Weekly Activist Alert - Women at War
Action: US Out of Iraq (for real!!)
Resource: DVD Library
Featured Article: Iraqi Kurdistan: Women's Role In Iraq's Vote
WPC Iraq Anniversary Forum: Different Shades of Militarization
Iraq Anniversary Events [scroll down for full details]:
March 10-13: Split This Rock Poetry Festival
March 12: Lenten Witness for Peace
March 13-20: Peace of the Action's Camp OUT NOW
March 19: Funk the War: Bad Romance
March 19: Different Shades of Militarization
March 19-21: Proposition One: Thomas Memorial
March 20: ANSWER March, Lafayette Park at noon
March 20: Women in Warzones
March 21: Fair Immigration Reform March and Rally
Other Events in DC:
We 3/10 Greenbelt Climate Action Network
Th 3/11 New African Films Festival
Th 3/11 Webinar on the Impacts of ICE Access Programs
Th 3/11 Peace of the Action Fundraiser and Happy Hour
Fr 3/12 Tunes of Transformation: A Concert Supporting the US Social Forum
Sa 3/13 CentroNia Women's History Month Series
Su 3/14 Free Immigration Film Series: Screening of "9500 Liberty"
Tu 3/14 Rachel Corrie Remembrance Day
Tu 3/14 SALSA Event: Understanding US Torture and Executive Accountability
Hey D.C.,
With all that's going on in the world with human and natural disasters abound, it is important to celebrate the things worth acknowledging. This past Monday, March 8th, was International Women's Day. As mothers, sisters and daughters in any community and many struggles, women in contemporary societies are rarely acknowledged for the contributions they make. Whether it be home makers or street fighters, business owners or domestic organizers, no work is frivolous or arbitrary to whatever community benefits from the labor of women.
Although there is no one experience shared by all women, the uniqueness of each struggle across race, class or ethnicity are also a testament to the vast influence of women. Yet, it's not enough to simply acknowledge women on holiday's like International Women's Day or Mother's Day. To properly address the various struggles that women face, they must be addressed with tangible and measurable strategies for successful social change. Whether it be the general campaign to overturn the practice of excessive warfare and violence that disproportionately victimize women and children or in specific cases like Iraq or Congo, organization is key to success.
To do this effectively we must take action in as many avenues available to us. This week's Action requires your participation to stand in solidarity with the Iraqi women and people and insist on transparency and accountability of the Operation New Dawn. Also, check out this week's article which addresses the role of women in the recent Iraqi elections this past weekend. So, now it's your turn to do your part: send a letter, attend an educational event and come out to the join the discussion at our event, Different Shades of Militarization.
Featured WPC Resource this week...
DVD Library
Do you use DVDs as a learning/organizing tool? Are you in search of informational pieces to enhance your personal knowledge of a particular issue? Or are you seeking a specific DVD to enhance your events programming? Check out our DVD Library page and please let us know if you have anything to add!
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EVENTS
Split This Rock Poetry Festival:
Poems of Provocation and Witness
March 10-13, 2010
The festival will feature readings, workshops, panel discussions, youth programming, film, activism - opportunities to speak out for social justice, imagine a way forward, and celebrate the many ways that poetry can act as an agent for social change. There will also be a Social Change Book Fair on the 13th.
READ MORE
Peace of the Action Camp Out NOW Week of ActionDonate button
From Thursday, March 11- 5:00pm
To Monday, March 22- 7:00pm
During the week of March 3-21, we will have regularly scheduled non-violence training, teach-ins and outreach during the day and in the evenings, we will be having: "Dining with a dose of reality".
READ MORE
Lenten Witness for Peace and Justice VigilDonate button
Friday, March 12
12:00pm - 1:00pm White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
As in previous years, we will hold an Ash Wednesday witness. And we encourage as many people as possible to participate in the Friday vigils at the White House. Weekly Friday vigils have been held at the White House by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker since 1998. Here is a proposed schedule for the Lenten Witness.
Please join us for some or all of this important Lenten Witness.
contact Art Laffin: artlaffin@hotmail.com.
Funk the War: Bad Romance
Friday, March 19
3:00PM
Farragut Sq. (17th & K St. NW), Washington DC
second meet-up at 4PM, TBA
Funk the War is a roving youth & student power street party bumping the phattest of beats and reclaiming the streets to stop the war and break off the love affair between our government and the corporate parasites who Obama's been cheating with: war profiteers, climate criminals, and blood-sucking bankers.
Funk the War, light the bed on fire, and break free from this bad romance! Washington, DC. March 19, the 7th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.
For more info, contact:
funkthewar9@gmail.com
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Different Shades of Militarization: an Iraq Anniversary
Friday, March 19
6:00pm - 8:00pm Busboys and Poets,
5th and K st NW, Washington, DC
As In honor of the 7th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, the same weekend as a huge immigrant rights march in DC, come learn how militarization and the US military in particular affects oppressed populations. We'll discuss the experience of Iraqis after 7 years of US occupation and on the verge of US pulling out some of their troops; the experience of Latino immigrants in DC; and, making the local-global connection, the impact of over-policing that targets black communities in DC.
Call 202-234-2000 or email info@washingtonpeacecenter.org for details
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Anti-War March on Washington
People across the United States will converge on Washington, D.C., on March 20 and demand "No Colonial-type Wars and Occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Haiti!" We will march together to say "No War Against Iran!" We will demand funds so that every person can have a job, free and universal health care, decent schools, and affordable housing.
March 20 is the seventh anniversary of the criminal war of aggression launched by Bush and Cheney against Iraq. One million or more Iraqis have died. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops have lost their lives or been maimed, and continue to suffer a whole host of enduring problems from this terrible war.
READ MORE
Women in WarzonesDonate button
Saturday, March 20
8:00 pm
Busboys and Poets
on the corner of 14th and V Streets NW
After the ANSWER march, come to Women in Warzones with excellent speakers and talent you won't want to miss! Organized by CODEPINK, co-sponsored by the Washington Peace Center and others.
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Fair Immigration Reform March and Rally
Sunday, March 21
Interfaith Service at 1:00pm
March begins at 2:00pm at the Lincoln Memorial
People from all across America will lend their voice in the fight for reform. We will come together as one voice on the National Mall for a strong America - for families, for workers, for businesses, and for security.
Join thousands from across the country in the March For America in DC on March 21st, and demand Congress act NOW to pass immigration reform and move quickly to put all Americans back to work
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Featured Article: Iraqi Kurdistan: Women's Role In Iraq's Vote
Posted March 8, 2010 on www.unpo.org
Much of the discussion about women's participation in the Iraqi elections has centered around how Iraqi women will participate in the vote. There's been concern that men will unduly influence the votes of their female relatives.
There's been significant attention paid to the role of women in this weekend's parliamentary elections, both as voters and as candidates. Much of the discussion has centered around how Iraqi women will participate in the vote. There's been some concern over the potential for Iraqi men to unduly influence the votes of their female relatives. A number of citizens speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq admitted that such pressure was commonplace.
One citizen, Abu Milad, told RFI that he was sure his wife would vote for whomever he votes for. Hussein Abdel-Rahman, a young college student, admitted that he will attempt to sway his sisters' voting choices, but attributed this phenomenon to the nature of Iraqi society, which is dominated by what he calls the "Eastern view" of relations between men and women.
READ MORE
