A CALL to WOMEN
Arun Gandhi was in Boston November 6th and 7th to promote the World March for Peace and Nonviolence and a follow-up initiative called:
A Call to Women, A World-Wide Unity Campaign
www.GSofNV.org
Meria@globalstrategyofnonviolence.org
To: All the WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS of the WORLD:
Date: January 1, 2010
A CATALYST for PEACE is here! An amazing opportunity is at hand.
All the social movements are searching for a CATALYST to unify, become as large as possible, and create a tipping point. The following hypothesis will show that the catalyst is WOMEN, illustrating NONVIOLENCE to Stop War, For the CHILDREN! The objective is unity to create political change. Therefore, an initiative is planned called a CALL to WOMEN, a WORLD-WIDE UNITY CAMPAIGN.
This is a request for all women’s organizations to unify and create a global “People Movement.” The key element is for non-governmental, WOMEN leaders to "Reach into Every Household," in a Gandhi / King-like movement and empower WOMEN to be the PEACEMAKERS. Men are included. A full plan has been developed, as a guideline, to be molded and shaped by women leaders.
The world is waiting for something to happen. Will it be war, or a “proactive” movement of NONVIOLENCE to stop war? By working to stop war, women will affect their own issues and all the other social issues. Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi wrote, "Without peace all other rights are jeopardized. All of our efforts should be focused on stopping war." Ebadi's website stated her goal: “A peace, which covers all children of the world.”
WOMEN around the world have been gathering and developing strategies to implement their own ideas and methods to change the world. There are an incredible amount of initiatives that have already begun. The evidence is overwhelming (See examples below). The key is unifying. Are these entities, by themselves, enough to create a tipping point? Is Ebadi correct – peace is first?
Why is this request for unity being made now? There is a DOOR OPEN! President Obama reached out with the OLIVE BRANCH. Now it is time for the people to unify and also reach out with the OLIVE BRANCH. Obama cannot create change alone. The political obstacles for change are enormous. Women and nonviolence are the David against the Goliath of the corporate, military, economic thinking, and mindset of the people of the world.
Most people would agree that socialization is the main agent for change, but what happens when the opportunity to be proactive presents itself? Is there action or is it a missed opportunity? Women leaders are needed to set the plan in motion!
The initiative must be global and idealistic to go beyond vexing historical disputes. A CALL to WOMEN promotes compassion, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, and helping others. The idealism is transposed into pragmatism change military spending to humanitarian spending. Dedication and faith are required. There will be sacrifice and risk. However, change, in itself, is an agent of division. The early followers of Jesus, splitting from the Jews and confronting the Romans was contentious. Why then did Christianity take hold? Was it because of the fact the people were dedicated to helping others and would not kill others (nonviolence)? The key is nonviolence.
The overall plan is called a Global Strategy of Nonviolence, For the Children (GSofNV). The children must see an effort to create world-wide unity! A three year, three step plan is designed as an "ILLUSTRATION" to capture the world's and the media's attention! The people in every country will be asked to influence their own governments via a unified initiative.
The initiative, a Call to Women is designed to be exciting and inspirational! The intricacies are complex, but there is a simplicity in setting the plan in motion. The seeds have been planted. Many WOMEN leaders around the world are aware of the plan – for example: Margarita Papandreou, Sister Joan Chittister, Helen Caldicott, Cora Weiss, Jehan Sadat, Gila Svirsky, Jean Shinoda Bolen, and Ela Gandhi. Everyone is busy doing wonderful work. Each organization, understandably, has its own agenda. Kathe Schaaf, founder of Gather the Women, learned that it is very difficult to unify women’s organizations. This is why the main idealistic goal of working “For the Children” is important. The purpose is to build bridges and transcend boundaries. Women leaders can make this happen!
I predict there will be war in the future. There will be an incident that stirs anger in people and will be the guiding force in violent conflict resolution. A Call to Women is not a cure-all and will not solve the immediate problems. However, when an incident does occur, there will be no way to influence politics. The people must prepare for, practice, and teach (PP&T) nonviolence in advance! While Obama is in office, something must create a people movement. Women are the CATALYST.
In conclusion, if women unite and embrace nonviolence to stop war, they can change the world. UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan wrote, “Women, who know the price of conflict so well, are also often better equipped than men to prevent or resolve it. For generations, women have served as peace educators, both in their families and in their societies. They have proved instrumental in building bridges rather than walls. They have been crucial in preserving social order when communities have collapsed.”
A “Call to Women” does not exclude men. Men should be courting women to prevent war, if they truly believe they don’t want war. This is the test, for men and women.
People can work together. People must show each other that they are not enemies. Martin Luther King stated, in the Riverside Church speech, “Beyond Vietnam”, April 4th, 1967, “Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.”
A “Call to Women” will be the “largest, nonviolent” movement the world has ever seen! The strategy states: We come in peace, we offer the olive branch, we are not a threat, we are not enemies, we are all part of the family of the human race, we have common bonds, we apologize for our misdeeds, we forgive your misdeeds, we need to heal the wounds, we need to start a GLOBAL ACTION to “break down borders.”
The theories, supportive information, and plans are available for review. A complete financial forecast is prepared. Funding of a non-profit foundation will be used to create a PHILANTHROPIC organization and facilitate a "PEOPLE MOVEMENT" of humanitarian efforts. A new socio-economic and political future is at hand. The United Nations will be empowered by a people movement. It is imperative that non-governmental women leaders come to the forefront to empower the women as the "CATALYST."
The time has come for women to rally around the world to prevent and stop war and create change, not wait for it. Who has the VISION, the COURAGE, the DESIRE, to create change? Will WOMEN utilize this opportunity to change the world?
