jury' of delegates from the labour movement will deliver the verdict of the Tribunal. A Women's Sub-Committee has been formed, both because we want evidence on the specific oppression of women to be heard, and because we believe the Tribunal will benefit from the support of the international women's movement

Women's Isolation

Women in the North are both leading the struggle against repression, and bearing the brunt of it. They feel bitte1 at their isolation, and lack of support from Britain, and elsewhere.

The Tribunal is already sponsored by feminists such as Kate Millett, Simone de Beauvoir, Angela Davis, and Sheila Rowbotham. Please show your solidarity with Irish women - support the Tribunal, and help give a voice to those who are rarely heard.

For further details, contact : The Women's Sub-Committee, The International Tribunal, 182 Upper Street, London N 1, England

31 july
African Women's Day

9 august
South African Women's Day