HARI PEREMPUAN SEDUNIA

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, MARCH 8, 2008

School of Peace (SOP) 2008 in Solidarity with Women Globally    

      The School of Peace (SOP) is an idea born out of the Interfaith Cooperation Forum founded in 2003.  The school was first held in 2006 on the Visthar campus in Bangalore, India with the purpose to encourage engagement between peoples of different faiths in Asia. This is done through bringing together young adults from conflict areas of Asia who share different faith perspectives and who are involved in work with marginalized communities. Through learning and interacting with one another, the participants are able to learn about other faiths and the importance of living with one another in peace.  Participants are further encouraged to develop effective strategies for interfaith justpeace advocacy and action for their country. 

      On the occasion of this International Women’s Day 2008, SOP participants from seven countries in Asia want to express their concerns about the following critical issues facing women:

Indonesia

Many of the present government regulations do not benefit women. These regulations always place the fault on women’s bodies. Our parliament must reconsider the pornography draft bill and all the sections that criminalize women’s bodies.   

Thailand

In the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand, the number of widows is increasing because of the unrest that exists throughout the area. Many men are killed everyday leaving the women to take full responsibility for their children’s education, health, welfare and security.  

Laos

Human Trafficking increases the rate of HIV and other infectious diseases and many people are dying. Many children have become orphans already. Official institutions should give more awareness to the society about the dangers of Human Trafficking.   

Myanmar

After five decades of civil war, women and children continue to face severe suffering. Many women have suffered severely from sexual violence, trafficking, and many other forms of violence by the military junta.  Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) are especially vulnerable to these abuses. We therefore strongly urge that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) take full responsibility to respect women’s rights. 

Cambodia

After the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime, the main issue facing women is that of domestic violence.  Women are oppressed because their husbands are not well-educated and many are unemployed.  Society must look at this situation seriously and work to guarantee equal rights and participation to all women.  

Nepal

Women have been seriously affected by the conflict between the government and the Maoist Party of Nepal (CPN).  Many women have become widows and some are still in painful conditions because their family members are missing.  Now they are looking for justice and so our country must be responsible for building justice within our societies. 

Hong Kong 

Cases of abuse within families have recently increased rapidly.  Mostly this problem affects the lower class and immigrants from mainland China.  Moreover, the forms of the violence have become more horrific, e.g. jumping out of a high rise building while holding ones children.  We understand that the violence should not be solely the responsibility of individuals and specific kinds of families.  These problems are caused by inequality within the social, political and economic systems, and because of gender discrimination and city planning. We strongly urge the government, police, social welfare services, medical services, and lawyers etc. to prioritize this issue and look for transformation of these unjust systems.