International Women's Day: a call for debt cancellation

To mark International Women's Day on the 8 March, women's organisations in the South, NGOs, and UK women's organisations in the Jubilee 2000 Coalition have prepared the following statement to the Treasury. The presentation takes place at 9.30am on the morning of Monday 8 March, at the end of the all-night vigil at the Treasury which is organised by the London Jubilee 2000 Network.

“As organisations which represent women in the South and the UK, and NGOs which work with women in the South, we are deeply concerned about the problem of unpayable debt. Women's organisations in the South have long campaigned for debt cancellation. To mark International Women's Day, we have joined together to support their call. We urge the Government to give its backing to the Jubilee 2000 campaign for the cancellation of the unpayable debts of the poorest countries to benefit the poorest people in the South.

Debt is literally a matter of life and death. Arms sold by the North create debt, while social unrest caused by the debt crisis can escalate into war. Famine and displacement of communities are also consequences of the debt crisis. The Northern governments which gave loans to governments in the South which they knew to be undemocratic and repressive must accept their responsibility for this situation.

The effects of the debt burden run all through the poorer sectors and communities, making a mockery of the right to education and a decent standard of living enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the debt burden falls most heavily on women. When debt repayments and structural adjustment packages demand reduction in government social spending and employment, it is women who have to cope with the problem of finding the means to feed their families. When the cost of healthcare rises it is women who have to care for the sick at home, as well as having to forego proper antenatal care themselves. Maternal mortality rates are currently twice as high in highly indebted countries as in the South generally. Girls too lose out, particularly as parents who cannot afford to pay school fees often choose to educate their sons. And within conflict situations, women are often the hidden victims of atrocities such as rape.

For some women in both the South and the North, this last century has been one of great progress. But freedom and equality will never be a reality for all women while the debt burden remains. We support our sister organisations in the Jubilee 2000 Afrika and Latin America campaigns in urging the Government to cancel the unpayable debts now.

Maria Elena Arana, CAFOD
Freda Lambert, National Board of Catholic Women
Eileen Meadmore, National Federation of Women's Institutes
Valerie Noble, World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations
Lucy Pearce, Christian Aid
Maria Teresa Santana, Moya wa Taifa, Pan-Afrikan Women Grassroots Network
Gill Tishler, YWCA
Margaret Turner, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Dr Kate Young, WOMANKIND Worldwide

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