CONVOCATION 29 JUNE 2008: Commemorating the June 28 Day of Lesbian and Gay Pride

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.

29 JUNE 2008

Commmemorating the June 28 Day of Lesbian and Gay Pride

WOMEN IN BLACK AGAINST WAR (of Madrid)

We request that sexual orientation be a choice and not an imposition. Sexuality is no more (or less) than a privileged form of communication, to which every woman has a right, “hetero” and “homo” alike.

We declare:
That we want to educate modern generations, without prejudices or moral hang-ups, prepared for social changes that imply progress in the development of human rights.

“The ethical position of the feminist movement and the movement for peace must be based on the right of every woman and every man to express publicly his or her diversity.”
(Women for Peace, 1995, Women in Black)

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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Conmmemorating the June 28 Day of Lesbian and Gay Pride

In a time when, as lesbians, transsexuals or gays, we see that in some countries laws are approved that protect our rights, we still see that in other countries the expression of our sexuality is illegal and is severely punished by incarceration (as in Libya, Tunis, Algiers, Nicaragua, Honduras, Poland and Latvia, for example) or by the death penalty (Guyana, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan, Singapore, Sudan and Yemen).

We see that our society is homophobic because it discriminates against us, rejects us, hates, persecutes and socially condemns those of us who are sexually diverse. We are made invisible and relegated into silence in spaces both private and public. This happens especially to lesbian women.

Another clear example of discrimination is evident in daily language, replete with homophobic expressions that convey hate and aggression. “Mariquita”, “tortillera” and “marimacho” are, among others, representative labels used in our country to refer to men and women whose behavior is different from the norm for their gender.

Education in Spain is another place where discrimination occurs, inasmuch as it establishes strict roles and functions for men and women to carry out in accordance with their gender. This produces intolerance and marginalization of people whose characteristics do not correspond to the socially acceptable stereotypes established by and for “normal people”.

Neither can we forget that various religions have a significant role in persecuting homosexuality, from prohibition by Islam, to total rejection by the Catholic and Orthodox churches along with Judaism, which views homosexuality as sinful.

Women in Black of Madrid request:

♀ That the expression of our sexuality not be a motive for discrimination.

♀ That the political and judicial authorities apply the law that is in force in our country.

♀ That religious authorities and mediators work together to achieve respect for the rights of homosexual and transsexual persons.

We want to educate modern generations, without prejudices or moral hang-ups, prepared for social changes that imply progress in the development of human rights.

“The ethical position of the feminist movement and the movement for peace must be based on the right of every woman and every man to express publicly his or her diversity"
(Mujeres por la Paz 1995, de Mujeres de Negro)

Translation: Trisha Novak, USA