163 lines
7.8 KiB
Plaintext
163 lines
7.8 KiB
Plaintext
THE PREMENSTRUAL RAG-Keeping You Up With The Latest
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Otautahi (ChCh) Anarcha-Feminist Group to be formed in May
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An Anarcha-fem group is to be formed very soon (yeah). No longer will the
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Katipo Collective be the only AF group in NZ,Contact Gaye ph (03) 3749171
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Spiders on the Moon - Katipo Collective Out and About
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November 25, 1994 Reclaim the Night March - Marking International Day
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Against Violence Against Women.
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The March and the Rally afterwards was everything one could want and more.
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About 300 women participated but it wasnt the numbers that mattered. It
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was the general buzz, the stiltwalkers, the noise and the hype. Women met
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at the Cenotaph. They bought the ir friends, children and banners. Jac
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Lynch inspired and fired us up by giving us a demo on self-defense. Then
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we marched down suit straight, Lambton Quay to Civic Square. In the Square
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we lit candles and listened to speakers. The finale to the night was a set
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by the HAGS who danced in lycra bags and spun fire sticks. The March was
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organised by a group of individuals who met over about 3 months prior to
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the march. All aspects apart from the posters were donated. Money to pay
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for the posters was ge nerated by a bucket collection during the march.
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March 3.1995 Delegation to the Mexican Embassy
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10 people (3 anarcha-feminists!)concerned about the recent army crackdown
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on the people of Chiapas, Southern Mexico, visited the Mexican Embassy
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hoping to present our concerns to the Ambassador. We were told that we
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really should have made an appointment cos hes a really busy man. We
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voiced an opinion that collective experience had shown, that often (lame)
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excuses are made if one tries to go through that channel. However a meeting
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was made for the Friday when 3 people presented the Ambassador with Amnest
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y International documents as well as email directly from the Zapatista
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National Liberation.
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March 17 1995 Ofelia Lopez speaks in Wgtn
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El Salvadoran feminist community worker spoke about El Salvador. Among
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other things she spoke about grassroots education programmes and the cult
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of Machismo. While the situation for women is different here in A otearoa
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what she had to say spoke volumes for the effectiveness of woman centred
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collectives and a common feminist vision.
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March 18 1995 Gay and Lesbian Fair in Newtown,Wellington.
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A sunny autumn day and great bargains. Val and Rozy sold lots of
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gingerbread dykes. Johanna got to sell some A.F. literature too.
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March 20 1995 Womens Loan Fund Dinner Wellington
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The women of the fund spoke about the uniqueness of the concept - a womans
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Angel bank, although technically theyre not supposed to call themselves
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a bank. The big boys get annoyed. Some success stories were also shared.
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Those Filthy Hags
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Devotion the Wellington Lesbian and Gay Pride Week , included many events
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as well the more prominent Devotion Parade and the Devotion Party. It was
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as glamourous and 'out' as ever. This year Lesbians and Bisexuals from
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'Those Filthy Hags' - the Anarcha-fe minist group, flaunted their woman
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loving selves. They were grungey, spangley and gorgeous, the epitomy of
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your average modern day progressive green tongued woman. Their message was
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loud and proud, they were "women who just love women".
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The Party
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Devotion dance party '95 was held at the town hall - a very high profile
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venue for such a queer event. Now that dykes, gays and bisexuals are
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somewhat more socially acceptable I guess they thought they'd let us! But
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remember this celebration of queerness is for straights too. One problem
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that arose from this was that the space became less safe. Lesbians were
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sexually harassed by het men. It seems really horrid to me that we can't
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enjoy safety in our own (limited) spaces. Not being aware of this going on
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o n the night I had a great night dancing, flaunting and gaping at the
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amazing array of dazzling costumes (eat your heart out Priscilla). A great
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way to celebrate our varied selves and raise money for our queer
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communities.
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NION- Not in our Name - Tau-Iwi group against the fiscal envelope
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Honouring the Treaty ?
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Do you ever feel like you support the concept but do little on the action
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side of things ? Let's face it, it's easy as a Pakeha to verbally agree
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with Treaty rights but challenging white racism and taking responsibility
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as inheritor s of Treaty promises is another step. Anarcha-feminists raised
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the issue of how anarcha-feminists can support Maori sovereignty at the
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'95 Anarcha-Feminist Conference. Shortly afterwards the first meeting of
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non-Maori against the fiscal envelope happened giving us a chance to be
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active in a group wotking specifically on this issue. We decided to call
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ourselves Not In Our Name (N.I.O.N) - A coalition of Tau-iwi (non-Maori)
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against the fiscal envelope and for honouring the Treaty.
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The aims of NION are:
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1. To take responsibility for Treaty of Waitangi promises as Tauiwi
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inheritors of these promises.
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2. To actively challenge all levels of Government legislation and policies
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which breach or fail to honour Treaty promises.
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3. To voice our view that the Government or any other representative body
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is not acting in our name unless it gives effect to the Treaty.
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4. To educate Tauiwi about the revelance of the Treaty to us.
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5. To challenge Tauiwi to make an active ongoing commitment to the Treaty.
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6. To be accountable to Iwi/Maori as appropriate and to minimise any
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negative impacts our actions on Maori.
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So far NION has held two protests. The first was focussed on the fiscal
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envelope and held outside the "justice" department . A statement was given
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to the Race Relations office to explain our position. The second was a
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symbolic 'occupation' of Midland Park in support of Whanganui Maori at
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Moutoa Gardens. Information about our group and the Whanganui occupation
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was handed out to the lunchtime congregation of suits and lots of money was
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raised to take up to Paakaitore Marae.
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NION meets weekly at the People's Resource Centre in Wellington on
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Thursdays at 5.30pm. New members are welcome .
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A plug for equality and Justice for all-Over-load Bureaucratic channels
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If you're going to write into any government department this year, make
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sure the one issue you do act on is the Fiscal Envelope. Writing a
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submission is easy. Head the page with "The following is a submission on
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the Fiscal Envelope".then underneath write all your views... yeah!.
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Official instructions for making a submission is that one should, cite the
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specific proposals booklet there are two, and to "restrict your comments to
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the booklets and related issues". ( the booklets can be obtained free of
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charge from Te Puni Kokiri regional offices) However if your not into
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obtaining the offending booklets inform yourself through old newspapers and
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looking up Maori media sources. It is an interesting indicator that the
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round of hui, up and down the country did n ot run smoothly. At one
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location local Maori refused to take part claiming that the government had
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already made up it's mind. The hui scheduled for Lower Hutt was postponed
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because the government sensed that there would be p! roblems with Maori
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activists (isn't feedback, radical or otherwise, is what the government is
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trying to promote thru the hui round??!) The government has conceded that
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more time is needed for people to get their submissions in, the deadline is
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now 31st A ugust (not the 19th of May).
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So think about it and send your submission into : Office of Treaty Settlements, Department of Justice, Private Bag 180, Wellington.
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