International Women's Day

March 8th is International Women's Day!

Please join us in solidarity with Code Pink and the six Iraqi women they are bringing to the US to share their stories of the real effects of the war and occupation in Iraq! (more info and the opportunity to take immediate action below!)***

Wednesday March 8th
Clock Tower/Collateral Damage Sculpture
Corner of Water and Pacific, Santa Cruz
5-6:30 PM

Wear PINK!!!! (we will have extra) - bring signs, streamers, balloons, drums, bells, boas...etc!!!!

sponsored by Code Pink Santa Cruz and Women in Black SC
(NB - folks who have incarnated in the male gender are definitely welcome too!!!!!)

As we say in our call, "This is not the world we want for ourselves or our children. With fire in our bellies and love in our hearts, we women are rising up - across borders - to unite and demand an end to the bloodshed and the destruction."

more info here!!

***Code Pink, that incredibly creative and dynamic feminist peace group, has spent the last three months organizing the Women Say No to War campaign - male or female, you can sign their petition right NOW! at http://www.womensaynotowar.org

They are having many events in Washington, DC from March 7-9, and have called for solidarity actions all around the country - so far, they have collected 50,000 signatures on their petitions, which they will be presenting at the White House on March 8th

about the Iraqi women:

Six Iraqi women will converge in Washington, DC to begin a speaking tour to educate Americans about the reality in Iraq and meet with UN and US officials to call for a peace plan to end the escalating spiral of violence.

The delegation is a diverse group, including Shia, Sunni and Kurdish women - some secular, some religious. All have paid a very high price for the war and occupation of their country, and want to tell their stories to the American people.

Unfortunately, two Iraqi women whose families were killed
by US troops were denied visas to enter the US as part of the delegation.

These women are not politicians, but ordinary Iraqis who are desperate to see an end to the violence and are taking great personal risk to come to the US. It’s a rare opportunity to hear from Iraqis themselves, and we hope that you will help ensure they are heard.

The delegation is promoting a Women’s Call for Peace, signed by over 50,000 women from around the world. The Call for Peace requests the withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign fighters from Iraq, negotiations to reincorporate disenfranchised Iraqis, full representation of women in the
peacemaking process, and a commitment to women's equality in the post-war Iraq. This Call is part of a Women Say No to War campaign (http://www.womensaynotowar.org) designed to bring women together across borders to demand an end to the bloodshed in Iraq.

Below are brief bios of the Iraqi women. Information about the events and actions in DC are available at: http://www.womensaynotowar.org.

IRAQI WOMEN'S DELEGATION BIOS

Nadje Al-Ali is a writer/researcher specializing in women in the Middle East. She is a founding member of Act Together: Women’s Action on Iraq and mother of a 3-year-old daughter.

Faiza Al-Araji is a civil engineer, blogger (afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com), religious Shia with a Sunni husband, and mother of three. After one son was recently held as a political prisoner by the Ministry of the Interior, the
family fled to Jordan.

Eman Ahmad Khamas is a human rights advocate who has documented abuses by the US military in Iraq. She is a member of Women’s Will, and is married with two daughters.

Dr Entisar Mohammad Ariabi, a pharmacist at the Yarmook Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, has documented the deteriorating health system. She is married with five children.

Dr. Rashad Zidan, a pharmacist, works in Baghdad and Fallujah with the Women and Knowledge Society to aid victims of war, especially orphans.

Sureya Sayadi, a Kurdish woman born in Kirkuk, is an activist for human rights in the Middle East, particularly for the Kurdish people. She now lives in the United States, but her family is dispersed in Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

THE FOLLOWING WOMEN WERE DENIED VISAS BY THE US STATE DEPARTMENT

Vivian Salim Mati is a widow who lost her husband and three children when they were fired on by U.S. tank fire as they attempted to flee the bombing of their neighborhood in Baghdad in April 2003.

Kadhim Jawad (Anwar) is a widow whose husband and three children were killed by US soldiers at an unmarked checkpoint.

again:
please join Code Pink SC and Women in Black SC
in Santa Cruz, at the Clock Tower/Collateral Damage Sculpture Wednesday March 8th from 5-6:30 PM