[antiwar-van] *March 8th* IWD 2008 - Vancouver March & Rally - 11am @ Thornton Park (Main St & Terminal Ave)

[Kira Koshelanyk]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – IWD 2008
** SATURDAY MARCH 8 **
Vancouver Women Rally, March and Celebrate on International Women’s Day!

MARCH:
Starting at the Women’s Monument at Thornton Park
(1166 Main Street at Terminal Avenue)
Women Drumming, Singing, and Chanting
11:00am

RALLY:
Victory Square (Hastings at Cambie)
Prominent Speakers from Around the World
12:00pm

Press Contacts:
Nita Palmer: 604-780-7604
Rosa Arteaga: 604-876-1604

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THEME:
Women of the World Unite Against War and Poverty!
WOMEN MARCHING FOR:
> An End to All Violence Against Women
> Housing
> Universal Childcare
> Pay Equity
> Rights for Indigenous Women
> Rights for Women Migrant Workers
> Freedom, Equality and Social Justice
***********************

On International Women’s Day, this Saturday March 8th, hundreds of women in Vancouver will be rallying with the theme “Women of the World Unite Against War and Poverty!” Recently, the federal budget was released without any funding for women’s services. Last year the government of Canada cut 40% of the funding to the Status of Women Agency and removed “women’s equality” from its mandate. In Canada today, women – especially Aboriginal women and single-mothers - face worsening levels of poverty and decreasing services to cope with financial hardship. On March 8th women in Vancouver will be marching to demand “No to Poverty!”

At the same time, women from the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia are suffering from years of brutal war and occupation and discrimination on every level of life. Many women whose husbands are killed by war are forced into prostitution to survive. Maternal mortality rates are increasing in Iraq and  Afghanistan. In Vancouver, we will be marching in solidarity with our sisters fighting for peace and justice in the Middle East and around the world with the call, “No to war! Yes to a better world for all women!”

The International Women’s Day Committee invites all those who support the struggle for women’s equality to join us in the march and rally on Saturday, March 8th. An information fair will also be held from 1pm-4pm at the BCIT Downtown Campus (555 Seymour St), followed by a celebration of International Women’s Day at the Trout Lake Community Centre (3350 Victoria Dr) at 7pm.

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