SSoWA NYC 2015 Wraps Up With A Power Panel

NEW YORK CITY–AF3IRM’s Summer School of Women’s Activism (SSOWA) ended this year with four powerful women speaking of the specifics of women’s search for equality and justice in their particular communities.

Union organizer Suzanne Adely, of Jordanian-Palestinian ancestry; Roz Dotson of Eastern Band Cherokee Nation ancestry;  Mayowa Obasaju, of Nigerian ancestry;  and Thenmozhi Soundararajan of the Dalit Nation gave powerful dispositions on the role of women in the struggle for self-determination of their communities, as well as the fight to maintain a life of righteousness despite being under siege by imperialism, occupation and tradition.  AF3IRM NYC chapter coordinator Olivia Canlas provided a framework through which the particulars of the presenters’ experiences could find a thread of unity.

This brought up the question of allies and Dr. Obasaju pointed out that defining the relationship between the communities affected and those who wished to assist had moved from solidarity to alliance but remained problematic.  She said it would probably be more relevant to look for co-conspirators, since it was too much to ask those who already spilled blood to take on more risks.

The unconscionable status of the Dalit, known more commonly as the untouchables, with regards to violence against women and sexual violence brought home to the irony of the use of the term.  Ms. Soundararajan said that 2 of 3 Dalit women could expect to experience sexual violence in their lifetime.  She pointed out that discussing violence against women without discussing caste was futile, as violence was embedded in the caste system itself, affecting some 21 million Dalit women.

Ms. Adely spoke of the difficulty of pursuing justice for women when a people are engaged in actual physical confrontation with occupation and invasion.  The primacy of the issue of survival often shoved women’s concerns to the background and women had to struggle for both survival and justice for themselves under very oppressive circumstances.

Roz Dotson, speaking via video from her home, connected the women’s struggle for integrity to the struggle for the integrity of the land as she detailed the devastation done to her home island.

The panel ended with a strong appreciation for the particularities and yet unity of the different women’s struggles taking place in the world today.

The session was followed by graduating ceremonies and
a declaration of intent from the participants as to what they intended to do in the coming months – both to deepen the struggle for justice for women within their communities and to lay even stronger foundations for sisterhood.

One immediate result of this year’s SSOWA was AF3IRM’s decision to co-sponsor the Dalit women’s tour beginning this September on the east coast and travelling nationally starting in October.  For more information, please contact [email protected].