CONVOCATION 28 JUNE 2009: WHO ARE WE WOMEN IN BLACK

Let us expel war and violence
from history and from our lives.

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

WOMEN IN BLACK against war

♀ Create spaces so that the voices of women against war are heard and in order to transform their indignation into active and nonviolent resistance to war.
♀ Reject all policy for war, starting with that of the government of the State or community in which they live.
♀ Maintain historical memory to preclude the imposition of manipulation and forgetfulness.
♀ Build networks of solidarity among women regardless of borders, ethnicity, religions…
♀ Denounce everyday militarization, local and global.
♀ Narrow the links between feminist and anti-militarist thought and practice.
♀ Promote women’s nonviolent resistance against all forms of patriarchal control through the imposition of ethnic uniformity.
♀ Support the participation of women in peace negotiations local, regional and global.
♀ Through education, work for peace, nonviolence, seeking the restoration of harmonious living, which is now broken.
Declare that in the face of conflicts there is one answer: non-cooperation, civil disobedience, as wars never have the good or defense of the people as their objective, rather they are undertaken for hidden economic or political interests.
“As a woman, I have no country. My country is the whole world”. (V. Woolf)
Women is Black was founded in 1988 in Israel when Jewish women went out into the streets in Jerusalem to say NO TO THE OCCUPATION.
In 1991, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the Women of Belgrade went out into the streets to denounce their government which had started the wars, the militarism and ethnic cleansing, and said NOT IN MY NAME. The International Network of Women Black continued to develop through the Gatherings of the Solidarity Network among women against war, which took place in Serbia during the wars.
The movement has expanded to many countries on all five continents. In Spain, groups started forming in 1993.
In this way, an International Network has been formed, which works to create bonds of solidarity with civil movements suffering from war or conflict, to be a spokesperson for their denouncements, and to strengthen common commitment in the face of injustice and violations of human rights.
In BLACK, in SILENCE, from a position of NONVIOLENCE, we declare our opposition to war and all types of violence.
LET US EXPEL WAR FROM HISTORY AND FROM OUR LIVES (Women in Black, Belgrade)