Today, on International Women's Day, we join hands symbolically with women around the world as we launch a worldwide organizing campaign to end poverty and violence against women. And in six months, on October 15, we will join hands for real, as more than 3000 women's groups in 146 countries rally and march for women's rights.
Right here in Washington, DC, only three weeks before the elections, you'll hear the sound of marching and singing and clapping and chanting -- the sound of determined women and men who will send an unmistakable message to every candidate in every state: Women will not be ignored, denied, or taken for granted. And we will remember in November.
We live on a rich planet, yet most of the world's women are poor. Many are bound by rigid sex roles that limit their education, their employment, even their right to vote or receive medical care. Here in the United States, the vast majority of those living in poverty are women and children, but instead of making their lives better, lawmakers and policymakers blame them for a long list of societal ills.
Women live in fear of sexual assault, and many stay in abusive relationships because they have nowhere to go and no means to support themselves and their children. Yet we continue to struggle for funding for the hotlines and shelters that makes it possible for them to leave. Meanwhile the U.S. House passes legislation to fund father's rights groups that would punish poor children because their parents aren't married – and with complete disregard of the impact of domestic violence in the lives of poor women.
On October 17, women representing every participating country will meet
with United Nations representatives to present these demands from the women
of the world:
Eliminate poverty and ensure a fair distribution of the planet's wealth between rich and poor, and between women and men;Eliminate violence against women; and
Ensure equality between women and men.
Women of the world will come together to stake our claim in the
21st century. This march
on October 15th will not be an end but a beginning -- the foundation --
of a new global feminist movement, dedicated to improving the lot of women
and girls for generations to come. We are our sisters' keepers. We
are marching for women's lives. Join us.
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