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THE UN IS SUBMERGED IN FEMINISM

There is no longer any doubt that the UN believes that only feminist women have worth, and that only the feminist ideology is of value. This is evidenced by the UN's publication of the book, "Look At the World Through Women's Eyes." This publication consists of speeches given by feminist activists at the Non-Government (NGO) Forum of the UN Women's Conference held in Beijing in 1995.

The book completely ignores the voice of pro-life/pro-family women who also were present at that Conference, and who actually do represent the genuine voice of billions of women from every corner of the world. The publication also makes a mockery of the Vision Statement of the NGO Forum of Women in Beijing which stated: "…We are committed to equality, peace, justice, inclusiveness, and full participation of all."

The purpose of this book, according to the preface, is … "to provide an opportunity to undertake cross regional analysis of global forces that greatly impact women's lives today."

This publication, in reality, amounts to a continuous whine by feminist activists on how badly the world governments and the media treat women and that only the feminist ideology will rescue women from their oppression.

The speeches included those by high profile American feminist activists Hillary Rodham Clinton, Gloria Steinhem and Charlotte Bunch, a lesbian UN activist, and professor at Rutgers University. Other less well-known feminist activists from other countries around the world were also included in the publication.

Among the "global forces" supposedly threatening women, according to this publication, is the rise of conservatism which includes religion, nationalism, racial/ethnic and homophobic views.

Canadian feminists contributed to the book. Judy Rebick, former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), and sometimes CBC commentator, moderated the section on "Approaches to Governance." In her opening remarks at p. 31 Ms. Rebick stated:

… what we are talking about here is how women who have managed to get into positions of influence, whether that's in political society or civil society, use that influence not only to bring other women along with them but also to transform those institutions that were built by men for men, and to transform those institutions to reflect the values of the women's movement, of what I call feminism.

Further, Ms. Rebick, in another speech included in the book called "Challenging the Conventional Wisdom of the Media," (she was introduced as a member of CBC Newsworld) stated at p. 100 and 101 as follows:

… Women journalists are trained to see news in the same way as men. Once they are on the job, they feel pressure not to fight for a more feminist perspective on the news…
… My own personal experience with my TV show indicates how difficult it is to change things. Of course, it is a very high priority for me to get women and minorities to participate in the debates on our show…

… The media is always ready at a moment's notice to declare feminism dead. They do it every four or five years in North America…

… The women's movement has to turn our considerably analytic and organizing power to the task of transforming the media to make it more democratic and accountable - to transforming the media so that women and other marginalized groups matter.

Another former President of NAC, Sunera Thobani, also made a presentation at the Forum. In her speech entitled, "The Rise of Conservatism," Ms. Thobani stated:

… Governments are now using this deficit as the rationale to destroy our social programs, and in the process, are destroying the gains women have made in the last two decades. Economic conservatism has launched the most serious attack on women's right we have experienced since the end of the Second World War.

In Canada, the support for the rise of conservatism has also been mobilized through racism, by attacking the rights of people of color, and of immigrants and refugees. The scapegoating of immigrants and refugees by blaming them for the economic and political ills of the country, and the moves to destroy affirmative action programs and employment equity initiatives, have brought together different groups within Canadian society on a common platform, allowing conservatism a measure of support it would not other wise enjoy. …

… Whether it is in the name of religion, or culture, or, as in our case, the deficit, conservatism is committed to maintaining and strengthening patriarchal relations, as well as race- and class-based divisions. …

…And as the women's movement has fought back against these various forms of increasing oppression, we have become stronger, more radical. We are the most powerful force today for countering the rise of fundamentalism and fascism. In our countries, cities and communities, it is the women's movement which is fighting against conservatism and for our rights.

… As our governments are moving to the right, it is the women's movement which represents one of the most powerful, dynamic movements for social change and democracy today.

A further Canadian contributor to the publication was Rosalie Bertell, representing the left-wing peacenik organization Voice of Women Canada. In her speech, dealing with the impact of the military on women's lives, Ms. Bertell stated:

… This addiction with violence, this military concern on civil society, has reached the point where either we destroy it and renounce war forever, or it will destroy us. There is no human security in the face of military excesses. National defense produces nothing but insecurity. It is time that we took our stand for life, for justice, for sharing, and for conflict resolution. War and militarism must go to the way of the dinosaurs, or we are the last generation to enjoy a still-intact planet.

Women must take the leadership in restoring true security based on justice, sharing, and cooperation. We must demand that international recognition go not to bully nations but to those who demonstrate honesty, compassion and right living.

In the section of the publication "The Rise of Conservatism In Its Various Forms," the opening remarks were given by Ramabai Espinet, a native of Trinidad who now teaches at Seneca College in Toronto. Ms. Espinet stated at p. 71:

… How can the rise of conservatism be ended?

… The conservative mind is the mind that has stopped thinking. The conservative mind is locked into reproducing the known, the tried and tested. Conservatism to the conservative mind is comfortable. How can we afford to be comfortable in times like these?

Anyone reading this publication would get a very distorted view of the world. The Canadian contributors' views in the publication certainly do not reflect the views of most Canadian women, or of the Canadian situation. Hopefully, few will read this book. However, it clearly indicates how determined UN officials are to push the feminist ideology world-wide.

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