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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 2 Hansard (6 March) . . Page.. 667 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

The issues of war and peace have always played a prominent role in the observance of International Women's Day. As part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War I, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day in February 1913. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March 1914, women held rallies either to protest at the war or to express solidarity with their sisters. In February 1917, with two million Russian soldiers dead, Russian women held a strike for "bread and peace".

As it now appears certain that the United States is determined to invade Iraq, with or without the approval of the UN, it is sobering to note that, according to the Medical Association for Prevention of War, a US-led attack on Iraq is likely to result in between 48,000 and 260,000 deaths during the first three months of combat. Civilian victims, mostly women and children, outnumber casualties among combatants. In addition, women often become carers for injured combatants, and find themselves unexpectedly cast as a sole parent, manager of the household, and caretakers of elderly relatives.

Parties to a conflict often rape women with impunity, sometimes using systematic rape as a tactic of terrorism. The impact of violence against women and violations of their human rights in such situations is experienced by women of all ages, who suffer displacement, loss of home and property.

Oxfam has stated that approximately 80 per cent of today's civilian casualties are women, while the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that 80 per cent of all refugees and internally displaced people worldwide are women and children. Women in unstable, disruptive conflict and post-conflict situations are at risk from multiple forms of violence and are often deliberate targets in conflict. It is obvious that the impact of war on women is very severe and also falls disproportionately heavily on them.

Fortunately, Mr Speaker, women are not simply passive victims and are actively working towards maintaining and achieving peace, not only in Iraq but worldwide. It is particularly interesting to note that in January this year some 25 women members of the US House of Representatives refused to participate in the vote to give President Bush war powers, and in fact walked out of the Congress and took up residence on the White House lawn.

Across the world, women are working towards visions of peace and security as community leaders, social organisers, farmers, workers, et cetera. They are doing so in the face of overwhelming challenges against their significance role in peace building and reconciliation processes.

On several occasions I have joined a group of women in Canberra called the Women in Black. For a whole sitting week of the federal parliament I stood with them, and I must say I found it very interesting to see the reactions of the people who drove by. There were some incredibly arrogant and rude people in cars-mainly men, I have to say-who made their point pretty clearly through gestures of their fingers or swearing or yelling out of their car window. But what I found so interesting was the fact that so many people, both men and women, were incredibly supportive of this group of women from Canberra dressed in black who were standing in a dignified and silent protest.

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