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The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of
great moral conflict. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
SOCIAL JUSTICE #33
October 11, 1999
Ray Goforth
Kim Goforth
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1) DOMESTIC WORKERS FORM HUMAN CHAIN TO PROTEST IN BANGLADESH
2) MODEL RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE OF THE
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
3) MOBILIZATION AGAINST CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION IN SEATTLE
4) GENDER APARTHEID: THE TALIBAN REGIME IN AFGHANISTAN
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Welcome to the latest issue of SOCIAL JUSTICE E-ZINE. The
name Social Justice encompasses the struggles of people
everywhere who work for gender equality, democratic government,
economic opportunity, intellectual freedom, environmental
protection, and human rights.
Social Justice is an electronic magazine (e-zine) designed for
free distribution through the internet. SJ now reaches
approximately 10,000 e-mail recipients in eight dozen
countries. Stories from SJ are then broadcast on radio stations
throughout the English speaking world. Feel free to make copies
and share with friends (or enemies). Think of this as a regular
magazine without the recycling. If there's nothing you want to
read in this issue, just hit delete.
Those wishing to be added to the subscription list (or
conversely, those who want off the list) should write to us at:
goforth86@home.com
http://members.tripod.com/~goforth/socialjustice.html
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DOMESTIC WORKERS FORM HUMAN CHAIN TO PROTEST IN BANGLADESH
The Domestic Workers Association of Bangladesh formed a human chain around the Bangladesh
Secretariat on 27th September, 1999 to press home their demands which included recognition of
their status as workers, fixation of minimum wages and protection from murder, rape, kidnaping
and torture.
Under the banner of Domestic Workers Association, Bangladesh (DWAB), the workers formed
the human chain from 4 p.m to 4.30 p.m on the busy Topkhana road in the city.
During the program, a brief rally was held with central Co-ordinator Amirul Haque Amin in the
chair. Among others, Hasna Begum, Kulsum Begum, Akhlima Khatun, Sahida Sarker, Mrs
Nahar, Marium Begum, Arifa Akhter, Sobi Begum and Fatema Begum addressed the rally.
The speakers said that domestic workers are the victims of rape, murder and torture every day
and the government routinely failed to take any effective steps to stop such crimes committed on
the domestic workers.
The speakers said noted that just during the previous 100 days: 21 domestic workers were killed,
29 became victims of rape, 5 were killed after violation, 4 were burnt to death, 9 were abducted,
19 were tortured, 21 were forced into prostitution, more than 300 smuggled, more than 3000 lost
their job without any compensation, and more than 15000 became homeless due to destruction of
the slums in which they lived.
During the rally the association raised 9 demands including recognition as workers, fixation of
minimum wages, establishment of legal rights, and the protection of domestic workers from
murder, rape, kidnaping and torture. The association members also pointed out that recognition
of the domestic worker is an issue that transcend Bangladesh to similarly situated domestic
workers around the world. A network of NGOs dedicated to the protection and advancement of
domestic workers is very much needed to address the problem internationally.
The members of the DWAB hope that the rally will dramatize their issues and bring cooperation
and support from trade unions, human rights organizations, women's organizations, development
organizations and others development agencies.
For more information please contact:
Amirul Haque Amin
unity@bdmail.net
General Secretary, National Garments Workers Federation of Bangladesh
Co-ordinator, Domestic Workers Association, Bangladesh
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MODEL RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE OF THE
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
WHEREAS, trade agreements should not undermine national laws that protect workers, the
environment, community economies and public health; and
WHEREAS, trade disputes are resolved at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by non-elected
corporate panels in an undemocratic process outside and above our Constitution and courts; and
WHEREAS, in all 100 cases, over the first four years at the WTO, decisions by non-elected
corporate panels have favored corporations over labor, corporations over public health, and
corporations over the environment such as:
In January 1999, a non-elected WTO panel ruled that the European Union could no longer pay
more for Caribbean bananas than Central American bananas. This arrangement had been the
European Union's 20 year effort to redress its past history of exploitation of these former
Caribbean colonies. The Caribbean nations control 3% of the worldwide banana production, the
other 97% being under the direct corporate control of Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte. The WTO's
decision will likely result in massive unemployment of over 200,000 workers in a region already
suffering 40% unemployment.
In 1997 the European Union filed against a Massachusetts law that sanctioned the undemocratic
government of Burma. These sanctions prevent the use of taxpayers funds to purchase products
from corporations doing business with Burma. Because the WTO prohibits sanctions many
observers believe that this Massachusetts law will be overturned. This would be an astounding
historical reversal of democratic rights: nine years ago the brutal apartheid government of South
Africa was overturned in part due to similar sanctions aimed at financially punishing the regime.
