Women Opposed to Militarism

Speech at the International Women’s Day

Celebration

Makoma Lekalakala* calls on women, and the working class, to oppose war

Today we pay tribute to the courageous contributions made by women in the struggle to eliminate all forms of exploitation and oppression. We salute our past generations who have inspired us to continue struggling to change the world from capitalist domination to a democratic socialist order.

Today, in the midst of looming threats of US war and aggression against the people of Iraq, we remember especially brave and principled women like Rosa Luxemberg. Rosa was assassinated (together with Karl Liebkniecht) because she opposed the First World War.

Origins of International Women’s Day

March 8 1908 was the funeral of women who died in a sweatshop factory in New York. Working class women vowed from that day that they were not going to let greed wipe them from their livelihood. There are countless incidents similar to the one at the beginning of the 19th century that are still prevalent even up today. In Sept/Oct 2001 eleven women burnt to death in a Johannesburg sweatshop. One woman gave birth to premature twins in a sweatshop in a Durban factory. The list is endless. It is our duty to be vigilant and protect the gains that we have won in the struggle against oppression and exploitation and to be each sister ’s (and brother ’s) keeper.

 

War and Class interests

All wars that are waged are fought to defend class interests. By and large all the wars waged have been by the capitalist class to open new markets for the imposition of a system of private property. These wars have been in the interests of U.S and British multinationals, amongst others. All these wars have no respect for human life.

 

The notorious un-elected leader of the U.S is waging a war against the Iraqi nation as pay back to the multinational companies like Exxon-Mobil that put him in power. Bush intends to satisfy his election sponsors by destroying and reducing the whole Iraq nation to dust. The sole purpose of the war is to allow US and British conglomerates and multinationals to control 64% of Iraq’s finest oil reserves, estimated to last up to a 100 years. Bush is an agent of barbaric capitalists who are responsible, for the genocide of workers world wide.

 

The working class all over the world have an obligation to reflect on all their gains, their sufferings, their courage, their strength and their resilience to the offensives that are inflicted on them. Today the working class’ position in society is worse than at the beginning of the 19th century. Capitalist barbarism has intensified its wrath. It is more sophisticated than ever, it challenges the working class to be more vigilant as it presents itself in ways that turn the oppressed to be their own oppressors. For example, capitalism allows the oppressed to participate in forums like the UN, the WB and the IMF as civil society or NGOs, as if their participation will unchain them from bondage.

US War

Today we are faced with the threat of war. The USA government has exploited the events of September 11 2002 to suit their greed for Iraq oil. The US disguises this as the restoration of a peaceful world and the elimination of the ‘axis of evil’, that Iraq has stockpiled weapons of mass destruction and that it harbours and funds terrorist organisations.

The war that is looming is not a new one, but is the continuation of the Gulf war of the 1990’s. The ‘desert storm’ had devastating effects on the people in the Gulf region. The twelve years economic sanctions brought about malnutrition, the spread of curable disease’s and death to about 1.5 million

Iraq government which is pro-sharia law, should they come to power all the gains women have made will be reduced to nil.

Besides this military offensive against Iraq the world has been in a war, a war against HIV/AIDS. This is an offensive of capitalist globalisation on the poor and the working class by the very individuals and the governments that today are threatening the Iraq people.

SAYING NO TO WAR means that we have taken a stand against repression and aggression in all forms. We also take a stand against the deadly scourge of HIV/AIDS which is wiping out humanity. No to war also means no to capitalist globalisation which does not respect the sovereignty of states and the imposition of structural adjustment programmes.

On March 8 we join all the working class women internationally and reaffirm our position for peace and democracy. We say no to war in Iraq or any other country in the world targeted for a war. War has never taken humanity forward. War has only brought about the destruction of lives.

Forward to March 8 as an international day of action against war, For peace, justice, democracy and effective rights for women and girl children.

* Makoma Lekalakala is a member of the Socialist Party of Azania, and an activist in the Anti-War Coalition.