Militant solidarity to all working women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day!
The world remains fraught with challenges for women and girls, particularly in societies deeply scarred by war, exploitation, and authoritarianism. In war-torn regions, women and girls endure unimaginable suffering as they become the primary targets of violence, displacement, and exploitation. Conflict not only destroys their homes and communities but also strips them of basic rights, security, and dignity. These realities expose women to atrocities, including sexual violence used as a weapon of war, while robbing generations of their future through the denial of education and opportunities.
Neoliberalism has caused and continues to exacerbate inequality, oppression, militarism, plunging our respective countries into debt-ridden economic crisis. Such paradigm prioritizes profits over people, often cutting essential services and welfare programs to our people that women heavily rely on. The unabated exploitation and plunder of natural-mineral resources and cheap labour perpetuates cycles of deep poverty and unemployment that pushes us further into marginalization within our country and overseas as labour-export policy becomes an industry of these imperialist puppet states. Women, as primary caregivers and often breadwinners, bear the brunt of these policies, while our voices are deliberately silenced in decisions that profoundly affect our lives, our communities, our country.
In addition, societies governed by corrupt and self-serving officials, where militaristic and authoritarian rule prevails, only deepen the plight of women and girls. These regimes thrive on plundering the rich natural and mineral resources in cohort with their masters, using state militaristic violence and repressive laws to maintain control, and deny the rights of the people. Women's movements, activists, and advocates striving for change are met with intimidation, abduction, imprisonment, red-tagging or worse. Corruption diverts resources meant for public welfare, leaving women struggling for a decent living wage, access to healthcare, education, and opportunities for empowerment.
In commemoration of International Working Women's Day, IWA Asia Pacific reiterates the calls to advance the struggle of women's movement in the region:
Build the broadest women’s movement in the Asia Pacific from women peasants, workers, indigenous, youth, and other democratic forces and sectors.
Consolidate and transform women into an organized political force in the struggle for national and social liberation and gender equality;
Fight for the land rights to the landless
Stop imperialist plunder and war as it intensifies the climate crisis and environmental degradation;
Expose and oppose imperialist neoliberal policies, structures and discourses;
Fight to end all forms of violence against women;
Conduct political education among our members on the root causes of migration, women’s oppression and exploitation;
Build and strengthen international cooperation, mutual support and sharing of strategies of resistance among activists, women’s organizations, institutions, and social movements.
IWA Asia Pacific in these circumstances remains a force for social change to reverse the conditions that women are trapped in, together with the broad masses of the people, for the nation. Across the globe, women and girls are organizing, resisting, and demanding change, forging solidarity amongst working women, locals and migrants. Our struggles underscore the urgency of dismantling oppressive and fascists systems, rebuilding communities founded on justice and equality, and ensuring that women's voices are at the forefront of shaping a better, fairer world.