An Arab Working Women’s Conference started in Tunisia on May 14th organized by ICATU and hosted by UTT Tunisia under the theme: “Towards strengthening the rights of Arab working women”.
Carolin Samir, WFTU Representative greeted the Conference by reaffirming the positive outcome of the alliance between ICATU-WFTU-OATUU and underlined that: “WFTU fought so that working women would achieve strength and confidence. To facilitate the realization of their power and the need for an organized struggle, the need for a progressive, class oriented movement for the women’s emancipation and liberation. The WFTU always had the same stable position: With women in the first line of the struggles.”
For the Arab working women in particular she critically noted that: “The position of the working women in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Afganistan is severely degraded from the imperialist interventions and the wars. Their children are killed, they immigrate, their families are falling apart.”.
The crucial role of class oriented trade union movement was also highlighted. “We need national coordination, regional and international coordination. We need to organize struggles for the rights of men and women workers. In this fight, men and women will jointly struggle for their common cause: the benefit of the working class”.
Finally, sister Samir concluded with an open invitation to all participating unions to attend the World Working Women Congress to be organized by the WFTU in the second half of 2014 and take their analysis, their positions, their experience to an international level together with working women from Latin America, from Europe, from Asia.
