Opening Contribution: „Let us strengthen the revolutionary work among women – ICOR supports the World Women's Conference of Grassroots Women in Tunis in 2022!“

Welcome to all friends who are hopefully attending.

It is very nice that we have a meeting today, where representatives of the ICOR meet with representatives of the world women's movement. That is very good. We have March 8th, the International Women's Day of Struggle, ahead of us, we have the World Women's Conference in September in Tunisia ahead of us and for a few days, now we are facing a war which is of great concern to us all. We have Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is a very dangerous situation that we should also talk about today, because traditionally the women's movement, the militant women's movement, the anti-imperialist women's movement has been in the front line in the fight against imperialist wars.

My name is Monika Gärtner-Engel, I am the Main Coordinator of ICOR. ICOR is a worldwide organization with 62 member organizations on five continents - they are revolutionary organizations that have joined together - and which has written the liberation of women on its banners since its founding.

This is expressed in the fact that March 8th is one of the highlights in the ICOR year and is carried out every year collectively with a unified resolution and then, however, with different militant actions in the individual countries, educational events etc..

My own roots are essentially also in the militant women's movement. I was initiator and then European Coordinator of the World Women's Conference of Grassroots Women. And when I stepped down after the last World Women's Conference because I became the Main Coordinator of the ICOR, the women from the World Women's Movement promised me, "if you have problems in the men's world of the ICOR, we will always stand behind you. And call us if you need help." It was very nice to support me like that, but I can report to you today that it was not necessary. There are very many men in the ICOR, also in leading positions, and they were extraordinarily loyal, showed great solidarity and also helped me very much to grow into this complicated and important function. But we all agree that in the revolutionary organizations of the world, women still play far too little a role in the leading positions, in the work to represent the ICOR, to lead the ICOR. That is why I am very happy that comrade Diana from Mexico is here, because she is the new Deputy Coordinator America of the ICOR. And I think this is an important step ahead, that we have more and more women in these functions, who also fulfill their functions according to their entire talents.

The World Women's Conference of Grassroots Women is a project of the non-party-affiliated world women's movement, but the ICOR decided at its 4th World Conference at the end of last year to commit itself to this project. That's why we're doing this webinar today. I don't want to say much more, except that it is a starting signal, also for this cooperation, which I think will be of great mutual benefit.

One last word on the war in Ukraine. For years, we have been witnessing NATO's aggressive actions all over the world, acting as if the world was its own. It has also launched various wars, I remind you of the war in Yugoslavia, and has also extended its borders to the east, which is a provocation against Russia. However, not this and nothing else can justify that the Russian government, the Russian state, the Russian army has now invaded Ukraine. The socialist movement, starting with Lenin in this case, propagated the right of self-determination of peoples. Putin explicitly criticized this and said, "Lenin advocated the right of self-determination for Ukraine, I don't agree with that at all, Ukraine belongs to Russia and we're taking it back now." This is imperialist power behavior and the ICOR condemns this and I think it is very important that March 8th, that the World Women's Conference also makes the struggle against imperialist wars and for peace in the world to its cause.

I would like to conclude by quoting Clara Zetkin, who said: "Only when the great majority of women support the slogan 'war on war' out of deep conviction, only then can peace be secured for the peoples...". [own translation] This was said by Clara Zetkin, the pioneer of March 8th and pioneer of the revolutionary women's movement against imperialist wars and for socialism. In this sense, I wish us a very lively and good discussion. Thank you all for coming and we are very eager to hear your contributions.