Activism
Women for Genuine Security, International Women’s Network, & More
For many years I’ve been involved in Women for Genuine Security, a small but vibrant group that is part of the International Women’s Network Against Militarism. The Network links activists and scholars from Guam, Hawai’i, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and continental USA. A central part of our work has been to challenge the idea that militarism can provide everyday security and to propose a definition of security centered on respect for people and the planet.
I worked with the Comfort Women Justice Coalition, which commissioned a comfort woman memorial in San Francisco. In March 2018 members of local groups created altars representing other examples of systemic violence against women—in addition to WWII comfort women—and celebrating resistance to it. And also participated in Women Cross DMZ, which is campaigning for a peace agreement to finally end the Korean War.
In 2005, I was part of creating a fashion show as a popular way to talk about militarism, and was a US project associate for 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005, which showcased the work of 1,000 women from 150 nations who work for peace and justice.
In addition, I support the work of:
Health Care for All—California campaign for a universal health plan regardless of income, pre-existing condition, or immigration status.
Middle East Children’s Alliance supporting programs for children in Palestine.
Peace Development Fund, which makes grants to groups working for social justice.
United Farm Workers organizing for decent pay and working conditions.
Sometimes these efforts seem very small. Three hundred years from now I hope people will look back to these times and wonder: “What took them so long?” Thankfully, we did not give up.
I first found an activist home in the Greenham Common women’s peace movement in the early 1980s. This started in opposition to the siting of nuclear-capable missiles at Greenham Common, a USAF base in Britain. Through nonviolent direct action women said NO to war, militarism, and violence. We said YES to justice and peace, wanting to live in sustainable ways. This campaign spoke to me because it was creative, and pushed me to take some personal responsibility for the state of the world: its systems of inequality, dominance, militarism, and greed. [more on the Greenham Common Women's Peace Movement]