International Women’s Day 2023

Hi everyone, my name is Aarushi and I’m part of the Anti-war Committee. I’m speaking here today because as we gather to stand up to the constant attacks on women’s rights, it is important that we fight against the ways that war deepens the oppression that women face. U.S. imperialism has been a threat to the safety of women since this country was founded. Not only is sexual violence against women ubiquitous within the U.S. military, but U.S. forces often use rape as a weapon of war in the countries they invade. This is often covered up, allowing the perpetrators of these crimes to walk free. In 2020, the International Criminal Court found that U.S. forces had committed rape and other forms of sexual violence during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. In response, the United States placed sanctions on the ICC in hopes of dampening further investigation. When gearing up for invasions, sanctions, or coups, the ruling class often uses feminist rhetoric or the language of women’s rights to justify their actions. We’ve seen this being done with U.S. imperialism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and Palestine, to name just a few. However, we know that nothing could be farther from the truth. Imperialism is a threat to the safety of women. The presence of US military bases often leads to the sexual assault of women who live or work near these bases, as is well-documented in places like Okinawa. And US imperialism’s attack on women’s autonomy goes even further. In Peru, the US backed a plan-carried out by right wing dictator Alberto Fujimori-to forcibly sterilize hundreds of thousands Peruvians, mostly indigenous women because they were the population that was the most strongly outspoken against US imperialism and neoliberal austerity measures in their country.

When women’s rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!