[hr-education] WCAR: World Court of Women against Racism

UUSC partner El Taller International and the Asian Women's Rights Council
conducted their daylong World Court of Women against Racism during the NGO
forum earlier this week. Held at a technical college in Durban, hundreds of
women and men from indigenous communities, ethnic and racial groups, and
religious minorities attended to bear witness to their lives and their
struggles against racism, xenophobia and intolerance.

The World Court of Women against Racism attempted through testimonies of
women and men survivors and resistors to different forms of racism,
colonialism, foreign occupation, and xenophobia, shared their stories with
others as a means to relieve themselves of the burdens of the injustices
they faced, while bringing their experience to others to ensure that the
horrors they face will be eradicated.

In addition to the testimony heard, participants highlighted the beauty of
different cultural groups with art presentations. Groups proudly wore their
traditional dress, defying the societies that wish to restrict their
language, arts, dress, food and culture.

In the afternoon, I was privileged to listen to testimonies from three
Dalit women from India, a Masai woman from Kenya, a comfort woman survivor
from the Philippines, the first people of South Africa, the Cherokee Nation
and the Barak people from Japan.

The three common experiences of the groups were ethnocide, genocide, and
ecocide: the attempts to eliminate a culture, a people, and a land. By
exploiting resources, denying the right to marry, speak their language, by
taking their children, or polluting their waters, the dominant groups in
society have attempted to wipe these women off the face of the earth.

More than sharing the stories of their pain, the groups shared their
passion, their commitment to saving their lives and culture. Their
inspiring struggles in the face of unimaginable discrimination were an
inspiration.

Sarah Ford
Senior Director for Programs
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)



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