The fact of the matter is that this fascist attack is not new, just that the war has provided them with a new excuse. This has been growing ever since the globalisation policies that have come in its wake have intensified the social and economic crisis in India. Women have been among the worst sufferers of these IMF, WB, and WTO directed policies. As people’s protests against these policies and their impact is growing, so is the direct repression by the govt, its police and military.

This has been the case in all the states and regarding all kinds of peoples movements, whether of the national liberation struggles, revolutionary movements, agitations of workers and peasants, activities of civil liberties’ organizations or struggles on economic demands, or political demands of various sections of the masses.

Women of Manipur, participating in the agitation against corruption and the manipulative policies of central govt, faced arrest and severe harrassment; women in kashmir are continuously facing firings, molestation and rape by the military and para military for their struggle against repression on the movement. No words can describe the brutality faced by the kashmiri women. At the same time while carrying on this policy of repression of active struggling women the govt had the gall to declare 2000-2001 as the year of women’s empowerment. To dupe women further and divert them from the path of struggle, chief ministers like Chandrababu Naidu have been announcing hollow schemes for women by the dozens.

Women also need to unite with all other toiling masses and democratic sections of the people fighting against the same. The statistics collected by the census 2001 clearly demonstrates the decline in the status of women in India. Violence against women by the family, society, and the state has increased in this decade of the implementation of the new economic policies. The ruling classes are also utilizing various patriarchal ideologies and patriarchal forms of oppression to smoothen the way to implement their anti-people policies.

Women’s very existence has become a struggle. Inevitably different sections of women are choosing the path of struggle. Women in India must realize that though the issues of struggle may be varied, the root cause for all their grievances are the ruling classes in India – the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie, the landlords and the imperialists and the exploitative patriarchal system that they are defending. So unless all sections of working and toiling women unite in their struggle against their common enemy, their struggles will remain isolated and they can be crushed easily. This is the time for all oppressed and democratic sections of women in struggle to unite and fight against the repressive State and its policies. Women also need to unite with all other toiling masses and democratic sections of the people fighting against the same.

Tribal and peasant women in the forests and plains of Chattisgarh, AP, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand and other places are leading the struggle to overthrow this entire exploitative patriarchal order by joining the People’s Guerilla Army and taking up arms. Defying the white terror of the armed police they are strengthening their unity and struggle. We hail these brave fighters and appeal to all women to join hands with tribals to fight the fascist repression.