World March 8 - International Women's Day

[Brigitte Verdière <mmfbverdiere at yahoo.fr>]

NEWS RELEASE -- Global launch of the Women's Global Charter for Humanity

For immediate release



Sao Paul, February 25, 2005 - On March 8, International Women's Day, the
World March of Women is launching the Women's Global Charter for Humanity.



The global launch is taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Brazilian
women are holding a march. Joining them will be women from Quebec, where
the March was initiated, and delegates from Cameroon, Congo and Burkina
Faso, where the relay of the Charter will end on October 17, 2005. Burkina
Faso was chosen because it is one of the poorest countries on the planet;
also, violence against women takes many different forms there: in addition
to rape and domestic violence, women suffer forced marriage, early
marriage, levirate, and genital mutilation.



Delegates of the World March of Women gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, adopted
the Charter on December 10, 2004. The Women's Global Charter for Humanity
is a proposal to build a world where exploitation, oppression, intolerance
and exclusion no longer exist and where integrity, diversity and the rights
and freedoms of all are respected. It contains 31 affirmations describing
the principles essential to the construction of such a world. These
affirmations are based on five values: equality, freedom, solidarity,
justice and peace.



From March 8 till October 17, women of the World March are organizing a
Relay to pass the Charter around the world. The Relay will last till
October 17, 2005, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. During
the Relay, women will hold public education and information activities
about the Charter, challenge their elected representatives, and question
public opinion.



Women will also create a quilt reflecting the values contained in the
Charter. The patchwork quilt will be gradually pieced together as the
Charter is passed from country to country throughout the world. On October
17, 2005, at noon, local time, women around the world will carry out 24
hours of feminist solidarity actions.



The World March of Women is a global feminist action network made up of
5500 women's groups from 163 countries and territories. The World March of
Women is struggling for an end to poverty and violence against women.





THE TEXT OF THE WOMEN'S GLOBAL CHARTER FOR HUMANITY IS AVAILABLE ON THE
MARCH WEB SITE: http://www.worldmarchofwomen.org





Contact: Brigitte Verdière, Communications World March of Women, Montréal
(Québec), Canada H2Y 1E6  -
<mailto:bverdiere at marchemondiale.org>bverdiere at marchemondiale.org

Relay  of the Women's Global Charter for Humanity, March 8 - October 17, 2005



The Relay will be held March 8 to October 17, 2005, starting in Sao Paulo,
Brazil and concluding October 17, 2005, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The
Charter will be relayed through 53 stopover points:



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