Women raise their voices against plantations…

The World Rainforest Movement, based in Uruguay, has produced a video which documents the damage being done to women in Nigeria, Brazil and Papua New Guinea through multinationals setting up plantations.

I can’t embed the video, but you can go watch it here. This accompanies a report which demonstrates the role that the EU plays in perpetuating the problem.

WRM and Friends of the Earth carried out workshops with women, collecting personal stories of how monoculture plantations, often by large European firms, affect ordinary women.

You can read more here. WRM says:

The main aim of this collaborative effort is to support the struggle of these and many other women facing similar situations throughout the countries of the South. At the same, we aim at raising awareness among EU citizens -women and men- about how their governments are promoting policies that favour corporate investments in the South and on how those investments impact on communities in general and on women in particular. As a result of increased awareness, we hope that EU citizens and their organizations will join in the effort to create a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable world -North and South- where gender justice can become a reality for all. The voices of Southern women are becoming louder.

Want to do something? WRM suggests these actions:

There are many things that you can do with these tools. Some suggestions for action are:

  • If you are active in an organization you can invite its members to watch and discuss the video
  • If your organization have a web site or blog, you can post the video and report
  • You can send the materials to your government representatives
  • You can organize video sessions with your friends and discuss the findings
  • You can simply send it to your friends by email
  • You can send it to local, national and international women’s organizations
  • You can disseminate it through email lists
  • You can show it at your education centers
  • You can send it to the local media
  • You can translate it into your own language