Plymouth Women's Network: Here, Our Voice!

On the 8th March 2022, between 12 and 2PM, Plymouth Women’s Network invite women and feminist allies of all genders and none, to a memorial and rally at the Sundial, Plymouth City Centre, to mark International Women’s Day and Strike. Our theme for this year’s event is Here, Our Voice! 

We will also be hosting a series of workshops in the run up to the day, to prepare placards, chants and poetry. 

Last year on 8th March, Plymouth Women’s Network joined millions of women and their allies worldwide in supporting the International Women’s Strike. We helped create a memorial at the sundial to remember, commemorate and celebrate the women who have been at the frontline of the pandemic response and have borne the brunt of the hardships. This year we will be returning to the sundial, in a city that has experienced such levels of gender based violence that a commission has been convened to address it. We will be once again asking women and allies to bring placards, flowers and other memorabilia and this year their voices as well. We are here, we have voices and we will use them! 

The aim of the event will be to show solidarity with women across the world and support for women in Plymouth who are facing challenges on every front: cost of food, energy, housing rising, increased violence and fear, health and care services that are crumbling under 10 years of central government cuts and the strains of the pandemic, jobs that are increasingly insecure & underpaid and a climate emergency that is accelerating. We will have speakers, poets, chanting, drumming and an open mic, as well as opportunities to connect to each other and feminist groups across Plymouth. Come and join us for a few minutes or a few hours and share your voice with us. 

We will be running a series of workshops to help prepare for the event. For more details and an invite to the online events, please visit https://www.facebook.com/plymouthwomensnetwork/ or email plymouthwomensnetwork@gmail.com 

Placard making workshops will be taking place online on the 5th Feb at 5PM and in person on the 10th Feb at 5PM. A poetry and chant workshop will be happening on the 26th of January at 8PM, online. 

More Information: 

International Women’s Strike takes place on International Women’s day and is organised by a loose collective of global feminist organisations, the Global Women's Strike network, with national co-ordinations in 11 countries and participating organisations in over 60 countries. The aim of the strike is to highlight the staggering inequality that women face daily and to take back International Women’s day as a day of political activism, not just a series of corporate events highlighting women’s participation in the work-force or paying lip service to progress, without enacting real change. 

The demands of the strike are simple and ones that will bring benefits to all humanity if enacted, such as:

● Payment for all caring work - in wages, pensions, land & other resources. What is more valuable than raising children & caring for others? Invest in life & welfare, not military budgets or prisons 

● Pay equity for all, women & men, in the global market. 

● Food security for breastfeeding mothers, paid maternity leave and maternity breaks. Stop penalizing us for being women. 

● Don't pay 'Third World debt'. We owe nothing, they owe us 

● Accessible clean water, healthcare, housing, transport, literacy. 

● Non-polluting energy & technology with a Climate Justice approach. 

● Protection & asylum from all violence & persecution, including by family members & people in positions of authority. 

● Freedom of movement. Capital travels freely, why not people? 

Useful websites: https://womensglobalstrike.com, https://womenstrike.org.uk

Plymouth Women’s Network is a platform for women to network and support initiatives related to our empowerment and a greater participation towards a fair and compassionate community. https://www.facebook.com/plymouthwomensnetwork

International Women’s day is on March the 8th every year and is marked and celebrated worldwide. This year’s theme is “Break the Bias”. Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias. https://www.internationalwomensday.com

For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Gabi Marcellus-Temple gabi.pcqarts@gmail.com 0742 6137828