Where are the women Gandhi’s? Helen Caldicott stated her initial reason for starting WAND was because she thought women would make the difference. Let’s go back to her original concept and show that she was right. The DOOR is OPEN.
Happy New Year! Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Peace and Love,
Meria Heller, Spokesperson
GSofNV
Meria@GlobalStrategyofNonviolence.org
GSofNV Facilitator: Andre Sheldon Andre@GlobalStrategyofNonviolence.org
QUOTES, RESEARCH, and LINKS
Sister Joan Chittister, Co-Chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, in an amazing speech given at the Omega/ VDay conference in New York City, September 11, 2004 said, “The lives of our children, the protection of millions, the hopes of all humankind, wait again now for women, from opposite cultures, opposite tradition, to step over the line of political hatred to save them.”
“If a person with black hair sees a person with red hair, he or she sees someone different, but, if a person with black hair sees a child with red hair, he or she sees a child.” Adil Najam, Boston University, International Relations.
See Charter for Compassion - http://charterforcompassion.org/
World March of Women
Women from the Congo have called out for the support of women! 11-25-08
http://www.worldmarchofwomen.org/index_html/en?set_language=en&...
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The names of the following organizations say volumes:
Mothers Acting Up, on Behalf of the World’s Children
http://www.mothersactingup.org/
Global Women’s Action Network for the Children (GWANC)
http://learningpartnership.org/en/advocacy/networks/gwanc
BraveHeart Women Global Community team
http://core.braveheartwomen.com/members.php
Council of Women World Leaders
http://www.lauraliswood.com/councilofwomenworldleaders.html
Women on the Edge of Evolution
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=291053920356&ref=ts
The Wisdom Connection
http://wisdomconnection.biz/
All of the following women’s organizations have interactive pages at www.LightPages.net. Contact Jeanie@LightPages.net for more information about LightPages, or to subscribe or unsubscribe as an organization.
Circle Connections, www.circleconnections.com, Women connecting to create a new earth, one circle, one connection, one step at a time. Bringing visibility to women in leadership on www.blogtalkradio.com/circleconnections, Mondays 12:30 PST.
Evolutionary Women, www.evolutionarywomen.org, Creating events, gatherings, forums and services for women called to the Co-Creative Feminine. Featuring 44 Evolutionary Women’s stories in their book Conscious Choices www.evolutionarywomen.org/book11.html .
Gather the Women Global Matrix, www.gatherthewomen.org, Networking women and women’s organizations who share a belief that the time is now to activate the incredible power of women’s wisdom on a planetary scale. Inviting local circles into waves of global gathering, next: International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010.
Millionth Circle, www.millionthcircle.org, Inviting circles with a spiritual center to become a worldwide healing force through feminine values of relationship, nurturing, interdependency, with the aim of celebrating the millionth circle.
Offerings, www.offeringspublications.com, On-going conversation that fosters the story of women evolving themselves, their lives, their world. With foci on birthing, new politics, money, women’s networks, using art, in-person and online channels.
SisterSpace, www.sisterspace.net, A library of interviews with women in leadership, now continuing at www.weavingtheworld.com. Offering an online conference called “As One, I am my Sister’s Keeper”, considering and healing from the long-standing violence against women, at www.weavingtheculture.com
Spheres Circles, www.spherescircles.com, Promoting the principles of positivity and connectivity through the Spheres Circular E-zine, and Spheres Circles. Launching Pollyanna Power and products, “Positive attitude in action”!
Standing Women, www.standingwomen.org, Following Sharon Mehdi’s story of the Great Silent Grandmother Gathering, inviting women worldwide to stand in silence for a better world every Mother’s Day.
Vessels of Peace, www.vesselsofpeace.com, Providing practices that invite the Sacred Feminine to be experienced and embodied, radiating peace within and without. Online community soon to be anchored in a physical location, Sweet Water Sanctuary near Pittsburg, PA.
Ways Women Lead, www.wayswomenlead.net, Engaging and connecting women and girls on their journeys of self-discovery, empowerment, and leadership for the common good. Launching a conscious leadership training program in May 2010 in Sophia, Bulgaria, and a global event there in Oct.
Women’s Spirit Council, www.womensspiritcouncil.org, Exploring the many dimensions of the Sacred Feminine, the healing of feminine leadership, and new paradigms of planetary collaboration. Convening multi-faith ceremony celebrating the Sacred Feminine.
WOMEN’S GROUPS!
CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. CODEPINK rejects foreign policies based on domination and aggression, and instead calls for policies based on diplomacy, compassion and a commitment to international law. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.
http://www.codepink4peace.org/article.php?list=type&type=3
Women’s International League for Peace and Nonviolence (WILPF)
http://wilpf.org/
The list goes on and on!
In 2008, Maria Shriver's Women's Conference sold an astounding 14,000 tickets in the first 20 minutes after registration opened. The theme: "Women, the Architects of Change".
Evidence found supporting women in the last half of 2009
Lynn Sherr, on PBS - Bill Moyers Journal: “Empowering women may be our only chance.” “We just heard that this 21st century is our time. Century of women — not bad. Let's hope it takes less than the whole one hundred years. We can't wait that long.
Kavita Ramdas on Bill Moyers with Lynn Sher
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/09252009/profile2.html
September 25, 2009
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SECURITY COUNCIL DECLARES BAN
Sent: Fri 10/9/2009 10:21 PM
New York, Oct 5 2009 1:05PM
The Security Council today unanimously urged all countries and international bodies to take further steps to ensure full participation of women in all stages of conflict resolution and peace-building, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling it “a top priority for the United Nations.”
