Tag: international women’s day

Posted on

Filipina Women March Forward on the 101st Commemoration of International Women’s Day

For Immediate Release

March 8, 2012
Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairwoman, GABRIELA USA, chair@gabusa.org

Filipina Women March Forward on the 101st Commemoration of International Women’s Day

As part of a long heritage of resistance and struggle, the women of GABRIELA USA commemorate one hundred and one years of militant struggle, united to advance the rights and demands of women. From San Francisco to LA, New York to Seattle, the women of GABRIELA USA unite with all working class and oppressed people of the world fighting for their national liberation and emancipation from the exploitative and repressive practices of the global imperialist system. GABRIELA USA celebrates working women’s victories in a week-long series of events, forums, and cultural productions across the U.S.

In the wake of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, people in the United States and around the world take to the streets demanding an alternative to an economic system that upholds imperialist and corporate interests over the lives and needs of everyday people. As the global economic crisis worsens, more and more people rise up in response to unjust policies and clear unequal distribution of wealth.

In third world countries like the Philippines, the Benigno Cojuanco Aquino III administration stand idly by as the cost of basic commodities continue to rise, unemployment remains high, and evictions and demolitions occur more than ever. Further, unequal U.S. foreign policies and trade agreements, along with the plunder of natural resources by foreign corporations, continue to dislocate Filipinos and force them to leave the country and seek work elsewhere. Women are 70% of the more than 4,000 nationals who leave the country each day. Even when Filipinos leave for better chances in countries like the U.S., they often fall prey to predatory agencies, as with the experience of Filipino human trafficking survivors dubbed the “Florida 15” who are currently fighting against wage theft and several other labor violations committed against them.

The current economic and financial crises of the crumbling capitalist system hit women the hardest. The economic and ecological repercussions of these crises increased the vulnerability of women to the different forms of oppression, discrimination and violence inside and outside the home. They were the first to be laid off when factories closed down or went bankrupt and had to suffer lower wages and difficult flexible working conditions when hired.  Peasant and indigenous women who are the world’s number one food producers have become the world’s poorest, facing unprecedented hunger and poverty as transnational corporations, local landlords, and governments rush to steal away millions of hectares of lands for corporate farming, mining, infrastructures, dams, tourism and military use.  They are dislocated and dispossessed from their lands, communities and indigenous way of life.

People , especially working women, all over the world are experiencing the heightening contradictions of a global economic crisis brought upon by U.S. imperialism. The momentum to unite with people across the world is only increasing, and it is again timely and necessary to gather the strength of working women to take part in the growing movement against imperialism!

“This International Women’s Day, we continue to build on  the legacy of this day, fighting foreclosures and displacement, workers’ rights violations, political repression, and advancing the rights of women and all people for equality, dignity and livelihood.  GABRIELA-USA is proud to be part of the daily struggles of women in our local communities, throughout the U.S., and in our homeland.” says Raquel Redondiez, Chairwoman of GABRIELA-USA.

Please join us in GABRIELA USA’s International Working Women’s Day Celebrations:

Sisters of GABRIELA Awaken (SiGAW) – GABRIELA USA

Thursday, March 8, 11:30am-1pm
“Women Sow the Seeds of Resistance” – Commemorating International Women’s Day
Claremont School of Theology
Haddon Conference Center in the Butler building
1325 North College Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711


Thursday, March 8, 6:30pm-9pm
Celebrating International Women’s Day
Rosewood United Methodist Church
4101 Rosewood Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004


Friday, March 9, 6:30 PM – 9 PM
Community Reception
spaceLUNA
2404 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1 B
Los Angeles, CA 90057

Pinay sa Seattle – GABRIELA USA

Thursday March 8, 4pm-6pm

Joining API Women and Family Safety Center on 17th Annual Candlelight Vigil

Speak Out and Building Strength

King County Courthouse Lawn and 9th Floor

Seattle, WA 98104


Saturday March 10, 2pm-5pm

Kamay-International Women’s Day Celebration

Honoring Filipina Migrant Women

Southside Commons

3815 S. Edmunds St.

Seattle, WA 98118

Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) – GABRIELA USA

Wednesday March 7, 10am-12pm

The Eve of International Women’s Day

Honoring rural and indigenous women

Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (4th and 1st Ave)

New York, NY 10017


Saturday March 31,  Meet at 12noon at the Bull. Take 4,5 to Bowling Green

STOP Wall Street’s War on Women mobilization

Celebration for International Women’s Day at the Solidarity Center at 3pm

55 West 17th St. 5th Floor

New York, NY. 10011

Babae – GABRIELA USA

Monday March 5, 6:30-8:30pm

International Women’s Day Talakayan

LGBTQ Who?

