GLOBALIZATION: Displacement, Commodification and Modern Day Slavery of Women
Proceedings of the Workshop on Women and Globalization
November 23, 1996
People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization

Published by GABRIELA
Second Printing, January 1998

The People's Campaign against Imperialist Globalization held in the Philippines from July to November 1996 saw the vibrant and militant participation of women workers, peasants, urban poor, students, professionals and religious and indigenous women who joined with other democratic sectors in a series of protest actions against imperialist globalization. The campaign, which was launched in July was organized as a counterpoint to the 4th APEC Leaders Summit held in November 24 and attended by 18 heads of state of the Asia-Pacific region, was the people's concrete expression of opposition to the imperialists' scheme of unhampered plunder of Third World economies under the slogan of globalization. It also aimed to expose APEC as a regional instrument for facilitating and hastening implementation of the World Trade Organization agreements on trade liberalization to the benefit of monopoly capitalists who see the Asia-Pacific region which accounts for 41% of world trade as a rich source of profit.

One of the high points of the people's campaign was the People's Conference Against Imperialist Globalization. Held from November 21 to 23 in Quezon City, the conference was attended by 123 foreign delegates from 30 countries and 53 local delegates. They represented people's organizations, solidarity groups and movements in the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, North America and Europe.

During the conference, 56 women delegates and observers held a workshop on the theme "Globalization: Displacement, Commodification and Modern Day Slavery of Women" to highlight the effects of imperialist globalization on women. The recurrent issue raised by the women across the globe was how women's labor and bodies are sacrificed in the name of the "free market".

At the end of the conference, the participants resolved to reject APEC and imperialist globalization and vowed to forge a strong unity with other anti-imperialist and progressive organizations to further advance the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.