The Hindu : New Delhi News : Women share stories of oppression

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 26, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Women share stories of oppression

By Mandira Nayar

NEW DELHI, NOV. 25. They might have come from different regions, countries or even continents, but the stories they shared were the same -- of oppression. Battling similarly unjust systems, women activists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia and Myanmar came together on Wednesday at the 4th National Conference of the All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA) here to unite to form a better world.

"Things have become worse since the last national conference three years ago. American hegemony has increased in the name of war against terror and to make Afghan women free. The echoes of this war have found their way into our nation too. For example, in the North-East we have had a draconian law which has been functioning for years, but it took the nude protest of women to bring this law into public discourse,'' stated historian and human rights activist Uma Chakravarti.

Pointing out that the situation in the North-East was no different than the militarisation in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Chakravarti said: "We need to think about how to define the nation. The longstanding struggle of land and wages continue, but after liberalisation it has taken mass suicides for the middle class to notice the problem. The governments earlier did not do much, but at least there were public institutions, which have been eroded now. Even the States which have been showcased -- Andhra Pradesh and Punjab -- have farmers committing suicide. Globalisation has also led to new technology which is being used against women for sex selection.''

Faced with increasing responsibility in the field and the additional role of maintaining food security, it was important for women to start a new movement against genetically modified seeds, stated scientist-activist Suman Sahay.

"It is a tremendous achievement that women have taken on the added responsibility of agriculture which is not their traditional role. It is also a matter of pride that India is the only country that has not only rejected patents but forcefully come out to protect farmers' rights in a law. However, the upcoming fight is going to be against genetically modified seeds. These seeds do not keep your needs in mind. They are not related to agriculture but should be seen as a product,'' she said.

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