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October 8, 2009 (sent 10-11-09)
Elahe Amani with Lys Anzia - Women News Network – WNN
Nobel Peace Price Winner Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, in a plea made to women and activists worldwide at a July 25 Iran pro-democracy rally in Amsterdam, stated, "I urge all women around the world to show their solidarity with the Committee of Iranian Mothers in Mourning by assembling in parks, in their respective countries.”
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Dalai Lama:
NEWSFLASH: Women are gathering together from all over the world.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 12:15 PM
From:
"THE SHIFT"
At the recent, sold-out Peace Summit in Vancouver, His Holiness the Dalai Lama made a proclamation that stunned the crowd: "The world will be saved by the western woman."
Last year, Maria Shriver's Women's Conference sold an astounding 14,000 tickets in the first 20 minutes after registration opened. The theme: "Women, the Architects of Change".
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10-20-09
UNIFEM
On behalf of UNIFEM , I am getting in touch to let you know that, starting on 6 November 2009, we will take the initiative one step further and launch a new platform for action, Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women.
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President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize and now there must be a PEOPLE MOVEMENT to support efforts for peace. One man cannot do it alone! The people must show support for nonviolence!
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Women for Peace 11-2-09
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will hold its 26th Annual Evening for Peace celebration on Saturday, November 7 at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara, California.
Riane Eisler will receive the Foundation's 2009 Distinguished Peace Leadership Award for her work as an author, social scientist and lawyer to build world peace.
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11-09-09
EWL and EPACVAW Statement on the EU conference on male violence against women (9 November)
Women NGO’s call on the Swedish Presidency to initiate a European strategy on all forms of male violence against women.
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November 16, 2009 (File – 11-23-09)
Turkish & Kurdish Mothers Campaign for Peace
By Dr. Emel Baştürk Akca
- Turkey -
“We mothers, whose hearts are burning, have come together so that there will be no more pain. We do not want our children to die.” These words belong to Nurten Ekinci, a woman who lost her son during his military service. Another woman, Sakine Arat, lost three children after they joined the pro-Kurdish terrorist organization, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). "This war does not benefit anyone,” she says. “It has lasted for years, and it needs to end."
Statement calling on the Swedish Presidency to initiate a European strategy on all forms of male violence against women.
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12-8-09 World March of Women
Call to action:
Americas Women Meeting Against War and for
Peace
“Silence the weapons so that women and the people may speak out in defense of life”
The Women’s Social Movement against War and for Peace and the World March of Women are initiatives that bring together women’s organizations and social movements in Colombia and internationally. We have joined forces so that, based on organization, mobilization, and dialogue, we might reflect and raise our voices on the critical situation of social and armed conflict that the people of the Americas, and Colombia in particular, are living today – a situation that affects the territory, the sovereignty, and the especially the lives, autonomy, and bodies of women.
It is us, women, who have suffered the ravages of war, which are social, psychological, economic, and physical. We and our bodies are considered spoils of war; we are lowered to the level of object and perceived as being the property of men. War aggravates violence, poverty, and inequality and their perverse effects, as well as displacement, feminicide, and disappearances, all of which affect women disproportionately. In addition, the responsibility for supporting the family falls on women as the State
fails to offer basic services, prioritizing instead military projects.
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Email on 12-12-09 from Forum@LightPages.net
www.LightPages.net
---------------------------
A LightPages Cross-Organizational Communique:
There is a momentum building...
it is the deep intentionality of women and men worldwide
to participate in co-creating a better world.
At the Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne, December 3-9, 2009,
it was seen as the Sacred Feminine arising.
At every event that converges perspectives, it is being grown exponentially
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12-11-09 Bill Moyers with Heather Boothe and George Goehl
December 11, 2009
BILL MOYERS: Welcome to the Journal. There's only one way to counter the power of organized money, and that's with the power of organized people. This is the theme of our broadcast this week.
People Power – RE: Bail out of the Banks
GEORGE GOEHL: The one thing we have, our own political currency, is people. And people are ready to hit the streets. Today is a beginning of a much larger set of mobilizations that are going to take place all across the country. We're just getting' started.
“they recognize it's a David and Goliath fight. And it's only through their action that we're going to make things happen.”
HEATHER BOOTH: And it's not just David, it's Jane and Sue and all sorts of folks getting together, because we really do have a people power,
“And people are starting to organize.”
GEORGE GOEHL: On this last Saturday in Iowa, 60 people took over a payday lending branch there and said, "Enough is enough." So, a lot of the action, and I think the kind of action that leads to true movement building, and we really need a popular movement if we're going to win this kind of fight. We can play in the game of inches in D.C. But if we really want to move things in terms of feet and yards, it's going to take part popular unrest that the media cannot deny happening across the country. And it's starting to happen all over the place.
GEORGE GOEHL: What we're trying to do is really organize around a set of ideas. And when we think a real successful movement would be more around an allegiance to ideas over party. And some of that'll contain protests. But it's really about a vision of what we want to create. Around a more fair and just economy. So, right now, I think a lot of the action is around banking reform. But I think we're building the foundation for a big movement around an economy that serves us all.
GEORGE GOEHL: As Heather knows, there was a period in the in the field of community organizing, where the different networks didn't always work that well together. And the people that we served were not served well by that lack of collaboration. But there's a new generation of leadership that's trying to break through those old barriers and say, "Hey, what if we came together? What if we started to aggregate all the power that we're doing around the country into something much bigger?" So, I'm more- we're definitely on the ropes right now in financial reform. It's a tough fight. I'm more optimistic than ever that we're in a position to turn the tide.
