Girls in class at a school run by Afghans for Tomorrow in Kabul
AWAKENED WOMAN E-ZINE
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January 1, 2008
Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet...
Christmas eve peace labyrinth with luminarios, Acequia Madre School, Santa Fe, New Mexico
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOS ALAMOS PEACE PROJECT
The message "Gather the Women, Save the World" is about the need for women to participate in peacemaking at every level and has to do with feminism, spiritual activism, mother power, women in circles with a sacred center, and three to the nineteenth power. If three women heed the message and if they tell three other women, there would be nine. If each of them then spread the word to three others, there would be twenty-seven. If each of these twenty-seven, passed this along to three of their friends, there would be eighty-one. If these eighty-one women talked to three others, in just four steps there would be 243. In nineteen steps -- three to the nineteenth power -- this idea would reach over a billion women (1,162, 261,467). This is how geometrical progression works, this is how a virus spreads and becomes an epidemic, this how consciousness-raising groups became the women's movement. This is how a call to gather the women could bring women together in villages, cities, in corporations, in governing bodies everywhere, to do whatever it is that is their assignment from Mother.
I believe that a 5th United Nations sponsored international women's conference would be a giant step toward a tipping point--in terms of numbers attending, connections made, and a ripple effect. Only a UN sponsored conference would allow women to attend who otherwise would not be able to get visas and support from their countries. Women would share information about what has worked, they would find role models, mentors, and allies. They would learn from each other and connect with kindred spirits. The principle that women's rights are human rights and the Twelve Critical Areas of Concern that constitute the Beijing Platform for Action were the accomplishments of the 4th UN International Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Half the NGOs that exist now were not in existence in 1995. Each of the 12 Areas could be a conference within the conference, bringing together those who are working on finding solutions for similar needs. For there to be a 5th women's conference, we need to create grassroots advocacy for this in the countries that belong to the United Nations and at the UN Commission on the Status of Women meetings. This is the reason for the website http://5wwc.org and big blue 5WWC buttons for a 5th Women's World Conference.
From the Preface to the paperback edition of Urgent Message from Mother by Jean Shinoda Bolen
A Warm Welcome in Kabul
WBW director Stephanie Hiller reports on her recent visit to meet the women of the Afghan Women's Empowerment Project.
Women for a Better World
With seed money donated by American women, seven Afghan women have started businesses. STORY
Here's how you can help the Afghan Women's Empowerment Project
JUST STOP NOW!
Stop all nuclear weapons!