We are once again mobilising on 17^th October in order to denounce and
demand an end to the oppression of women and to the domination,
exploitation, egotism and unbridled quest for profit breeding injustice,
war, conquest and violence.

Our feminist struggles and those of our foremothers on every continent
have forged new freedoms for us, our daughters and sons and all the young
girls and boys who will walk the earth after us. In 2000, we collected 5
million signatures demanding the end of poverty and violence against
women. In 2005 we took to the streets again, inviting humanity to join us
in our struggle for Equality, Freedom, Justice, Peace and Solidarity,
weaving our dreams at the same time as we wove and constructed our global
quilt.

Today, as before, we denounce capitalism, patriarchy and their
institutions - such as transnational corporations and national oligarchies
– that extract profit through: discrimination, oppression and exploitation
of our peoples and especially of women; the looting of our territories,
water, earth, biodiversity and sources of energy; the non-recognition of
our individual and collective rights. We condemn these systems, which are
sustained by the privileges held by men over women, of whites over blacks
and indigenous peoples, as well as the exclusion of lesbians, immigrants,
and many other life situations, by them considered “abnormal”. We denounce
their repressive character and the criminalisation of our struggles.

This 17^th October – the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty –
we draw attention to the reality lived by us as women: our work within our
families and community is not recognised and increases with every public
service budget cut, we have less ownership and control of resources, we
have lower salaries, our employment conditions are precarious and
companies control our sexuality and bodies. We do not have the same
educational opportunities and our knowledge and qualifications are less
recognised. The links between poverty and violence against women manifests
itself in the trafficking of women and sexual exploitation, in feminicide,
in the use of women’s bodies as spoils of war.

We recognise the various forms of oppression against women in all four
corners of the world. We have manifested many times - and we will continue
to do so - against the military occupations of Palestine, Afghanistan,
Lebanon and Iraq. At this time, we particularly want to show our
solidarity with women struggling against the military dictatorship in
Burma, who played a central role during the initial protests against rises
in fuel prices and thus ‘opened the way’ for monks, students and the
general population. We support our sisters in Costa Rica in their NO vote
in the national referendum on the subject of the Central American
Free-Trade Agreement with the USA. We commit ourselves to the struggle to
overcome the terrible violence suffered by women in the armed conflicts in
the regions of Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur, in
western Sudan.

We reaffirm our pathways in the struggle against poverty and violence
against women:

– Women’s economic autonomy and the redistribution of wealth: Decent
employment, along with workers rights and fair remuneration; management, use and control of resources and means of life; strengthening of the
solidarity economy; valorisation of women’s reproductive and productive
work. Non-payment of external debts that threaten the national sovereignty
of countries, and surveillance of new loans. Non-negotiation or signing of
free-trade agreements, whose aim is the protection of transnational
corporations’ interests.

– For food sovereignty and against the privatisation of nature:
self-management of our environmental resources based on a development
model that respects the basic needs of present and future generations. The
right to maintain our means of life, to produce our own food in the way we
want to and to feed ourselves according to our own cultural traditions.

– No to violence against women: Fight against sexist violence, which is the instrument of control of our lives, our bodies and our sexuality, that
turns us into objects subject to the desires of others. Commitment and
practical actions on the part of the State and of society – particularly
social movements – in the prevention and punishment of violence against
women.

– Peace and demilitarisation: To put an end to impunity and the use of
women’s bodies as spoils of war and of rape as a weapon of war.
Participation of women in the resolution of conflicts. Policies for
disarmament and against occupations and foreign military presence,
including military bases and exercises.

We will march until all women are free from oppression!

Granja do Ulmeiro, Portugal, 8^th October, 2007

International Committee of the World March of Women