U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq hit women the hardest

One-fifth of the world’s population is so poor that it does not have basic necessities such as shelter and food. Three-quarters of the poor are women and their numbers at the bottom are increasing. Why is this so?

Today, poverty is not based upon a scarcity of resources. Technology has made it possible for people to work only a few hours a day to sustain themselves and have their needs met. Poverty is the result of the grossly unequal distribution of wealth and of the globalization of the capitalist system that denies deserved economic benefits to whole populations in the developing world and growing numbers in the developed countries.

Capitalism’s neo-liberal policies speed up the pauperization of women. The worldwide economic crisis, precipitated by greedy Wall Street bankers, has only made matters worse.

For example, in Latin America the imposition of the North American Free Trade Agreement has resulted in fewer social services, higher prices, depression of wages and benefits, and increased unemployment. In Argentina 23 percent of women now work as servants. In Lima, Peru, more than 11 percent are domestics. Many work part-time, without contracts or benefits.

Meanwhile, Washington claims it is a savior and advocate for women around the world. For instance, Washington claimed that a big reason for the Pentagon invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq was to help the women there. What have years of U.S. war really brought to women in these countries?

Suraya Pakzad, an Afghani women’s advocate, described a desperate situation for women in her country. She said, “Three decades of war, displacement, warlordism, gun trafficking and narcotics trafficking come together and create a really hard situation for women when there’s no security and continuation of war, there’s no guarantee for women’s rights.”

In describing a country dealing with increasing poverty, a recent rise in violence against women and mounting civilian casualties, Pakzad said that “when people are sick, starving and don’t have access to clean water, advocating for education — and even women’s rights — isn’t productive ... . The priority is health clinics, access to safe water and food.” (Politics Daily, March 10, 2010)

Women in Iraq demand “the right to live”

Before the Pentagon first attacked Iraq in 1991 that country had some of the best conditions in the region for women, including a high level of education, health, nutrition and social services. According to Iraqi women advocates, the conditions of life have since deteriorated to the level of the very poorest countries in the world.

They say that they lived much better under Saddam Hussein, and that their plight has deteriorated year by year since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. Now they are not just demanding equal rights but “the right to live.”

“Before the 2003 invasion, it was possible for a women to live a normal life as long as you followed state policy,” said Sharmeran Marugi, head of the Iraqi Women’s Committee. Now, however, “’the right to live’ is a slogan that we have begun using because a woman’s life in Iraq is being threatened on all sides.” (Agence France Presse, April 17, 2008)

This is how U.S. capitalism and imperialism have “helped” women. The U.S. government cynically used the plight of women and the good will and concern of people in the U.S. as an excuse to wage wars of conquest against Afghanistan and Iraq and to steal their natural resources.

In truth, a foreign invader and occupier can never bring freedom to women.

While women’s oppression comes from many sources, U.S. capitalism — its imperialist and neo-liberal policies and wars against whole populations — is today the greatest oppressor of women in the world, far outweighing every other source.

Based on a talk given at a March 13 NYC International Women’s Day forum.