[asia-apec 865] Free capital flow, market liberalisation has caused damage to women

[PAN Asia Pacific]

                        PRESS RELEASE BY 
                PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK - ASIA PACIFIC



NEWS AT APPA DATELINE: 
KUALA LUMPUR 9TH NOVEMBER, 1998

REJECT APEC!!!
Free capital flow, market liberalisation has  caused damage to women

By Suria Prakash & Jennifer Mourin, The Third International Women's
Conference Against APEC opened yesterday with a rousing ceremony of
more than 150 delegates from over 25 countries around the world
expressing their solidarity in their struggle against severe
impacts of globalisation on their lives and livelihood. 

Held at the Hotel Grand Olympic in Kuala Lumpur, delegates from each
country lit a lamp, symbolising solidarity, hope and their vision for
the future. 

"This light is a symbol of our solidarity with our sisters and
brothers languishing in jails because of their belief and because
of their resistance", said Ms Sarojeni Rengam, Executive  Director
of the Pesticide Action Network Asia & The Pacific, a co-organiser
of the conference with Tenaganita. 

"The light is also our symbol of our hope and of our vision of the
future". 

Representatives from various countries later articulated
their vision of the future - a vision of caring and worthy of our
children and grandchildren, of empowerment and of women; restoring
their lost identity and their crucial roles in producing food and
wealth. 

And of women reshaping the economics of the future.     

"The next century will be shaped by their vision," … and not by the
'handful of billionaires' in the affluent countries seeking more and
more profit for their capital", asserted Vandana Shiva. 

PERILS OF FREE CAPITAL FLOW
     
Speakers and participants were greatly concerned with the free
capital flow, moving across the world with ease, while the trade
liberalisation regimes being promoted had caused enough damage to
women.  This was amply clear by the experiences presented by the
delegates. 

"Globalisation has hit woman the hardest," they echoed.
    
    
Citing the case of Indonesia, Tati Krishnawaty of Solidaritas
Perempuan said globalisation and unemployment had led to massive
migration of workers who were "unrecognised" but welcome in
"receiving" countries as a source of cheap labour. 
    
But these migrant workers were denied basic rights and abused,
adding that they were now being sent back home as the receiving
countries suffer the backlash of globalisation. 

"After nine years, what has APEC done?  There is only crisis both in
the 'receiving' countries and 'host' countries". 

"In the meantime, back home in Indonesia, the government had
unleashed a reign of terror against women struggling for democracy,
better livelihood and the right to land. 

"Globalisation has led to militarisation and the military had used
rape as a tool to frighten women and their community fighting who
stood up to fight for democracy," she added. 
      
Globalisation - greater misery for women Ita Fatia Nadia of
Kalyanamitra, echoed this view and said although a large number of
women had been raped, in an effort to silence them, patriachal
society doesn't simply recognise this fact." 

In the Philippines, globalisation has led to "greater misery for
women, workers and peasants, for indigenous people, and the urban
poor". 

And there is an effort at "mainstreaming of women in the
developmental process" in response to their growing militancy,
according to Elisa Tita Lubi of GABRIELLA. 

Bernice See of the Asian Indigenous Women's Network pointed out that
mining and hydroelectric projects are taking over land from
indigenous people and their land rights are being denied. 
       
"Our resources are being taken away…and now, even our genes are being
taken away and treated as commodities" she said. 
     
In India, "globalisation had caused communalisation and caste
riots.  And lower caste women are increasingly becoming victims of
these riots, basically because they have been asserting their
economic and political rights to land, higher wages, etc,." stated
Burnad Fatima of the Society for Rural Education and Development.

"Caste riots are taking away land rights from women, and we have to
fight against globalisation as well as the revival of
fundamentalism", she said. 
    
This revival of fundamentalism is common to other countries in the
region, added Nimalka Fernando of Sri Lanka. 
    
UNITE TO RESIST GLOBALISATION

With this international trend going unabated, Irene Fernandez of
Tenaganita said everyone must come together to resist globalisation.

"We must come together in a concrete way,"  she said.

But while national and international agendas are important, we must
give importance to regional agendas. 

"The people's resistance movements within certain countries
experiencing political crisis and current economic downturn are
being led by fundamentalist groups.  This is something we must
resist as the backlash will result in more suffering for women , 
which  is already bring experienced in the region." 

In describing the conference, Irene explained that the women were
coming together to sharpen their perspectives in order to work more
effectively in their own communities. 

"Women need to work towards genuine democracy and better economics,
under the will of the people".