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International Women’s Day 2009
As part of the 2009
International Women’s Day, an event
organised by the One Law for All Campaign
against Sharia Law in Britain will take
place in London.
Maryam Namazie tells us all about
it.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a
major day of global celebration for the
economic, political and social achievements
of women past, present and future.
International Women’s Day first ran in 1911
so, in just a few years time, 2011 will see
the
IWD Global Centenary.
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“Thought me and my
friends were the only ones until you
came on 5Live the other day. Never
thought my generation would ever come
with such a creative group. So long as
you are not anti-Muslim, I'm with you.”
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“Standing up against
faith based "justice" is brave and
necessary. Thank you for your campaign.”
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“You have to win this
for our children.”
These are only some of
the thousands of messages received from
people in Britain and across the world in
support of our
One Law for All Campaign
Against Sharia Law in Britain since its
launch. In less than a month, the campaign
has mobilised the support of many well-known
personalities and organisations and gathered
more than 5,000 signatures.
Red Lion Square
On Saturday, 7 March, in
aid of
International Women’s Day,
we plan to hold a symbolic demonstration
from 3.30 to 4.30 p.m. in the Northern
Terrace of Trafalgar Square (we will be
organising a mass demonstration in
November), then march from 4.30 to 5.30 p.m.
from there to
Conway Hall and end with a
public meeting entitled “Sharia Law, Sexual
Apartheid and Women’s Rights” from 6 to 8
p.m. As well as myself, the panel of
speakers will include:
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, the
journalist and chairperson of the
British
Muslims for Secular Democracy;
Naser Khader, the founder of Democratic
Muslims; Gina Khan, a spokesperson for the
One Law for All campaign; Kenan Malik, a
writer and broadcaster; Fariborz Pooya, the
chairperson of the Iranian Secular Society
and of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain;
and Carla Revere, the chairperson of the
Lawyers’ Secular Society.
Conway Hall is at 25 Red
Lion Square WC1R 4RL (the nearest
Underground station is Holborn), for map,
click
here.
This is your chance to
voice your opposition to sharia law and all
religious-based tribunals in Britain and
elsewhere, demand one secular law and full
citizenship rights for all, demand an end to
cultural relativism and racism, and defend
universal rights.
One Law for All needs
YOU!
From now until then, we
are looking to you to help towards the 7
March event by pledging to come yourself if
you can, mobilising others to do so,
fundraising or donating towards the
activities we have planned (you can send a
cheque or go through PayPal via our
website), by volunteering to help –including
by organising public meetings in your area
so we can come and speak, or by mentioning
our campaign in the media.
At the public meeting,
prizes will be awarded for the best entries
in our art competition. You can participate
in the competition by submitting a painting,
drawing, photograph, animation or short
video in digital format no later than 27
February, 2009. The goal of the art
competition is to expose the discriminatory
nature of sharia and religious-based
tribunals and/or promote equal rights for
all citizens, as embodied by the campaign’s
emblematic phrase “One Law for All”. All
submissions will be reviewed by a panel of
prominent judges: A C Grayling, the writer
and philosopher; Deeyah, the singer;
Johann Hari, the
journalist and playwright; and Polly
Toynbee, the writer and columnist.
You can find out more on
our website, which will be updated regularly.
We will also keep you informed of the legal
or legislative changes we aim to bring at
the upcoming public meeting.
We know we have a huge
fight ahead and can only win if we do this
together. We have no choice but to mobilise
a mass anti-racist movement that defends
people's rights and lives and gives them
precedence over culture and religion. As one
of our supporters said, “We have to win this
for our children.”
The 7 March event, our
future plans for a legal and informational
campaign, a speaking tour across the
country, a mass rally in November all cost
money. If everyone who has signed our
petition (6,800 so far since 10 December)
gave even £1, we would have the money needed
to move this campaign forward.
To find out more information about the One
Law for All campaign, or to volunteer,
donate or register for the public meeting,
visit our
website, call
me on 0771 916 6731, or
email me.
You can also download the
booking form for the 7 March event
here or
ask for one via email.
Perhaps we’ll see you there. I hope so.
Maryam Namazie
is a political activist of
Iranian descent,
known for, among other things, her
activities for women’s
rights, asylum
seekers’ rights and gay rights, and
for her fight against the
Islamic republic and
political Islam internationally. She
is also the leader of the
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.
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