HEATHER BOOTH: Change is hard. Partly because money, largely dominates politics, media, and so many factors of our life. These opposition forces, the insurance companies, the big financial interests, the big energy companies. They're still around. But this is a new moment. I actually believe that it is a historic opening. Not with a guarantee of change, but with a promise that there's an opening for change if we seize it.
HEATHER BOOTH: Well, the fight continues. There's a vote in the House on financial reform. And then it goes over to the Senate. And it's interesting. There's actually even a stronger bill in the Senate. And Senator Chris Dodd is actually leading a fight for real reform, for democratizing the Federal Reserve, for ensuring that derivatives, this casino economy is more regulated. That we can move for an end to the kind of foreclosure crisis we've got. And that we move for our consumer financial protection agency. And then we're talking about activities well, actually, December 14th when the bonuses come out, they'll be bonus demonstrations around the country. And then that will carry on through January and February. And we think there's a gathering storm.
GEORGE GOEHL: This is an incredible opportunity to turn a tragedy into something good. So, if we can get it together, and I really think is not about the Congress. This is not about the President. This is about the people watching this show and other Americans saying, 'Enough is enough.' And I'm going to move from my seat out into the streets, from fingers on a keyboard, boots on the ground, and get out there." Whether that means calling the Members of Congress. Whether it means organizing a little protest in front of a bank. Whether it means making a YouTube video and cutting up your credit cards and posting it and sending it out to your friends. If people get engaged, we can win this fight. And that's happening. There are actions planned all across the country in 25 states over through the end of the year. And then as next year comes around, you'll start to see more events like the showdown in Chicago.
12-11-10 Bill Moyers with Howard Zinn
Three (3) major segments of the show highlighted women!
From Howard Zinn in The People’s History of the US
“, this would not come, if history were any guide, from the top. It would come through citizen's movements, educating, organizing, agitating, striking, boycotting, demonstrating, threatening those in power with disruption of the stability they needed."
HOWARD ZINN: The idea of people involved in history, people actively making history, people agitating and demonstrating, and pushing the leaders of the country into change in a way that leaders themselves are not likely to initiate.
1.
[MARISSA TOMEI as GENORA DOLLINGER]: Workers overturned police cars to make barricades. They ran to pick up the fire bombs thrown at them and hurl them back at the police. The men wanted to me to get out of the way. You know the old "protect the women and children" business. I told them, "Get away from me." The lights went on in my head. I thought I have never used a loud speaker to address a large crowd of people but I've got to tell them there are women down here. I called to them, "Cowards! Cowards! Shooting into the bellies of unarmed men and firing at the mothers of children." And then everything became quiet. I thought, "The women can break this up."
Howard Zinn: My daughter said a chill, a chill went through her. She was so moved. And so, when I see this, and I've seen this so many times, and each time I am moved because what it tells me is that just ordinary people, you know, people who are not famous, if they get together, if they persist, if they defy the authorities, they can defeat the largest corporation in the world.
2.
HOWARD ZINN: Christina Kirk, a wonderful actress and she brings Susan B. Anthony alive. And I think what that says to people today is you must stick up for your principles, even if it means breaking the law. Civil disobedience, it's what Thoreau urged, it's what Martin Luther King, Jr. urged. It's what was done during the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. If you think you're right, then — Susan B. Anthony thought it was right for her to try to register to vote. And yeah, people should defy the rules if they think they're doing the right thing.
3.
[KERRY WASHINGTON as SOJOURNER TRUTH]: That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as any man — when I could get it — and I could bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most sold off into slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman? That man in the back there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Well, where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? He came from God and a woman! Man didn't have nothing to do with it. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, well these women here together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And they asking to do it, the men better let them.
BILL MOYERS: Why did you include that one?
HOWARD ZINN: Well, we included that one because it's so empowering. And, I mean, because here is this woman who was a slave and, you know, oppressed on all sides, and she's defiant. And so, she represents the voice of people who've been overlooked. And she represents a voice which is rebellious and, yeah, troublesome to the powers that be.
12-19-09
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12182009/transcript1.html
About Obama:
ROBERT KUTTNER: “this guy is nothing if not a work in progress. He's nothing if not a learner.” And I think there is a chance. I don't think I would bet my life on it but I think there's a possibility that by the fall of 2010, looking down the barrel of a real election blowout, you could see him change course, if only for reasons of expediency, but hopefully for reasons of principle as well, if he feels that the public doesn't have confidence that he is delivering the kind of recovery that the public needs. This is a guy who is a very smart, complicated man. And I think don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin. I don't want to totally give up.
ROBERT KUTTNER: The other thing that's missing, if you compare him with Roosevelt or LBJ or Lincoln, the other thing that's missing is a social movement. In all of these great periods of transformation, you had social movements doing a complicated dance with the president, where sometimes they were working with him, sometimes they were beating up on him. That certainly describes the civil rights movement and Lyndon Johnson. It describes the abolitionists and Lincoln. It describes the labor movement and Roosevelt. Where's the movement?
“ordinary people need a champion. “
ROBERT KUTTNER: I think there are periods of American history when the political system rises to the occasion. It certainly did with the civil rights movement. It certainly did in the 1930s. But there's no guarantee that it's going to come out the way it needs their come out. So I wouldn't give up on the political system. I mean, you have to keep fighting and working to rebuild democracy. Democracy is the only possible counterweight to concentrated financial power. And ideally, that takes a great president rendezvousing with a social movement. One way or another, there is going to be a social movement. Because so many people are hurting, and so many people are feeling correctly that Wall Street is getting too much and Main Street is getting too little. And if it's not a progressive social movement that articulates the frustration and the reform program, you know that the right wing is going to do it. And that, I think, is what ought to be scaring us silly.
