(published March 2008)
The nineteenth annual Oxford International Women's Festival will take place from 1 to 15 March 2008. The theme this year is"Women's Journeys" and as usual NOW will be putting on a thought-provoking event, this year entitled 'Women in Slavery - Then and Now'.
As there is so much overlap between NOW members and those involved in organizing the Festival, I thought it was relevant to start with photos of the Festival launch party, which took place on Saturday March 1st in front of The Buttery in Broad Street.
Next will come the posters and flyers for NOW's event on Saturday March 8, in the Asian Cultural Centre, Manzil Way, off Cowley Road. Hopefully, after the event, we may be able to include a report and any further photos.
If people would like to contribute further reports about any aspect of the festival, or photos, please don't hesitate to email me at: eileen@cameron-kirby.freeserve.co.uk.
To see details of last year's International Women's Festival, click here
Mad Hatter's Tea Party
ably supported by the
Breach of the Peace Samba Band
To see details of last year's International Women's Festival, click here
Report by Caroline Raine
On 6 March trade unionists and others gathered to hear three speakers on different
topics which highlighted the importance of solidarity between women nationally
and internationally.
Caroline Raine from the Network of Oxford Women for Peace and Justice (NOW)
set the scene by talking about the history of International Womens Day and the
inspiration provided by womens struggles as early as the English Civil War.
Caroline also spoke about international solidarity, illustrating this with examples
from Cuba and Palestine. Clare Cochrane of Oxford Pro Choice spoke about the
importance of womens right to choose abortion and changes that were needed in
legislation to make this meaningful, for example only needing the consent of
one doctor instead of the current two. Difficulties in accessing abortion were
a major threat to womens mental and physical health. Following Clare's presentation
there was an interesting discussion particularly on how the campaign could link
up with Keep Our NHS Public. The final speaker was Tatyana Pashko, who is responsible
for Gender Equality for the Russian Trade Union Federation. Tatyana was at the
meeting with a delegation from Eastern Europe currently studying at Ruskin College
and it was interesting to hear about gender issues in Russian trade unions.
To see details of last year's International Women's Festival,
click here
