Prominent Feminist Gloria Steinem and Women Leaders to Call for an End to the Korean War at the DMZ and Near U.S. Embassy in Seoul
September 17, 2019
Posted in: Press Releases
For immediate release
September 16, 2019
Media contact: Kathleen Richards
Seoul, South Korea — Feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem and a delegation of women leaders from the United States, South Korea, and Japan will deliver a message of peace across from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. Their demands are that the U.S. must get out of the way of inter-Korean economic cooperation, move forward on ending the war, and work toward a peace agreement. And for the Korea peace process to be successful, women must be involved.
“As one of the thirty women from around the world who defied naysayers by crossing the DMZ in 2015, I witnessed the impact of this unresolved war on Korean lives,” said Gloria Steinem. “We need a peace process to end this longest war, and we know from every example that peace is more likely and lasting if women are at the table.”
“As talks appear to advance between the United States and North Korea, it’s crucial that women play a central role in the peace process,” said Christine Ahn, Executive Director of U.S.-based Women Cross DMZ. “Women are disproportionately impacted by this ongoing conflict — from sanctions that harm North Korean women’s health and livelihoods to sexual violence against South Korean women around U.S. military bases. Women must have a say in how to end it.” In 2015, Women Cross DMZ organized a crossing of the DMZ with 30 women peacemakers, including Steinem and two Nobel Peace laureates.
“It is well substantiated that women’s participation leads to more durable peace agreements,” said Mimi Han, an Executive Board Member of The National YWCA of Korea. “The United States and South Korea have national laws committing to women’s inclusion in conflict management and resolution. Now is the time for implementation and action.”
“What’s at stake is the security of those living on the Korean Peninsula and all of Northeast Asia,” said Kozue Akibayashi, the former international President of WILPF and a researcher and activist who specializes in a feminist analysis of peace and security. “The current tensions between Japan and South Korea are rooted in Japanese colonial rule, so a peace agreement will go a long way toward healing decades of pain and mistrust.”
The delegation of women leaders will be in South Korea for “Let’s DMZ,” a peace forum in Gyeonggi, South Korea to commemorate the first anniversary of the Pyongyang Joint Statement between North Korea and South Korea. Steinem will deliver one of three keynote speeches.
In a session titled “Women Crossing Borders: From the DMZ to the women’s peace movement,” Steinem and leaders from Korea Peace Now! — a global campaign of women mobilizing end the Korean War — will discuss the gender implications of the unresolved war and how women’s inclusion is vital for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
This delegation of women is part of Korea Peace Now! Women Mobilizing to End the War, a global campaign to educate, organize, and advocate for a Korea peace agreement by 2020. Women Cross DMZ, Nobel Women’s Initiative, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and Korean Women’s Movement for Peace launched the campaign in March 2019.
Schedule of events:
To schedule an in-person interview and/or obtain photos, please contact Kathleen Richards.
WHAT: Press conference featuring women leaders calling for an end to the Korean War and the creation of a peace process that includes women
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Across the street from the U.S. Embassy in Gwanghwamun Plaza, 172 Sejong-daero, Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
SPEAKERS:
- Christine Ahn (Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ)
- Kozue Akibayashi (Doshisha University/Former President of WILPF)
- Mimi Han (Executive Board Member, The National YWCA of Korea; Vice President, World YWCA)
- Gloria Steinem (Feminist scholar activist)
- Moderated by Mi-kyung Han (Standing Representative, Korea Women’s Alliance)
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WHAT: Gloria Steinem Keynote Speech at Let’s DMZ
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, from 11 a.m.-noon
WHERE: KINTEX Exhibition Center, 217-60, Kintex-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
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WHAT: “Women Crossing Borders: From the DMZ to the women’s peace movement” at Let’s DMZ
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, from 3:10-4:30 p.m.
WHERE: KINTEX Exhibition Center, 217-60, Kintex-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
SPEAKERS:
- Christine Ahn (Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ)
- Kozue Akibayashi (Doshisha University/Former President of WILPF)
- Jung-soo Kim (Standing Representative, Women Making Peace)
- Hyun Lee (US National Organizer, Women Cross DMZ)
- Jung-ah Lee (Standing Representative, Gyeonggi Women’s Association)
- Gloria Steinem (Feminist scholar activist)
- Moderated by Young-mi Cho (Executive Director of Korean Women’s Movement for Peace, Chung-Ang University)
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