Global Tamil Women Forum calls for end to violence against Tamil women in Sri Lanka
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Global Tamil Women Forum (GTWF) joins worldwide calls for end to violence against women to mark International Women’s Day.
In the United Kingdom, GTWF joined thousands of women, of all ages and backgrounds, in a march organised by Million Women Rise on Saturday 6 March 2010 through central London, to celebrate and honour women’s activism, courage and continued struggle against global male violence in all its forms.
A representative of the GTWF spoke of the trauma inflicted on Tamil women in Sri Lanka who are subjected to ongoing violence and sexual abuse by government forces with impunity. “The United Nations removed more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti after they were accused of sexual exploitation and abuse, so you can imagine the fate of Tamil women at the mercy of these soldiers as the army of occupation of Northeast Sri Lanka for four decades”, she said.
The Forum also called for a boycott of Sri Lankan products, urging the assembled audience to consider how their actions would fund ongoing state sanctioned violence against Tamil women in Sri Lanka.
In Australia, members of GTWF performed at an event organised by Latin American Social Forum on Saturday 6 March in Sydney. Campaigns are also to take place in the US and other countries in Europe to celebrate International Women’s Day and highlight the plight of Tamil women in Sri Lanka.
GTWF is an internationally coordinated group of women activists focusing on transforming the socio-economic and political status of Tamil women in the island of Sri Lanka and worldwide.