The 4^th National Conference of the AIPWA was held on 24-25 November at the Shaheed Manju Devi Hall (Gaur Bhavan) in Delhi. The Conference began with hoisting of the AIPWA flag by Com. Meera, a veteran activist of the organisation. This was followed by 2 minutes silence in memory of the women martyrs Manju Devi, Jharo Devi and others who had sacrificed their lives for the movement. Ms. Savita Singh, Vice President of the Delhi unit welcomed the guests and delegates.

Ms. Zohra Segal, veteran communist and eminent theatre artiste addressed the gathering. 94 year-old Zohra Sehgal’s words, full of zest for life and independence, were most inspiring. Her recital of a poem written by the great Faiz-Ahmad-Faiz, Intisaab (dedication), dedicated to the common people, especially the suffering women of the country, was moving and full of feeling.

The keynote address was delivered by the eminent historian and human rights activist, Dr.Uma Chakravarti. The other speakers were Linda Waldron of the Democratic-Socialist Perspective, who spoke against racism, imperialist war and globalisation in Australia and the world. Tin Tin Aung, Joint Secretary of the Women’s League of Burma spoke about the military rule in Burma and its impact on women; she said that she had got much support from her sisters in India; Taslima Akhtar of the Bangladesh Viplavi Mahila Sangh spoke on religious fundamentalism, communal violence and imperialist globalisation; Suman Sahai, leader of the Gene Campaign, appealed to fight for our right over natural resources. Bushra Khaliq, General Secretary of the Women Workers’ Helpline of Pakistan said that laws in Pakistan were anti-woman and women workers were the hardest hit in their country. She said that the women in Pakistan would continue their solidarity with their counterparts in India. Dolores Chew, leader of the South Asian Women’s Community Centre, Montreal, Canada said the women there were inspired by women like Manju Devi and had released a poster commemorating her on 8 March. Others who addressed the session were Sehba Farooqi, General Secretary of the NFIW, who urged women to fight communal fascism and economic liberalisation unitedly, Dr. E Rathi Rao, scientist and convenor of Samata Vedike, Mysore, Rajni Tilak of the National Congress of Dalit Organisations, Hemabati from the Manipur Students Union, and Sucharita from Purogami Mahila Sangathan. Solidarity messages were sent by the Women’s Fightback Network of Boston, the South Asia Solidarity Group, Vina Mazumdar, former director of the CWDS and Brinda Karat, former General Secretary of the AIDWA.

A song was sung by delegates who were workers in the tea gardens of Assam. Kumudini Pati, General Secretary of AIPWA delivered the closing address on behalf of AIPWA.

The Inaugural Session was conducted by Savita Singh, a scholar of political science and leader of AIPWA Delhi.Srilata Swaminathan, President of AIPWA, who chaired the session, gave a vote of thanks by reiterating that the challenge before us was great, but with the co-operation and solidarity of all who had made the conference a success, we would certainly be able to forge ahead.

The inaugural session continued till late in the evening because of the delay in arrival of delegates from Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand. Cultural performances by JSM Delhi, Prerna from Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu delegates, Shramik Mahila Morcha of Maharashtra, Karbi song by KNCA and Bihu dance by Assam made it a colourful event.

At the delegate session, the Report of 3 years of AIPWA work was presented by Kumudini Pati and resolutions to guide future work was also read out. Delegates discussed issues like increasing violence on women and the failure of the democratic institutions to protect them, the need for a legal cell for AIPWA, the need for raising issues of working women at the national level, formation of working women’s cell in AIPWA, need for increasing the participation of Muslim women in AIPWA, the question of closer integration with women leaders and activists working in the rural areas and seriously dealing with the question of repression by feudal forces and the state. Participation of AIPWA in DWACRA and self-help groups and orienting them towards struggle was also discussed. The members also discussed the question of streamlining the organisation so that better initiative could be taken on issues like Manipur.

A 67-member National Council and 17-member Executive committee was elected. Srilata Swaminathan and Kumudini Pati were elected President and General Secretary respectively. Saroj Chaubey, Anju Borkataki, Medha Thatte, and Tahira Khan and Vijaylakshmi were elected Vice Presidents while Meena Tiwari, Ajanta Lohit, Kanaklata Dutta, R. Nagamani, and Jita Kaur were elected National Secretaries.