In the U.S. this effort was led by the African-American community and labor unions. If the WTO
had been in place then, Nelson Mandela might still be in prison today.
In 1998, a non-elected WTO panel ruled against the U.S. Endangered Species Act requirement
that turtle excluder devices be installed on shrimp nets to prevent endangered sea turtles from
being drowned. This law, hard fought for by thousands of environmental activists worldwide was
effectively gutted by this non-elected WTO panel.
In 1996, the European Union Parliament voted 366-0 to ban imports of U.S. hormone-treated
beef into Europe citing citizens and scientists concerns that hormones used in beef production
increase cancer rates. In 1998 a non-elected WTO panel ruled that the European Union must
allow U.S. hormone treated beef into Europe. The European Parliament's right to limit the health
risks to which their citizens are exposed was clearly denied by the non-elected WTO panel's
ruling.
WHEREAS, the WTO has not only overturned federal laws protecting the public but undermines
our sovereign right to ever again make such laws and;
THEREFORE, be it resolved that:
1. When the governments of the world meet in Seattle in November 1999 for the World Trade
Organization Summit, we, the members of the international civil society, oppose any effort to
expand the powers of the World Trade Organization, meaning that no new agenda items be
negotiated and;
2. Governments review the undemocratic structure and decision-making of the WTO and
mandate the enactment of a system that protects our sovereign right to make law to protect the
health, environment and working conditions within national borders.
For more information contact:
People for Fair Trade -- WTO Host Committee
(toll-free) 1-877-STOPWTO
www.seattlewto.org
www.peopleforfairtrade.org
2343 NW 100th, Seattle, WA 98177 USA
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MOBILIZATION AGAINST CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION
The World Trade Organization (WTO) will be in Seattle from Nov. 29 through Dec. 3, 1999
-- on the eve of its fifth anniversary. This historic Summit will determine the WTO's agenda
for negotiations for the coming decade.
Trade Ministers from 135 nations will be welcomed by President Clinton, who wants the
WTO to begin a new round of "free trade" negotiations. Citizen activists need to gear up
now to make sure that in November there will be "No New Round!" In Seattle, the
International Media will be broadcasting to the world the Global Peoples' Protest by the
Puget!
Organizing for Seattle is underway internationally, nationally and locally. Venues have been
secured; hotels, hostels, couches and futons have been reserved; the office is opened......now
YOU need to make your travel arrangements.
When you get to Seattle, right after Thanksgiving (U.S.), you are invited:
*The International Forum on Globalization will host a huge Globalization Teach-In at the
Symphony Hall on Saturday the 27th.
*The AFL-CIO is organizing a massive rally and march at the WTO on Tuesday the 30th and
Fair Trade networks throughout the world are mobilizing to march with them.
*The Washington Association of Churches will convene an international interfaith service on
Monday evening the 29th.
*The Citizens Trade Campaign will host a Citizens' Summit in the large and lovely sanctuary of
the United Methodist Church, downtown. Each day of the week will be devoted to a different set
of related issues and include symposia, plenaries, panels, skills-sharing, strategy sessions and
dramatic press events.
*The Council of Canadians are planning to mobilize in Vancouver for a conference immediately
prior to the Summit and then descend on Seattle (604-688-8846)
*Peoples Global Action will dispatch delegations -- including an amazing caravan across North
America.
*The Ruckus Society, Art & Revolution, and the local militant Network Opposed to the WTO
(NO2WTO) are each expected to denounce the corporate elites and trade bureaucrats in creative
and demonstrative ways.
Check out www.seattlewto.org for continuous updates on the various events, concerts,
accommodations, discussion, policy news, etc. You can also contact the organizers on the ground
in Seattle by calling toll-free, 1-877-STOP-WTO (786-7986) or our downtown HQ at
206-770-9044.
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GENDER APARTHEID: THE TALIBAN REGIME IN AFGHANISTAN
Upon seizing power, the Taliban instituted a system of gender apartheid effectively thrusting the
women of Afghanistan into a state of virtual house arrest. Under Taliban rule women have been
stripped of their visibility, voice, and mobility. When they took control in 1996, the Taliban
initially imposed strict edicts that:
*Banished women from the work force;
*Closed schools to girls in cities and expelled women from universities;
*Prohibited women from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative;
*Ordered the publicly visible windows of women's houses painted black and forced women to
wear the burqa - which completely shrouds the body, leaving only a small mesh-covered
opening through which to see;
*Denied women and girls admittance to most hospitals and from being examined by male
physicians while at the same time, prohibited most female doctors and nurses from working.
