Women World Conference announces international women's network establishment

The World Women's Conference, held under the slogan "We will flourish because war cannot uproot us," concluded on Sunday, February 15, in the Colombian capital, Bogotá. Hundreds of women from Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, La Malabo, Colasoño Marca, and Chile participated, along with a delegation of women from Rojava.

At the close of the conference, which began on February 11, the participants announced the establishment of an international network to struggle against war, genocide, capitalism, and patriarchy. They affirmed that this step represents the beginning of a long-term path of organized and transnational resistance.

The participants emphasized that the network will extend across continents, from Abya Yala to Kurdistan, with the aim of uniting feminist forces and strengthening forms of joint resistance.

The conference was described as a historic gathering that brought together women's movements from Latin America (Abya Yala) and Kurdistan, where the participants exchanged experiences in the fields of health, education, self-defense, democratic confederalism, economics, and culture.

The participants discussed the effects of the capitalist system on women and their natural environments; mountains, rivers, and forests, and affirmed their determination to break what they described as systematic colonial cycles. They also criticized the policies of nation-states that lead to unemployment and migration, and hit out at academia for monopolizing knowledge and commodifying it.

The concluding statement emphasized that the concept of democratic confederalism, which originated in Kurdistan, strengthens women's presence and opens new horizons for struggle, noting that a network group would follow up on the discussions and maintain coordination among the participants.

The statement highlighted the attacks in Palestine, Rojava, and Colombia, calling for organizing an international day of women's action against patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist wars.

It also invoked the names of women who martyred defending their land and freedom, including Berta Cáceres, Alina Sánchez, Betty Carreño, and Sakina Jancés, affirming that their legacy lives on in the struggle.

The statement concluded by emphasizing that the "Women Weave the Future" network represents a long but promising path, aiming to unite women worldwide and strengthen their shared resistance in a collective and organized spirit.

This meeting follows the two World Conferences for Women held in Frankfurt in 2018 and Berlin in 2022, and is attended by representatives of the Abya Yala organization, and indigenous peoples and movements across the continent.