International League of People's Struggle (ILPS)

International League of People's Struggle (ILPS)
Third International Assembly
June 18-20, 2008 Hong Kong

Resolution on Concern 7: The Cause of Women’s Liberation and Rights Against All Forms of Sexual Discrimination, Exploitation and Violence

Theme: Advancing Women's Participation in the People's Struggle Against Imperialist Aggression of the World's Food and Resources

WHEREAS, Imperialism is waging a war, not only through bombs and bullets but more alarmingly through globalization policies and programs that aggravate hunger and food insecurity worldwide.

WHEREAS, The United Nations estimates that out of 6 billion people in the world close to 1 billion are hungry. And that this figure will double if one includes people who are "food insecure". Seventy percent of the one billion are women and girls.

WHEREAS, The issue of hunger especially among the world’s poor women is rooted in neo-liberal economic programs and policies implemented by governments, cohorts of imperialist agencies such as the IMF and World Bank. For the world’s poor women, this has been worsened by the feudal-patriarchal culture that has fettered them for many years.

WHEREAS, As a consequence of the food crisis, millions of women are forced to engage in economic activities that increase their vulnerability to exploitation and violence. To date, there exists a million dollar international prostitution syndicate selling women and children like cheap burgers. Women in urban poor and rural communities are selling their bodies in exchange for basic needs like a kilo of rice, a bushel of corn, a pail of fish or a sack of flour. Domestic violence has become a norm as husbands vent frustration/failure on their wives or children over their inability to provide for the family. Rape has become a phenomenon ignored or worse tolerated by the society as women became not just tools to sell products but as commodities to sell.

WHEREAS, Hunger Mitigation Programs are not sustainable to address in the long term the issues of hunger and poverty. Dole outs perpetuate the culture of mendicancy and dependence among the poor women making them more vulnerable victims to patronage politics . Livelihood projects fail to be sustainable and only make the predominantly women beneficiaries unable to pay back their loans.

WHEREAS, Imperialism has perpetuated commodification of food and agriculture, and therefore commodifies life. It has created monopoly control over land, seas and marine resources, water, livelihoods, seeds and genetic biodiversity. Corporate agriculture, massive land conversion, expansion of agro-fuel projects, setting up of Special Economic Zones, and intensive industrial aquaculture are displacing thousands of women peasants, agricultural workers and fisherfolk.

WHEREAS, Contractualization of labour has deprived women their right to decent wages and sustainable livelihood adding more burden to them as toiling women. Contractualization has also subjected women workers to greater exploitation and abuse.

WHEREAS, Women from El Salvador, Ivory Cost, Haiti, Côte d'Ivore, Palestine, Peru, Mexico, Philippines, Indonesia, Somalia, and other crisis stricken countries are taking to the streets their empty pots and pans, their starving children, confronting the police and military. They are not begging for aid, but are demanding from their governments to immediately reduce prices of basic commodities, increase wages, and provide more employment especially for women.

WHEREAS, hungry and desperate women are breaking cultural and religious taboos and patriarchal impositions to learn who their real enemy is building and strengthening their own movement to fight imperialism.

WHEREAS, Women comprise half of the struggling peoples. Their participation in the people’s struggle against imperialism has no other recourse but to advance.

THEREBY BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE ILPS
Hold actions against Imperialist Plunder and Control of Food Resources and wars of aggression.

We demand an end to trade liberalisation and privatisation, and fight for livelihood security and decent work for all women.
We call for genuine agrarian reform and women’s ownership and access to land and productive resources. We demand the end of development aggression in indigenous peoples’ ancestral lands, state and corporate plunder of our resources and the right to self-determination.
We call for the removal of all US bases outside of the US. We call for the prioritisation of budget allocations for food production, education and health, social services and empowerment of women over military budgets.
We demand an end to forced migration perpetuated by governments. For migrant women workers, we demand protection of all rights.
We demand an end to all state-led and state-supported wars, the repeal of repressive laws on security and anti-terrorism and we demand justice for all human rights defenders and affected communities.
We affirm our commitment to advance women’s resistance against imperialism that perpetuates feudal-patriarchal structures and values that breed sexual discrimination, exploitation and violence against women.

Specifically,

A Global Day of Action To End Hunger and Poverty on October 16, 2008 on the occasion of World Foodless Day.
Solidarity to and support of local campaigns on violence against women in US military bases. A Campaign to call for justice to all victims of violence by US military servicemen such as the case of Hazel, a 22 year old overseas Filipina worker raped by a U.S. serviceman in Okinawa Japan in February 2008.
An International conference of women on March 8 2010 to commemorate the centennial of International Toiling Women’s Day leading to the formation of an anti-imperialist global women’s movement.
Public information campaign on the Latin American “maquiladoras,” women workers in sweatshop who are victims of capitalist exploitation and repression.
Campaigns to free women political prisoners such as Monica Tinto, a human rights lawyer who is now in prison in the Germany and other women human rights defenders.
Actions to expose and oppose the commodification of women, the traffic of women including sex exploitation, as in tourism and international sports/athletic events including the Euro 2008.