Filipino Community Center

4681 Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94112

Thursday March 8, 12-1pm


Joining Unite Here Local 2’s International Women’s Day Action

Protesting the exploitation of Filipino, Latino, Chinese and other women hotel workers.

Union Square, San Francisco


Sunday March 11, 4-6pm

Survivors Speak Out

Former political prisoners and survivors of state violence speak out against the continuing human rights crisis in the Philippines and the fight to end impunity under Aquino.

San Francisco Public Library (Main Library), Koret Auditorium

###

SAVE THE DATE!

JOIN GABRIELA-USA FOR IT’S SECOND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY!


Posted on

Happy International Working Women’s Day!

For Immediate Release
March 8, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA USA, chair@gabusa.org

Filipino Women in the U.S. Stand in Solidarity and Sisterhood with Women’s Struggles Across the World
GABRIELA-USA’s Statement on the Centennial of International Women’s Day

On March 8, 2011, over ten thousand women in the Philippines took to the streets, in what are the largest International Women’s Day actions organized by GABRIELA, the world-renowned Filipino women’s alliance.  The women demanded relief from the economic crisis in the form of price controls of basic goods, national wage hikes, immediate repatriation and protection for migrant women, comprehensive reproductive health services, education for all, and housing for poor families.  In addition, GABRIELA highlighted their unity with the rest of the Filipino people in calling for fundamental change and national liberation.

Filipino women across the US are participating in activities throughout the week of March 8 to commemorate International Working Women’s Day and expose the dire impacts of the long-term global economic crisis on the lives of Filipinas in the nation and around the world. Filipino women are taking to the streets and are engaging their communities to confront and expose the role of U.S. imperialism in the prolonged crisis of joblessness and increased attacks on women’s rights and livelihood.

In the Philippines, women face an economic crisis of epic proportions as the prices of basic commodities like sugar, rice, and gas continue to increase beyond affordability. Households suffer as utility rates skyrocket, leaving families no choice but to live without electricity or running water. On top of the increased prices of commodities, the Aquino administration also imposes an excessive 12% tax called the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT). With every increase, it is traditionally the women who must carry the burden of managing the household and its shrinking budget.

In the United States, Congress continues to balance the budget on the backs of women and children by proposing cuts to basic services like health care assistance to pregnant women, new mothers and children, education, and reproductive healthcare. Republicans are attempting to pass a budget that cuts nearly $60 billion in federal funding, a move that would do irreparable damage like slash 700,000 jobs through 2011 and strip all funding from Planned Parenthood, the largest women’s health provider in the nation.

As these attacks against women are being committed, both the Aquino and Obama administrations continue to paint a rosy picture that claims that the economic crisis is lifting and that the lives and welfare of Filipinas and other women are not in danger.

GABRIELA USA chapters are participating in activities throughout the nation such as a women’s day rally in Harlem, a mother’s march in Los Angeles, a domestic violence vigil in Seattle, and a forum on women’s issues in San Francisco, to expose the true nature and situation of Filipinas, as well as take action in commemoration of the historic militant women’s movement that continues today. The demands of Filipino women for protection against unfair price hikes and cuts against social services light a fire that fuels women to take to the streets and fight against anti-women and anti-people policies.

“The centennial of International Women’s Day is an important reminder and inspiration for us to continue to struggle for full women’s emancipation, especially as we are confronted with relentless attacks against women’s rights, and the erosion of social services that women and children need more than ever,” stated Raquel Redondiez, Chairwoman of GABRIELA-USA.

On this occasion, we honor the legacy of Gabriela Silang, and all of our grandmothers, sisters, daughters, and especially all the working women who have dared to organize and struggle in defense of their rights and for the advancement of future generations of women.
Join GABRIELA USA in standing in solidarity with our sisters and mothers worldwide struggling against U.S. imperialism’s attacks on our women’s basic rights, our families’ livelihood, and the public social safety net.

MABUHAY ANG KABABAIHAN!
Long Live International Women’s Day!

Photos by Tudla Productions and Luis Liwanag