On the International Day of Struggle for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – For the Defend of our Bodies, Labor, Lands and Ocean.
While the occupying Israeli forces continue to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, demolishing homes, lands, and livelihoods with the world as a spectator, the World March of Women continues to raise its voices against all forms of violence against women and denouncing the situations of political, economic, environmental and legal oppression that we are going through in all regions of the world.
In alignment with Silvia Federici’s assertion that the history of capitalism and imperialism is the history of genocides and that they are fed by human blood, violence, war, and exploitation, we recognize the increasing visibility of the more exploitative, patriarchal, extractivist, and colonial facets of capitalism. On this International Day of Struggle for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we declare once again that we stand by the just struggle of the Palestinian people and that the occupying Israeli government must immediately establish a ceasefire, put an end to the war, and recognize the autonomy of the Palestinian people.
Understanding that those responsible for stealing from us from our sisters all over the world day by day, and those who commit genocide in Palestine today and those who support this crime, are the result of the same capitalist, patriarchal, racist, and colonialist system.
As our beloved sister Nalu Faria once said, “Struggling against violence against women is about challenging the patriarchal system, as it is imbricated with capitalism, racism, colonialism, and LGBTİ+ phobia.”
The first step to end violence is to reveal the systemic reasons behind violence against women and to combat the systematic aspect of this violence. Because, we know that violence, racism, and militarization have been used as tools to expand control over bodies, labor, lands, and ocean.
In this sense, it is impossible to end violence against women without pointing out and confronting the underlying systemic causes. Similarly, violence against women cannot be ended without standing against the genocidal face of capitalism killing and torturing the Palestinian people in Gaza, without standing with solidarity against what happened and is still happening in Congo and Sudan and without standing against forced migration of millions of people due to wars and natural disasters resulting from the climate crisis.
We cannot put an end to patriarchal violence without opposition in all places against all forms of colonialist, racist and capitalist oppression. On this day of global action against violence against women, we send our message of solidarity to the people in resistance of Guatemala, Peru, Cuba and Venezuela where they fight daily to defend their democracies and popular governments.
We say this, because we know that the sustainability of life is not and cannot be compatible with capitalism. Humane capitalism is not possible, neither in green nor in purple forms.
Our struggle is against the oppressive, authoritarian, unjust, unequal and exploitative life conditions that are governing the World!
And this is why our struggle is for the creation of another world!
We will continue to march until we take control over our bodies, our labor, and our lands and ocean.
Our fight is for the creation of a different world, where we reclaim control over our bodies, labor, and lands. We will continue to march against wars and capitalism for popular sovereignty and the good living of the people until no one is left behind. “Ni una menos!”