A Call to Women, A World-Wide Unity Campaign
www.GSofNV.org
Meria@globalstrategyofnonviolence.org
To: All the WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS of the WORLD:
Date: January 1, 2010
A CATALYST for PEACE is here! An amazing opportunity is at hand.
All the social movements are searching for a CATALYST to unify, become as large as possible, and create a tipping point. The following hypothesis will show that the catalyst is WOMEN, illustrating NONVIOLENCE to Stop War, For the CHILDREN! The objective is unity to create political change. Therefore, an initiative is planned called a CALL to WOMEN, a WORLD-WIDE UNITY CAMPAIGN.
This is a request for all women’s organizations to unify and create a global “People Movement.” The key element is for non-governmental, WOMEN leaders to "Reach into Every Household," in a Gandhi / King-like movement and empower WOMEN to be the PEACEMAKERS. Men are included. A full plan has been developed, as a guideline, to be molded and shaped by women leaders.
The world is waiting for something to happen. Will it be war, or a “proactive” movement of NONVIOLENCE to stop war? By working to stop war, women will affect their own issues and all the other social issues. Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi wrote, "Without peace all other rights are jeopardized. All of our efforts should be focused on stopping war." Ebadi's website stated her goal: “A peace, which covers all children of the world.”
WOMEN around the world have been gathering and developing strategies to implement their own ideas and methods to change the world. There are an incredible amount of initiatives that have already begun. The evidence is overwhelming (See examples below). The key is unifying. Are these entities, by themselves, enough to create a tipping point? Is Ebadi correct – peace is first?
Why is this request for unity being made now? There is a DOOR OPEN! President Obama reached out with the OLIVE BRANCH. Now it is time for the people to unify and also reach out with the OLIVE BRANCH. Obama cannot create change alone. The political obstacles for change are enormous. Women and nonviolence are the David against the Goliath of the corporate, military, economic thinking, and mindset of the people of the world.
Most people would agree that socialization is the main agent for change, but what happens when the opportunity to be proactive presents itself? Is there action or is it a missed opportunity? Women leaders are needed to set the plan in motion!
The initiative must be global and idealistic to go beyond vexing historical disputes. A CALL to WOMEN promotes compassion, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, and helping others. The idealism is transposed into pragmatism change military spending to humanitarian spending. Dedication and faith are required. There will be sacrifice and risk. However, change, in itself, is an agent of division. The early followers of Jesus, splitting from the Jews and confronting the Romans was contentious. Why then did Christianity take hold? Was it because of the fact the people were dedicated to helping others and would not kill others (nonviolence)? The key is nonviolence.
The overall plan is called a Global Strategy of Nonviolence, For the Children (GSofNV). The children must see an effort to create world-wide unity! A three year, three step plan is designed as an "ILLUSTRATION" to capture the world's and the media's attention! The people in every country will be asked to influence their own governments via a unified initiative.
The initiative, a Call to Women is designed to be exciting and inspirational! The intricacies are complex, but there is a simplicity in setting the plan in motion. The seeds have been planted. Many WOMEN leaders around the world are aware of the plan – for example: Margarita Papandreou, Sister Joan Chittister, Helen Caldicott, Cora Weiss, Jehan Sadat, Gila Svirsky, Jean Shinoda Bolen, and Ela Gandhi. Everyone is busy doing wonderful work. Each organization, understandably, has its own agenda. Kathe Schaaf, founder of Gather the Women, learned that it is very difficult to unify women’s organizations. This is why the main idealistic goal of working “For the Children” is important. The purpose is to build bridges and transcend boundaries. Women leaders can make this happen!
I predict there will be war in the future. There will be an incident that stirs anger in people and will be the guiding force in violent conflict resolution. A Call to Women is not a cure-all and will not solve the immediate problems. However, when an incident does occur, there will be no way to influence politics. The people must prepare for, practice, and teach (PP&T) nonviolence in advance! While Obama is in office, something must create a people movement. Women are the CATALYST.
In conclusion, if women unite and embrace nonviolence to stop war, they can change the world. UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan wrote, “Women, who know the price of conflict so well, are also often better equipped than men to prevent or resolve it. For generations, women have served as peace educators, both in their families and in their societies. They have proved instrumental in building bridges rather than walls. They have been crucial in preserving social order when communities have collapsed.”
A “Call to Women” does not exclude men. Men should be courting women to prevent war, if they truly believe they don’t want war. This is the test, for men and women.
People can work together. People must show each other that they are not enemies. Martin Luther King stated, in the Riverside Church speech, “Beyond Vietnam”, April 4th, 1967, “Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.”
A “Call to Women” will be the “largest, nonviolent” movement the world has ever seen! The strategy states: We come in peace, we offer the olive branch, we are not a threat, we are not enemies, we are all part of the family of the human race, we have common bonds, we apologize for our misdeeds, we forgive your misdeeds, we need to heal the wounds, we need to start a GLOBAL ACTION to “break down borders.”
The theories, supportive information, and plans are available for review. A complete financial forecast is prepared. Funding of a non-profit foundation will be used to create a PHILANTHROPIC organization and facilitate a "PEOPLE MOVEMENT" of humanitarian efforts. A new socio-economic and political future is at hand. The United Nations will be empowered by a people movement. It is imperative that non-governmental women leaders come to the forefront to empower the women as the "CATALYST."
The time has come for women to rally around the world to prevent and stop war and create change, not wait for it. Who has the VISION, the COURAGE, the DESIRE, to create change? Will WOMEN utilize this opportunity to change the world?
Where are the women Gandhi’s? Helen Caldicott stated her initial reason for starting WAND was because she thought women would make the difference. Let’s go back to her original concept and show that she was right. The DOOR is OPEN.
