FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 29, 2024
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga [email protected] | 228-990-4168
CODEPINK’s International Women’s Day Campaign Calls for an End to the Genocide in Gaza
Reproductive Justice Means CEASEFIRE NOW!
NATIONWIDE - As a feminist anti-war organization, this International Women's Day CODEPINK is using this opportunity to unite women’s struggles at home and in Palestine by centering reproductive justice internationally. While Biden is bypassing Congress to bomb Gaza and create a devastating reproductive justice nightmare for women there, he is refusing to take unilateral action on reproductive justice here in the US, while continuing to deny care to refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers.
The genocide in Gaza is a stark reminder that reproductive justice is a critical peace issue. It is an international issue. If we are talking about peace, we are talking about the need for reproductive justice in Gaza and in communities everywhere.
CODEPINK, along with Mothers and Daughters Against Genocide, will be in the halls of Congress March 4-7, the days leading up to International Women’s Day, with a specific focus on obtaining meetings with the 24 women in the Progressive Caucus who claim to be advocates of reproductive rights yet have failed to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. They will deliver a petition asking the women to do the right thing and call for a ceasefire. From the petition:
March 8 is International Women’s Day, a fitting reminder of the thousands of women in Gaza who are being slaughtered, clearly abandoned by women like you who hold positions of power and privilege yet refuse to call for a ceasefire. Many of you will use the discussion of reproductive justice in the US as an opportunity to say you stand with women. Many of you will release statements about IWD, citing your membership to the Congressional Progressive Caucus as evidence of your commitment to progressive advocacy for women, but your inaction tells us the truth.
Your words mean nothing when you fail to center the women of Gaza, who need our attention the most right now. You lose credibility when you fail to demand an end to Israel’s genocide campaign. What is more anti-feminist and less progressive than war? Since the start of Israel’s most recent bombardment, miscarriages in Gaza have gone up 300%. Women are forced to undergo C-sections without anesthesia. Israeli soldiers in the Tal al Zaatar area of Gaza shot at and bulldozed over pregnant women carrying white flags. What significant action have you taken to stop this genocide? None. We will not allow you to continue virtue signaling by simply being part of this caucus. We demand consistency.
In addition to the petition delivery on Capitol Hill, CODEPINK chapters across the country will hold events to uplift and educate on the need for international solidarity around reproductive justice. Such events include:
March 3:
CODEPINK International Women’s Week: El Cerrito House Concert - Place TBA
March 8:
IWD 2024 Banner Drop Coachella Valley - Palm Desert, CA
IWD 2024 Teach-In: The Math of Murder: Examining the Impact on Palestinian Women and Children - Denver, CO
March 10:
Women of the World Unite: Chicago IWD March + Rally - Chicago, IL
More events to be announced, please check our IWD campaign page as events continue to be scheduled.
Background on IWD and CODEPINK:
After the founding of CODEPINK in 2002, on IWD 2003, 10,000 women marched from MLK Jr. Park to the White House to protest the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Twenty-one years later after witnessing $21 Trillion of taxpayer dollars stolen to pay for the war on terror which killed over 4.5 million people, we are now witnessing another war of terror through the US-supported genocide in Gaza, which is slaughtering thousands of women and children at rapid pace. After Israel's 22-day assault on Gaza in winter 2008, CODEPINK joined an International Coalition to end the illegal siege of Gaza, and delivered 2000 baskets of gifts and love to the women in Gaza on International Women's Day 2009. As feminist anti-war activists, we must continue to stand against Israel's atrocities and oppression to say: CEASEFIRE NOW, NO GENOCIDE!
For more information about our IWD campaign, petition, and scheduled events please contact Melissa at [email protected]
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