The International Women’s Strike, a grassroots movement

Monday 27 February 2017, by IWS

IWS (World)

The International Women’s Strike (IWS) is a grassroots movement established by women from different parts of the world. The inspiration came from Poland and it was created in recent weeks of autumn 2016 as a response to the current social, legal, political, moral and verbal violence experienced by contemporary women at various latitudes. IWS plans general strikes and protests for 8 March 2017, under the common call “Solidarity is our weapon”.

IWS consists to date of women of nearly 30 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Poland, Russia, Salvador, Scotland, South Korea, Sweden, Togo, Turkey, Uruguay and the U.S., with others in contact to join in the near future.

Events of recent months make it very clear that women are aware, concerned citizens and are prepared to fight against institutionalized oppression. Following the example of Icelandic women in 1975, Polish women went on a day-long strike to halt plans for criminalizing abortion and miscarriage on 3 October 2016. That planned legislation was immediately withdrawn by the government. Similar issues brought Korean women to protest several times that same month against introduction of higher penalties for doctors performing abortions. Argentine women reacted with massive strikes and rallies to the inhuman rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl that happened on the same day as a brutal police repression against the women’s political movement. More protests followed, leading to establishing the International Women’s Strike group, realizing joint actions in 2016 on 25/11 – the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women – and in 2017 on 21/01 – the Sister Marches in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington, DC.

What links most of our countries are misogyny and the persistent permissiveness on the part of elected leaders and public persons about using hate speech, and church support in such crimes. Another key link is democratic institutions that neglect to protect public safety and to ensure justice, and media organizations negligent of their lawful responsibility to provide reliable information and full coverage. Women defending their rights are also often not receiving support in their homes and communities, instead facing insults, threats and a notoriously overriding underestimation.

These are primary causes leading to the creation of IWS. The International Women’s Strike builds bridges to define, refine and focus more effective pressure on our governments, with a main strike pending on 8 March 2017.

The International Women’s Strike (IWS)

The International Women’s Strike main event/ El evento principal del Paro Internacional de Mujeres:

MAIN EVENT

NATIONAL EVENTS, UP TO DATE/ EVENTOS NACIONALES, ACTUALIZADOS:

AUSTRALIA: https://www.facebook.com/events/378571512532896/

ARGENTINA: https://www.facebook.com/events/1834510760169748/

BELGIUM: https://web.facebook.com/events/1043905282422378/

BOLIVIA: https://web.facebook.com/events/313504192385133/

BRASIL: https://www.facebook.com/events/1846507865622383/

CHILE: https://www.facebook.com/events/228097060980040/

FRANCE: https://www.facebook.com/Grève-Internationale-des-Femmesinternational-womens-strike-248305792292970/

GERMANY BERLIN: https://web.facebook.com/events/380031789029141/