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Report from the Asian Social Forum, 2-7 January, Hyderabad, India

The women's conference at the ASF raised astute analyses and framing of how globalisation has changed the face of militarisation and patriarchy, and how war and militarisation have attained normality in the people's psyche.

Organised by the South Asian Network of Gender Activists and Trainers (SANGAT), a network of groups across South Asia, the seminar on "Militarisation, Globalisation and Resurgent Patriarchies," tackled how "militarism, sponsored by the governmmets of the North and endorsed by those of the South, has created a culture of violence. It has touched the lives of all in the Third World, but it has affected the lives of women in particular. Militarism imposes a patriarchal nationalist identity, an identity based on exclusion, pallocentrism and venality. It creates a society where women become commodities to be bought, sold, and used at will. The chauvinist culture of war leads to the brutalisation of women, rape and murder, and with militarism comes the dramatic curtailment of women's rights to food, health, livelihood, housing, and even mobility. This not only affects them, but also irreparably harms the families cared for by women."

The women's statement further deplored the "cultural dimension of militarism as just as pernicious as its political incarnation. There is widespread perception that Asian women live in repressed societies; in the name of liberating them, military force is deployed against entire populations… It is forgotten that, invariably, the 'repressed societies' in which women find themselves have been created by the imperialism. The example of Bedouin women in Palestine shows us that even in where women have ownership of livelihood, ear has taken away their rights."

The SANGAT Seminar held at the Asian Social Forum on 4 January 2003 brought together activists and academics that have worked extensively on these issues. People from various parts of Asia where violent conflict has become an integral part of lived realities also shared experiences in the seminar. Other women-centred events were held for the ASF, including the "Women's Initiative Conference on Women Resist Globalisation"

Malen Ibanez, Isis International-Manila

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