Happy New Year! Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Peace and Love,
Meria Heller, Spokesperson
GSofNV
Meria@GlobalStrategyofNonviolence.org
GSofNV Facilitator: Andre Sheldon Andre@GlobalStrategyofNonviolence.org
QUOTES, RESEARCH, and LINKS
Sister Joan Chittister, Co-Chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, in an amazing speech given at the Omega/ VDay conference in New York City, September 11, 2004 said, “The lives of our children, the protection of millions, the hopes of all humankind, wait again now for women, from opposite cultures, opposite tradition, to step over the line of political hatred to save them.”
“If a person with black hair sees a person with red hair, he or she sees someone different, but, if a person with black hair sees a child with red hair, he or she sees a child.” Adil Najam, Boston University, International Relations.
See Charter for Compassion - http://charterforcompassion.org/
World March of Women
Women from the Congo have called out for the support of women! 11-25-08
http://www.worldmarchofwomen.org/index_html/en?set_language=en&...
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The names of the following organizations say volumes:
Mothers Acting Up, on Behalf of the World’s Children
http://www.mothersactingup.org/
Global Women’s Action Network for the Children (GWANC)
http://learningpartnership.org/en/advocacy/networks/gwanc
BraveHeart Women Global Community team
http://core.braveheartwomen.com/members.php
Council of Women World Leaders
http://www.lauraliswood.com/councilofwomenworldleaders.html
Women on the Edge of Evolution
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=291053920356&ref=ts
The Wisdom Connection
http://wisdomconnection.biz/
All of the following women’s organizations have interactive pages at www.LightPages.net. Contact Jeanie@LightPages.net for more information about LightPages, or to subscribe or unsubscribe as an organization.
Circle Connections, www.circleconnections.com, Women connecting to create a new earth, one circle, one connection, one step at a time. Bringing visibility to women in leadership on www.blogtalkradio.com/circleconnections, Mondays 12:30 PST.
Evolutionary Women, www.evolutionarywomen.org, Creating events, gatherings, forums and services for women called to the Co-Creative Feminine. Featuring 44 Evolutionary Women’s stories in their book Conscious Choices www.evolutionarywomen.org/book11.html .
Gather the Women Global Matrix, www.gatherthewomen.org, Networking women and women’s organizations who share a belief that the time is now to activate the incredible power of women’s wisdom on a planetary scale. Inviting local circles into waves of global gathering, next: International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010.
Millionth Circle, www.millionthcircle.org, Inviting circles with a spiritual center to become a worldwide healing force through feminine values of relationship, nurturing, interdependency, with the aim of celebrating the millionth circle.
Offerings, www.offeringspublications.com, On-going conversation that fosters the story of women evolving themselves, their lives, their world. With foci on birthing, new politics, money, women’s networks, using art, in-person and online channels.
SisterSpace, www.sisterspace.net, A library of interviews with women in leadership, now continuing at www.weavingtheworld.com. Offering an online conference called “As One, I am my Sister’s Keeper”, considering and healing from the long-standing violence against women, at www.weavingtheculture.com
Spheres Circles, www.spherescircles.com, Promoting the principles of positivity and connectivity through the Spheres Circular E-zine, and Spheres Circles. Launching Pollyanna Power and products, “Positive attitude in action”!
Standing Women, www.standingwomen.org, Following Sharon Mehdi’s story of the Great Silent Grandmother Gathering, inviting women worldwide to stand in silence for a better world every Mother’s Day.
Vessels of Peace, www.vesselsofpeace.com, Providing practices that invite the Sacred Feminine to be experienced and embodied, radiating peace within and without. Online community soon to be anchored in a physical location, Sweet Water Sanctuary near Pittsburg, PA.
Ways Women Lead, www.wayswomenlead.net, Engaging and connecting women and girls on their journeys of self-discovery, empowerment, and leadership for the common good. Launching a conscious leadership training program in May 2010 in Sophia, Bulgaria, and a global event there in Oct.
Women’s Spirit Council, www.womensspiritcouncil.org, Exploring the many dimensions of the Sacred Feminine, the healing of feminine leadership, and new paradigms of planetary collaboration. Convening multi-faith ceremony celebrating the Sacred Feminine.
WOMEN’S GROUPS!
CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. CODEPINK rejects foreign policies based on domination and aggression, and instead calls for policies based on diplomacy, compassion and a commitment to international law. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.
http://www.codepink4peace.org/article.php?list=type&type=3
Women’s International League for Peace and Nonviolence (WILPF)
http://wilpf.org/
The list goes on and on!
In 2008, Maria Shriver's Women's Conference sold an astounding 14,000 tickets in the first 20 minutes after registration opened. The theme: "Women, the Architects of Change".
Evidence found supporting women in the last half of 2009
Lynn Sherr, on PBS - Bill Moyers Journal: “Empowering women may be our only chance.” “We just heard that this 21st century is our time. Century of women — not bad. Let's hope it takes less than the whole one hundred years. We can't wait that long.
Kavita Ramdas on Bill Moyers with Lynn Sher
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/09252009/profile2.html
September 25, 2009
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SECURITY COUNCIL DECLARES BAN
Sent: Fri 10/9/2009 10:21 PM
New York, Oct 5 2009 1:05PM
The Security Council today unanimously urged all countries and international bodies to take further steps to ensure full participation of women in all stages of conflict resolution and peace-building, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling it “a top priority for the United Nations.”
