Day two of the People’s Global Camp, Asian Women Peasants call: PROTECT OUR LIVES AND LIVELIH

PROTECT OUR LIVES AND LIVELIHOOD, JUNK WTO!

PRESS RELEASE

Reference: Liza Maza, Chairperson, International Women’s Alliance (IWA) email: internationalwomensalliance@gmail.com

RURAL women call for the removal of agriculture from the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the second day of the People’s Global Camp (PGC) at the workshop organized by the International Women’s Alliance (IWA) and SERUNI an Indonesian Women’s Organization.

Today, women peasant organizations led by the IWA exposed the neoliberal assault on the lives of peasant women.

“[…] as long as the country remains with the wto – the government’s food self-sufficiency program would remain hype and propaganda.” Says The Asian Rural Women’s Coalition (ARWC) and AMIHAN Peasant Women’s Federation in the Philippines

For their part SERUNI exposed the corporate-led and government tolerated landgrabbing in Indonesia. While the peasant women defend their right to till the land, big corporations employ government troops as its own goons to throw the peasant women out of their lands.

Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) points out that 70% of the Asian agricultural workforce are women, while less than five percent of these same women own the land that they till.

After decades of neoliberal globalization led by the WTO, the situation of toiling women peasants have become more aggravated than ever before. They are without land, and without food on their family’s tables. The oppressed and exploited women are left with no choice than to persevere in their struggle for their lives and livelihood.

The workshop concluded with the women marching out of their tent to declare their unity in their call: BUBARKAN WTO! JUNK WTO!#