Against Fundamentalisms

People Are Fundamental

During the Second World Social Forum in 2002, the Articulación Feminista Marcosur (Marcosur Feminist Coalition) launched the consciousness-raising campaign "Against Fundamentalism, People Are Fundamental." This action encouraged thousands of women and men to denounce the all forms of fundamentalist backlash against human rights, especially women's rights. This campaign called attention to the resurgence of fundamentalist movements around the globe and stressed the need for a united front against this reactionary threat.

"Your Mouth, Fundamental Against Fundamentalism" -the key slogan of this campaign- emphasizes that it is crucial that civil society speak out, free from censorship, in the defense of the essential freedoms of all human beings. At the Third World Social Forum in 2003, the thousands of women and men participating in the opening ceremony tossed around huge balls decorated with this slogan and the campaign's logo: a voluptuous, open mouth. The campaign flourished at this meeting, which provided an opportunity to share testimonies, experiences and reflections on the subject from very different countries.

An analysis of the campaign's global impact to date was carried out by the Articulación Feminista Marcosur at a "Metaforum" held in Uruguay, July 31 - August 3, 2003. Special emphasis was placed on the impact of the activities developed in the context of the past World Social Fora, and participants discussed potential events to be held in the context of the 4th WSF in Mumbai, India, January 2004.

The Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network has been committed to this important initiative since the start. In 2003, LACWHN sent a delegation of women to Porto Alegre who joined their voices to the thousands of others united in this effort.

Campaign Demands

As the campaign declaration explains:

"The campaign Against Fundamentalisms, People Are Fundamental aims to stimulate voices opposed to discriminatory social practices, discourses and representations, which oppress people and increase their vulnerability...

"Whether religious, political, economic, scientific or cultural, fundamentalism is always political and flourishes in societies which negate the full diversity of the human race and which legitimize the use of violence to subordinate one group to another, or one person to another.

"Essentially exclusionary and bellicose, fundamentalisms undermine the construction of a project for the human race in which all people have the right to have rights, by sacrificing women's lives with increasingly refined perversity.

"This Campaign promotes democratic and pacific forms of conflict resolution, which allow differences to be recognized and solidarity strengthened, equality pursued and diversity expressed, in the search for negotiated solutions, whether in the public, private or intimate spheres of human coexistence.

"Fundamentalisms can only be overcome through a transformation at the individual level, of citizens, of political subjects. This means clearing the field and sowing the seeds of egalitarian, ethical and impartial political and economic relations of solidarity. It means nurturing the belief that a more stimulating and exciting society can flourish, one in which sexual, racial, religious, ethnic and all other types of diversity can be truly valued.

"Moreover, human beings want and need to achieve personal relationships that are truly affectionate, pleasurable, egalitarian and based on respect, care and mutual trust.

"The construction of global citizenship must be nurtured by the possibility of imagining a future in which all people can share. In this new millennium, humanity should be capable of constructing collective spaces in which the whole range of diverse identities can participate in the construction of an 'us' that is inclusive, plural, shifting and capable of managing its conflicts. This is the fundamental challenge facing an alternative political project.

"Another world is possible. But another, better world is also possible."

For more information about this campaign, contact the coordination at cotidian@cotidianomujer.org.uy

Or visit the campaign website http://www.mujeresdelsur.org.uy/

The campaign is also described in the article "People are Fundamental" by Lucy Garrido, originally published in Women's Human Rights; Unfinished Business, Women's Health Collection #7 (Santiago: LACWHN, 2003). Click here to download the pdf version.

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