During this week of International Women’s Day, we lift up and give solidarity and power to those of all genders committed to ending sexism, patriarchy, homo/transphobia and all forms of gender-based inequality, violence, exploitation and repression. Including but not limited to: - Black cis- and transgender women fighting for the safety of themselves, their families and loved ones and their communities;
- Domestic workers fighting for safety, living wages, benefits and funding for caregivers who provide paid and unpaid care work for children, elders, and disabled loved ones;
- Immigrants organizing for the safety and stability of their families, loved ones and communities against the violence of forced migration, racist targeting, deportation and detention;
- People inside, those formerly incarcerated and their loved ones and allies in ending mass incarceration as a response to the failure of our society and governments to provide for what people need and demanding an end to domestic, community and institutional gender-based violence;
- Indigenous matriarchs, two-spirited people and organizers whose anchoring and leadership bring forward traditions of land stewardship, restorative justice and healing that provide a path towards survival at a time when all life on this planet are threatened by capitalist and settler colonial violence, exploitation and destruction;
- Teachers whose creativity and commitment have continued to educate our children through COVID, fires and defunding, even as their labor is devalued and their safety is not centered; and,
- Cis- and transgender women, transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender expansive people at the frontlines of so many movements and whose work and leadership is often unrecognized, overshadowed or taken for granted.
As COVID continues to magnify domestic and global inequalities, it sheds light on the lack of protections for domestic workers, the total lack of state support for unpaid caregivers (parents, grandparents, those caring for disabled, elderly family and community members), the devaluing and entitlement directed at teachers and the intensifying of the threat of mass incarceration, domestic violence and abuse of children. We are grateful for the shoulders of many brave cis- and transgender women, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, ancestors that we stand on, and the courage of those whose gender expansion and non-binary being and movements expand the possibilities for all of us. (See below for Actions to Take.) A friend and comrade sent June Jordan’s poem, "For South African Women," this International Women’s Day, as a reminder of previous struggles of women that we can gain courage from. We hope you will find inspiration and encouragement from it. —The NLG-SF Bay Area Team |