Women have been brutally beaten, flogged and even killed for violating Taliban decrees.
Even after international condemnation, the Taliban has made only slight changes. A few women
doctors and nurses are working. In Kabul and other cities a few home schools for girls
operate-although only clandestinely-and women who conduct home schools could be risking
their lives or a severe beating. Some war widows who had been reduced to begging to feed their
children are now allowed to work in order to survive. Some hospitals have segregated wards for
women. But the overall reality of the tragic plight of Afghan women and girls has remained
virtually unchanged.
Gender Apartheid -- The Consequences
*A woman who dared to defy Taliban orders by running a home school for girls was shot and
killed in front of her husband, daughter, and students.
*A woman caught trying to flee Afghanistan with a man not related to her was stoned to death
for adultery.
*An elderly woman was brutally beaten with a metal cable until her leg was broken because her
ankle was accidentally showing from underneath her burqa.
*Women have died of treatable ailments because male doctors were not allowed to treat them.
*Many women, now forcibly housebound, have attempted suicide by swallowing household
cleaner, rather than continuing to live under these conditions.
*97% of Afghan women surveyed by Physicians for Human Rights exhibit signs of major
depression.
Taliban Law Is In Opposition To Islam
Prior to the Civil War and Taliban control, especially in Kabul, the capital, women in
Afghanistan were educated and employed: 50% of the students and 60% of the teachers at Kabul
University were women, and 70% of school teachers, 50% of civilian government workers, and
40% of doctors in Kabul were women.
The Taliban claim to follow a pure, fundamentalist Islamic ideology, yet the oppression they
perpetrate against women has no basis in Islam. Within Islam, women are allowed to earn and
control their own money, and to participate in public life. The 55-member Organization of
Islamic Conference has refused to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's official government.
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, regarded by many as an ultraconservative, fundamentalist
organization, has denounced the Taliban's decrees.
Who Supports the Taliban?
During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980's the United States through a CIA
covert operation based in Pakistan supplied billions of dollars to support insurgent militia forces
called the mujahideen (soldiers of God). Following the Soviets' withdrawal in 1989, factions of
the mujahideen fell into a civil war and in 1994, the Taliban emerged as a dominant force. The
Taliban is comprised of young men and boys of Afghan descent who have hardly lived in Afghan
society. They were raised in refugee camps and trained in ultraconservative religious schools
(madrasahs) in Pakistan. Pakistan is the primary source of support to the Taliban, supplying
military aid and personnel; Saudi Arabia provides the Taliban with financial support.
Additionally, Afghanistan is the one of the world's two largest producers of opium and a major
drug-processing center; almost all areas of poppy cultivation are occupied by the Taliban. But
perhaps the biggest potential for financial support lies in the petroleum industry.
U.S. Corporate Interests and the Taliban
International oil interests are in fierce competition to build pipelines through Afghanistan to link
Caspian Sea oil and gas reserves to Central and South Asia. California-based UNOCAL, a U.S.
energy company, led the CentGas consortium that planned to build an oil and gas pipeline
through Afghanistan. The Taliban stood to gain $100 million a year from this pipeline. UNOCAL
announced it was suspending the project at the end of 1998, citing in part, pressure from feminist
organizations protesting the company's involvement with the Taliban. Other U.S. and
international corporate interests are vying for business in the country. Recently, Telephone
Systems International (TSI), a New Jersey-based telecommunications firm, reached an agreement
with the Taliban to install a satellite-based system throughout Afghanistan. Corporate investment
under current conditions could mean billions of dollars to shore up the Taliban regime without
regard for women's rights.
The Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
Led by the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid has brought
together over 130 leading human rights and women's organizations, in the U.S. and around the
world, to demand that the human rights abuses against women and girls in Afghanistan must end.
These organizations include Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the National
Organization of Women, the National Political Congress of Black Women, Refugee Women in
Development, and the Women's Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan.
The Campaign has helped stop the U.S. and United Nations from officially recognizing the
Taliban until women's human rights have been restored.
For more information contact:
The Feminist Majority Foundation
1600 Wilson Blvd, Suite 801
Arlington, VA 22209
USA
http://www.feminist.org/home.html
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For those who have inquired: We (Kim and Ray Goforth) grew-up in
southern California where we were active in a wide variety of
progressive political organizing activities. We moved to
Seattle, Washington, USA in 1988 where we took positions with
different social service agencies. In 1995, we completed
undergraduate degrees in political-economy at The Evergreen State
College. In 1998, we completed law degrees (juris doctor) at the
University of Washington. Ray works for a labor union and Kim
advocates for victims of domestic violence.
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