CONVOCATION 25 MAY 2008: Commemoration of the 24 May International Day of Women for Peace and Disarmament

The last Sunday of the month in the Plaza Mayor (next to the horse statue) at 12:00 noon
Women in Black
invite you to a vigil in black and in silence.
25 MAY 2008

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 24 MAY
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF WOMEN AND PEACE

For Women in Black, the naming of a woman to head up the Ministry of Defense does not, from a feminist point of view, signify an accomplishment, rather an acceptance of patriarchal values and one step further in the progressive militarization of society.

WOMEN IN BLACK AGAINST WAR – MADRID

Declare:

♀ It is both necessary and urgent to strengthen the work of education for peace from a gender perspective, which has as its goal the formation of a non-violent person who can attain fullest development and learn to resolve conflicts through negotiation.

♀ Urgent measures must be taken towards the eradication of research, production and sale of arms in order to to cease this commerce which feeds violence and conflicts that are destroying humanity.

♀ In the interest of peace, we invite you to participate in the Campaña de Objecion Fiscal en la Declaracion de la Renta (*) (campaign opposing fiscal matters related to the public debt). The objective is that there be no appropriation for war “Not one euro, not one woman, not one man, not one thought for war”, that no money be dedicated to research and production of weapons that kill human beings.

Let us expel war from history and from our lives

C/ San Cosme y San Damián, Nº 24, 2º
28012 – Madrid

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Commemoration of the 24 May
International Day of Women for Peace and Disarmament

We are against wars and against all militarism because it perpetuates the established patriarchal order, maintains a system of control that generates injustice and which does not guarantee just and sustainable human development. We do not believe in armed struggle because it perpetuates the law of whoever is the most powerful.

Militarism transmits and exalts macho values, which in no way favor equity and equality of opportunity. It feeds an acceptance of violence and devalues caring for life in all its integrity. It maintains a dichotomous vision of the world expressed as divisions between friend/enemy, we/they, die/kill, with me/against me. The army, with all its weaponry, is a eulogy for death as opposed to the value of life, and only seeks to maintain the status quo.

For this reason, we have opposed from the very beginning the idea that to have women in the Armed Forces would constitute progress. For Women in Black, the naming of a woman to head up the Ministry of Defense does not, from a feminist point of view, signify an accomplishment, rather an acceptance of patriarchal values and one step further in the progressive militarization of society. The feminist anti-militarist positions aim toward a society with no gender power structure and, by extension, no type of domination at all. To accept this nomination [to the Ministry of Defense] would be to discard the utopian feminist outlook.

And, in this regard, we express our concern over investing public monies for military ends. As long as the producer nations continue using resources for research and production of weapons, another world will not be possible. Production and commerce in weapons fuels all armed conflicts.

While it is true that this government has increased Ayuda Oficial al Desarrollo (official assistance for development), the statistics speak for themselves: “Every Spaniard gives 83 euros a year for development and 179 for military expenses.” The volume of sales of arms grows yearly, with reports reflecting lack of transparency and clarity. The budget of the Ministry of Defense has increased 5.6% above that of 2006, it manages 18 times more money than is invested in Vivienda (housing), 26 times more than for Sanidad y Consumo (health and consumption), 32 times more than for Cultura (cultural matters).

The State is not complying with the European Union code of conduct when arms are sold to countries in conflict where there are systematic abuses of human rights, as in Colombia, China and Israel, among others. Spain continues to produce cluster bombs and land mines. To our way of thinking, no army defends the peace. The incorrectly named “humanitarian wars” are yet another deception in modern defense, which imposes fear to achieve its goals of free market totalitarianism. For this reason, we declare:

♀ That it is both necessary and urgent to strengthen the work of education for peace from a gender perspective, which has as its goal the formation of a non-violent person who can attain fullest development and learn to resolve conflict through negotiation.

♀ That urgent measures must be taken towards the eradication of research, production and sales of arms in order to cease this commerce which feeds violence and conflicts that are destroying humanity.

♀ In the interest of peace, we invite you to participate in the Campaña de Objecion Fiscal en la Declaracion de la Renta (*) (campaign opposing fiscal matters related to the public debt). The objective is that there be no appropriation for war “Not one euro, not one woman, not one man, not one thought for war”, that no money be dedicated to research and production of weapons that kill human beings.

“We women do not rear our sons and daughters for war.”
(Women in Black of Colombia)

(*) For more information about the campaign opposing military expenses, see:
www.nodo50.org/objecion fiscal/
www.educarueca.org/

Translation: Trisha Novak, USA