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October 8, 2009 (sent 10-11-09)
Elahe Amani with Lys Anzia - Women News Network – WNN
Nobel Peace Price Winner Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, in a plea made to women and activists worldwide at a July 25 Iran pro-democracy rally in Amsterdam, stated, "I urge all women around the world to show their solidarity with the Committee of Iranian Mothers in Mourning by assembling in parks, in their respective countries.”
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Dalai Lama:
NEWSFLASH: Women are gathering together from all over the world.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 12:15 PM
From:
"THE SHIFT"
At the recent, sold-out Peace Summit in Vancouver, His Holiness the Dalai Lama made a proclamation that stunned the crowd: "The world will be saved by the western woman."
Last year, Maria Shriver's Women's Conference sold an astounding 14,000 tickets in the first 20 minutes after registration opened. The theme: "Women, the Architects of Change".
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10-20-09
UNIFEM
On behalf of UNIFEM , I am getting in touch to let you know that, starting on 6 November 2009, we will take the initiative one step further and launch a new platform for action, Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women.
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President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize and now there must be a PEOPLE MOVEMENT to support efforts for peace. One man cannot do it alone! The people must show support for nonviolence!
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Women for Peace 11-2-09
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will hold its 26th Annual Evening for Peace celebration on Saturday, November 7 at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara, California.
Riane Eisler will receive the Foundation's 2009 Distinguished Peace Leadership Award for her work as an author, social scientist and lawyer to build world peace.
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11-09-09
EWL and EPACVAW Statement on the EU conference on male violence against women (9 November)
Women NGO’s call on the Swedish Presidency to initiate a European strategy on all forms of male violence against women.
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November 16, 2009 (File – 11-23-09)
Turkish & Kurdish Mothers Campaign for Peace
By Dr. Emel Baştürk Akca
- Turkey -
“We mothers, whose hearts are burning, have come together so that there will be no more pain. We do not want our children to die.” These words belong to Nurten Ekinci, a woman who lost her son during his military service. Another woman, Sakine Arat, lost three children after they joined the pro-Kurdish terrorist organization, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). "This war does not benefit anyone,” she says. “It has lasted for years, and it needs to end."
Statement calling on the Swedish Presidency to initiate a European strategy on all forms of male violence against women.
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12-8-09 World March of Women
Call to action:
Americas Women Meeting Against War and for
Peace
“Silence the weapons so that women and the people may speak out in defense of life”
The Women’s Social Movement against War and for Peace and the World March of Women are initiatives that bring together women’s organizations and social movements in Colombia and internationally. We have joined forces so that, based on organization, mobilization, and dialogue, we might reflect and raise our voices on the critical situation of social and armed conflict that the people of the Americas, and Colombia in particular, are living today – a situation that affects the territory, the sovereignty, and the especially the lives, autonomy, and bodies of women.
It is us, women, who have suffered the ravages of war, which are social, psychological, economic, and physical. We and our bodies are considered spoils of war; we are lowered to the level of object and perceived as being the property of men. War aggravates violence, poverty, and inequality and their perverse effects, as well as displacement, feminicide, and disappearances, all of which affect women disproportionately. In addition, the responsibility for supporting the family falls on women as the State
fails to offer basic services, prioritizing instead military projects.
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Email on 12-12-09 from Forum@LightPages.net
www.LightPages.net
---------------------------
A LightPages Cross-Organizational Communique:
There is a momentum building...
it is the deep intentionality of women and men worldwide
to participate in co-creating a better world.
At the Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne, December 3-9, 2009,
it was seen as the Sacred Feminine arising.
At every event that converges perspectives, it is being grown exponentially
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12-11-09 Bill Moyers with Heather Boothe and George Goehl
December 11, 2009
BILL MOYERS: Welcome to the Journal. There's only one way to counter the power of organized money, and that's with the power of organized people. This is the theme of our broadcast this week.
People Power – RE: Bail out of the Banks
GEORGE GOEHL: The one thing we have, our own political currency, is people. And people are ready to hit the streets. Today is a beginning of a much larger set of mobilizations that are going to take place all across the country. We're just getting' started.
“they recognize it's a David and Goliath fight. And it's only through their action that we're going to make things happen.”
HEATHER BOOTH: And it's not just David, it's Jane and Sue and all sorts of folks getting together, because we really do have a people power,
“And people are starting to organize.”
GEORGE GOEHL: On this last Saturday in Iowa, 60 people took over a payday lending branch there and said, "Enough is enough." So, a lot of the action, and I think the kind of action that leads to true movement building, and we really need a popular movement if we're going to win this kind of fight. We can play in the game of inches in D.C. But if we really want to move things in terms of feet and yards, it's going to take part popular unrest that the media cannot deny happening across the country. And it's starting to happen all over the place.
GEORGE GOEHL: What we're trying to do is really organize around a set of ideas. And when we think a real successful movement would be more around an allegiance to ideas over party. And some of that'll contain protests. But it's really about a vision of what we want to create. Around a more fair and just economy. So, right now, I think a lot of the action is around banking reform. But I think we're building the foundation for a big movement around an economy that serves us all.
GEORGE GOEHL: As Heather knows, there was a period in the in the field of community organizing, where the different networks didn't always work that well together. And the people that we served were not served well by that lack of collaboration. But there's a new generation of leadership that's trying to break through those old barriers and say, "Hey, what if we came together? What if we started to aggregate all the power that we're doing around the country into something much bigger?" So, I'm more- we're definitely on the ropes right now in financial reform. It's a tough fight. I'm more optimistic than ever that we're in a position to turn the tide.
HEATHER BOOTH: Change is hard. Partly because money, largely dominates politics, media, and so many factors of our life. These opposition forces, the insurance companies, the big financial interests, the big energy companies. They're still around. But this is a new moment. I actually believe that it is a historic opening. Not with a guarantee of change, but with a promise that there's an opening for change if we seize it.
