World Court of Women on Poverty in the United States

At the 2010 U.S. Social Forum, the World Court of Women on Poverty in the United States was introduced and widely discussed. As one of the anchor groups processing such a bold event, the Women’s Economic Agenda Project envisions a world in which poverty is abolished, ensuring that all women and their families can live healthy and happy lives. Over the next couple of years, work will continue to build and strengthen relationships with people and communities to grow a movement led by poor and working class women. Stories and testimonials, an integral element of the World Court of Women, will break the silence on poverty as an account and an acknowledgement of human rights violations and injustices that have affected women in the United States. To quote Corrine Kumar, “memory is history” and part of the World Court’s methodology is to witness and “historicize the voice of the poor.”

Poverty is not just found in urban centers; it is widespread across the United States. This is one of the world’s wealthiest nations; there is no reason people should go hungry or homeless.  In country full of abundance, everyone should live in a healthy environment with access to education and just health care. A “feminization of poverty” grows within this country, where women and their families have become one of the groups most affected by the economic crisis.

Panelists at the World Court of Women assembly at the 2010 US Social Forum in Detroit, MI.

A growing number of issues and concerns have arisen across the United States, particularly those that affect women: mothers and their children who go hungry, incarcerated fathers who have been ripped from their families, safety issues of women and their families, families who have lost their homes from foreclosure, homeless veterans who have been abandoned, millions of uninsured or underinsured, a lack of reproductive rights and the right to choose, domestic and sexual violence, youth that struggle to attain their right to education and a safe environment to gather, workers needing multiple jobs just to scrape by, immigrants who work even as their basic human rights are denied, and state mediated and condoned violence. Why does it seem that in the U.S. there is more of a focus on profit than people?

By acknowledging and acting upon the grievances of women and their families, The World Court of Women is one step towards a United States for the people. The World Court process will challenge the national consciousness and what is determined as traditional, typical, and natural roles for women. This process also highlights the interconnectivity of rights - women’s rights are inexorably tired to workers’ rights, economic rights, and the basic human rights of all. We seek to reframe our pursuit of justice and reimagine what constitutes an ethic of care. We refuse incrementalism – we want justice for all! This powerful vision for the rights of the most destitute is bolstered and strengthened by the World Court on Women and Poverty.

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