#iwd2013

"Since the Europeans came here, Native women have lost their historic positions under the matriarchy as leaders and decision makers, all due to the brutal and genocidal influx of the European colonial ideas of patriarchy and racism.  Still today, Native women suffer disproportionately from alcoholism, drug abuse, and sexual and domestic violence. That is why the struggle for women's rights must include the fight against colonialism, racism and imperialism. All of us need to unite to fight back and win."

Hundreds of people marched in Sydney for International Women's Day on March 9.

The demands of the rally were:

Globally, women are imprisoned for drug offences more than for any other crime

One in four women in prison in Europe and Central Asia are incarcerated for drug offences, with levels as high as 70% in some countries

From 1986 to 1996, the number of American women incarcerated in state facilities for drug offences increased by 888%, surpassing the rate of growth in the number of men imprisoned for similar crimes

In Eastern Europe, women who have experienced domestic violence can be refused entry into women’s shelters if they are active drug users