HEATHER BOOTH: Well, the fight continues. There's a vote in the House on financial reform. And then it goes over to the Senate. And it's interesting. There's actually even a stronger bill in the Senate. And Senator Chris Dodd is actually leading a fight for real reform, for democratizing the Federal Reserve, for ensuring that derivatives, this casino economy is more regulated. That we can move for an end to the kind of foreclosure crisis we've got. And that we move for our consumer financial protection agency. And then we're talking about activities well, actually, December 14th when the bonuses come out, they'll be bonus demonstrations around the country. And then that will carry on through January and February. And we think there's a gathering storm.
GEORGE GOEHL: This is an incredible opportunity to turn a tragedy into something good. So, if we can get it together, and I really think is not about the Congress. This is not about the President. This is about the people watching this show and other Americans saying, 'Enough is enough.' And I'm going to move from my seat out into the streets, from fingers on a keyboard, boots on the ground, and get out there." Whether that means calling the Members of Congress. Whether it means organizing a little protest in front of a bank. Whether it means making a YouTube video and cutting up your credit cards and posting it and sending it out to your friends. If people get engaged, we can win this fight. And that's happening. There are actions planned all across the country in 25 states over through the end of the year. And then as next year comes around, you'll start to see more events like the showdown in Chicago.
12-11-10 Bill Moyers with Howard Zinn
Three (3) major segments of the show highlighted women!
From Howard Zinn in The People’s History of the US
“, this would not come, if history were any guide, from the top. It would come through citizen's movements, educating, organizing, agitating, striking, boycotting, demonstrating, threatening those in power with disruption of the stability they needed."
HOWARD ZINN: The idea of people involved in history, people actively making history, people agitating and demonstrating, and pushing the leaders of the country into change in a way that leaders themselves are not likely to initiate.
1.
[MARISSA TOMEI as GENORA DOLLINGER]: Workers overturned police cars to make barricades. They ran to pick up the fire bombs thrown at them and hurl them back at the police. The men wanted to me to get out of the way. You know the old "protect the women and children" business. I told them, "Get away from me." The lights went on in my head. I thought I have never used a loud speaker to address a large crowd of people but I've got to tell them there are women down here. I called to them, "Cowards! Cowards! Shooting into the bellies of unarmed men and firing at the mothers of children." And then everything became quiet. I thought, "The women can break this up."
Howard Zinn: My daughter said a chill, a chill went through her. She was so moved. And so, when I see this, and I've seen this so many times, and each time I am moved because what it tells me is that just ordinary people, you know, people who are not famous, if they get together, if they persist, if they defy the authorities, they can defeat the largest corporation in the world.
2.
HOWARD ZINN: Christina Kirk, a wonderful actress and she brings Susan B. Anthony alive. And I think what that says to people today is you must stick up for your principles, even if it means breaking the law. Civil disobedience, it's what Thoreau urged, it's what Martin Luther King, Jr. urged. It's what was done during the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. If you think you're right, then — Susan B. Anthony thought it was right for her to try to register to vote. And yeah, people should defy the rules if they think they're doing the right thing.
3.
[KERRY WASHINGTON as SOJOURNER TRUTH]: That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as any man — when I could get it — and I could bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most sold off into slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman? That man in the back there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Well, where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? He came from God and a woman! Man didn't have nothing to do with it. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, well these women here together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And they asking to do it, the men better let them.
BILL MOYERS: Why did you include that one?
HOWARD ZINN: Well, we included that one because it's so empowering. And, I mean, because here is this woman who was a slave and, you know, oppressed on all sides, and she's defiant. And so, she represents the voice of people who've been overlooked. And she represents a voice which is rebellious and, yeah, troublesome to the powers that be.
12-19-09
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12182009/transcript1.html
About Obama:
ROBERT KUTTNER: “this guy is nothing if not a work in progress. He's nothing if not a learner.” And I think there is a chance. I don't think I would bet my life on it but I think there's a possibility that by the fall of 2010, looking down the barrel of a real election blowout, you could see him change course, if only for reasons of expediency, but hopefully for reasons of principle as well, if he feels that the public doesn't have confidence that he is delivering the kind of recovery that the public needs. This is a guy who is a very smart, complicated man. And I think don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin. I don't want to totally give up.
ROBERT KUTTNER: The other thing that's missing, if you compare him with Roosevelt or LBJ or Lincoln, the other thing that's missing is a social movement. In all of these great periods of transformation, you had social movements doing a complicated dance with the president, where sometimes they were working with him, sometimes they were beating up on him. That certainly describes the civil rights movement and Lyndon Johnson. It describes the abolitionists and Lincoln. It describes the labor movement and Roosevelt. Where's the movement?
“ordinary people need a champion. “
ROBERT KUTTNER: I think there are periods of American history when the political system rises to the occasion. It certainly did with the civil rights movement. It certainly did in the 1930s. But there's no guarantee that it's going to come out the way it needs their come out. So I wouldn't give up on the political system. I mean, you have to keep fighting and working to rebuild democracy. Democracy is the only possible counterweight to concentrated financial power. And ideally, that takes a great president rendezvousing with a social movement. One way or another, there is going to be a social movement. Because so many people are hurting, and so many people are feeling correctly that Wall Street is getting too much and Main Street is getting too little. And if it's not a progressive social movement that articulates the frustration and the reform program, you know that the right wing is going to do it. And that, I think, is what ought to be scaring us silly.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by GOPI KANTA GHOSH on
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Right. Women belong to community of mothers. They will bring peace and assure peace...
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