On September 29, we held a big feminist festival in the Metropolitan Tokyo area, in which more than 500 women gathered. Most participants are the leaders of the women’s liberation movements since the 1970s. The list of participants included an incumbent member of parliament, an ex-member of parliament, and many feminist musicians. In this festival, along with many feminist songs and dances, the leaders of various area of the women’s liberation movements made a speech of their outcomes and prospects of the movements, including reproductive rights movement, lesbian movement, women’s movement against gender pay-gap through court fight, movement against violence against women, movement of women living with disabilities, peace movement, anti-patriarchy collective house movement, and movement creating women’s space, and so on. Ms. Sumie Asatori (photo), the organizer of the festival and the president of the NGO Space Allies, said “Today is International Safe Abortion Day. Let’s remember it. We have to end the criminalization of abortion at the latest before our generation retires.” She also called for efforts to decriminalize abortion all over the world.
E-mail from: Fumi Suzuki, Space Allies