gather the women

Can you imagine one million naked women marching through the streets of the world? Can you imagine Israeli and Palestinian nurses working together to rebuild playgrounds and homes—to hear each other, and to heal? Can you imagine West African women setting aside a day to pray and fast for peace? An organization named Gather the Women has imagined all this and much more.

GatherTheWomen.org is a website acting as a hub to publicize and coordinate events commemorating and celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8th.

Here is their vision statement:
Beginning the week of March 3-8, 2003, linked globally by our interactive website, we are inviting women to demonstrate their courage to risk leaving old conformities by joining with millions of others throughout the world in thousands of unique events celebrating woman’s true worth, expressing shared concern for our human family, and creating and supporting actions that will enable humanity to live together in a world based on life-affirming values.

What new world would you like to see? What could you do to begin the process of creating that vision? (Are you ready to "Let it being with me"?) Remember the powerful words of Marian Wright Edelman, founder of The Children’s Defense Fund: “We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”

Gather the Women “calls women to stand together in solidarity to create a balanced world where feminine energy tempers the masculine and masculine energy powers the feminine. Creating a balanced society that works for all begins by recognizing the importance of achieving balance within each individual man and woman…” They have created a schedule to help focus activities during this time and to build a powerful momentum for change:

March 3: A Day of Prayer and Meditation
March 4: A Day of Introspection, Reflection and Contemplation
March 5: A Day of Healing and Forgiveness
March 6: A Day of Connecting and Visioning
March 7: A Day of Purposeful Action
March 8: A Day of Gathering, Inspiration and Celebration
March 9: A Day of Gratitude and New Beginnings

Using the “power of three” we each can have an impact on the world: if three women each inspire three women, who each inspire three more, within 16 weeks one billion women will be included in this creative and joyous endeavor! Whether you choose to gather with a few close friends and family, or decide to organize a larger, more visible event, please let us know about your plans. We will post these as well as your thoughts and comments before and after the week on our website. If you are interested in learning more about WNC WOMAN-sponsored events, email us at gatherthewomen@wnc-woman.com or check our website and we will post details as they unfold.

lysistrata
Malaprop's—always an excellent resource for WNC women—is hosting a reading of Lysistrata on March 3 at 7 pm. In fact, on March 3, (which is 03-03-03, by the way) there will be readings and stagings of the play Lysistrata all around the world!
Lysistrata tells the story of Athenian and Spartan women joining together to end the wars taking place in ancient Greece—by refusing to have sex with their men and by taking over the Treasury. It’s fun, and it’s…well, to the point. The Lysistrata Project's agenda is to

• Let the Bush Administration know that we oppose their war on Iraq.
• Provide events where citizens can unite to enjoy an evening of spirited, comedic theatre while raising public awareness about the volume of war opposition.
• Provide a humorous entree into a healthy community dialogue: What CAN we do on a local level to stop “diplomacy by violence” in our world?
• Raise money for organizations that work for peace and human rights.
(See www.lysistrataproject.com)