All welcome
Assemble 12 noon: Trafalgar Square (north side)
Speak-out 2pm: Room G2, SOAS
(School of Oriental & African Studies) Thornhaugh St, London WC1H 0XG
Invest in caring not killing
Mothers March
For Everyone?s
SURVIVAL & WELFARE
End Cuts, Poverty & Discrimination
WOMEN, MEN, YOUNG, OLD BRING YOUR DEMANDS!
Why a Mothers March? Because:
· Mothers produce and care for the world?s people, while brutal market forces destroy us and our planet.
· Mothers? basic contribution to survival and welfare is unrecognised and unpaid.
· Governments invest in weapons of war, banks and corporations. Feeding, housing, health, support, education, the environment ? they couldn?t care less.
· Our young people are victimised for defending everyone?s right to education.
· Everywhere people are risking their lives to bring change ? from Palestine to Egypt, from Haiti to Colombia, from Kashmir to Congo and Nigeria ?
Why march with us? Because:
· Many of us do caring work, whether we?re mothers or not.
· We?re all being robbed of benefits and services our labour and taxes paid for.
· We?re thrown out of jobs or made to work for less.
· Mothers can help bring together all who stand for life, against war and exploitation.
· Everyone?s contribution and struggle must be counted and supported.
· Fathers, sons, brothers, partners . . . it?s time to show your support.
Mothers March in Guyana, India, Peru, the US.
ASK ORGANISATIONS TO ENDORSE THE MARCH
www.globalwomenstrike.net Tel: +44 (0)20 7482 2496 [email protected]
Join gws on facebook & on twitter.com/WomenStrike
The Global Women?s Strike is an international network for recognition & payment for all caring work, and for military spending to go back to the community starting with women the main carers.
Why I?ll be marching:
Ø ?My daughter has a life threatening disability. If I am forced out to work and there?s no one to look after her, we are heading for disaster.?
Ø ?It?s frightening to raise children in a world where they are not valued.?
Ø ?We asylum seekers were cut first. No recourse to public funds, food vouchers, destitution. That?s what they intend for everyone.?
Ø ?We run a small health food shop. Times are hard. The oldest of my three children is losing his EMA. I don?t know how we?ll manage.?
Ø ?We use the library all the time, for revision, books and films for the holidays.?
Ø ?Women are not believed. I was raped, accused of lying and jailed.?
Ø ?Legal aid enabled me to sue the police for assault and wrongful arrest. Without it only the rich will be able to afford justice.?
Ø ?Mums of young children are treated as ?workless?. When I was on Income Support I could be available to my son.?
Ø ?After school clubs are closing. Children are treated as ?collateral damage? for the cuts.?
Ø ?Grandparents are expected to step in. But we?re also expected to retire later. ?
Ø ?I was put in a detention centre, and my children with social services.?
Ø ?We share our house with other people to reduce costs. Cuts in housing benefit will make it impossible, especially in London.?
Ø ?I went into sex work to support my kid and pay for my degree.?
Ø ?People are told to blame ?others? for the cuts. Racist attacks go up, all kinds of bullying, against immigrants, disabled people, lesbians, gays, trans. It?s scary.?
Ø ?Child Benefit should be universal. Kids should see they and their mums are valued. Means testing stigmatises; many kids hide they?re on school meals.?
Ø ?Young people want to find their own way to activities. Without out-of-school clubs, sports, music . . . our families are impoverished.?
Ø ?Flooding, drought. And they want to take our forests. They don?t respect anything.?
Global Women?s Strike international demands:
Payment for all caring work - in wages, pensions, land & other resources. What is more valuable than raising children & caring for others? Invest in life & welfare, not military budgets & prisons.
Pay equity for all, women & men, in the global market.
Food security for breastfeeding mothers, paid maternity leave and maternity breaks. Stop penalizing us for being women.
Don't pay 'Third World debt'. We owe nothing, they owe us.
Accessible clean water, healthcare, housing, transport, literacy.
Non-polluting energy & technology which shortens the hours we work. We all need cookers, fridges, washing machines, computers, & time off!
Protection & asylum from all violence & persecution, including by family members & people in positions of authority.
Freedom of movement. Capital travels freely, why not people?