THE   PREMENSTRUAL  RAG-Keeping You Up With The Latest 

Otautahi (ChCh) Anarcha-Feminist Group to be formed in May   

An Anarcha-fem group is to be formed very soon (yeah). No longer will the
Katipo Collective be the only AF group in NZ,Contact Gaye ph (03) 3749171 

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Spiders on the Moon - Katipo Collective Out and About 

November 25, 1994  Reclaim the Night March - Marking International Day
Against Violence Against Women. 

The March and the Rally afterwards was everything one could want and more.
About 300 women participated but it wasnt the numbers that mattered. It
was the general buzz, the stiltwalkers, the noise and the hype.  Women met
at the Cenotaph. They bought the ir friends, children and banners.  Jac
Lynch inspired and fired us up by giving us a demo on self-defense.  Then
we marched down suit straight, Lambton Quay to Civic Square.  In the Square
we lit candles and listened to speakers.  The finale to the night was a set
by the HAGS  who danced in lycra bags and spun fire sticks.  The March was
organised by a group of individuals who met over about 3 months prior to
the march.  All aspects apart from the posters were donated.  Money to pay
for the posters was ge nerated by a bucket collection during the march. 

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March 3.1995 Delegation to the Mexican Embassy 

10 people (3 anarcha-feminists!)concerned about the recent army crackdown
on the people of Chiapas, Southern Mexico, visited the Mexican Embassy
hoping to present our concerns to the Ambassador. We were told that we
really should have made an appointment cos hes a really busy man. We
voiced an opinion that collective experience had shown, that often (lame)
excuses are made if one tries to go through that channel. However a meeting
was made for the Friday when 3 people presented the Ambassador with Amnest
y International documents as well as email directly from the Zapatista
National Liberation.  

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March 17 1995 Ofelia Lopez speaks in Wgtn  

El Salvadoran feminist community worker spoke about El Salvador. Among
other things she spoke about grassroots education programmes and the cult
of Machismo. While the situation for women is different here in A otearoa
what she had to say spoke volumes for the effectiveness of woman centred
collectives and a common feminist vision. 

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March 18 1995 Gay and Lesbian Fair in Newtown,Wellington.

A sunny autumn day and great bargains.  Val and Rozy sold lots of
gingerbread dykes.  Johanna got to sell some A.F. literature too.  

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March 20 1995  Womens Loan Fund Dinner Wellington 

The women of the fund spoke about the uniqueness of the concept - a womans
Angel bank, although technically theyre not supposed to call themselves
a bank. The big boys get annoyed. Some success stories were also shared. 

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Those Filthy Hags 

Devotion the Wellington Lesbian and Gay Pride Week , included many events
as well the more prominent Devotion Parade and the Devotion Party. It was
as glamourous and 'out' as ever. This year Lesbians and Bisexuals from
'Those Filthy Hags' - the Anarcha-fe minist group, flaunted their woman
loving selves. They were grungey, spangley and gorgeous, the epitomy of
your average modern day progressive green tongued woman. Their message was
loud and proud, they were "women who just love women". 


The Party 

Devotion dance party '95 was held at the town hall - a very high profile
venue for such a queer event. Now that dykes, gays and bisexuals are
somewhat more socially acceptable I guess they thought they'd let us! But
remember this celebration of queerness is for straights too. One problem
that arose from this was that the space became less safe. Lesbians were
sexually harassed by het men. It seems really horrid to me that we can't
enjoy safety in our own (limited) spaces. Not being aware of this going on
o n the night I had a great night dancing, flaunting and gaping at the
amazing array of dazzling costumes (eat your heart out Priscilla). A great
way to celebrate our varied selves and raise money for our queer
communities. 


NION- Not in our Name - Tau-Iwi group against the fiscal envelope 
Honouring the Treaty ?  

Do you ever feel like you support the concept but do little on the action
side of things ? Let's face it, it's easy as a Pakeha to verbally agree
with Treaty rights but challenging white racism and taking responsibility
as inheritor s of Treaty promises is another step. Anarcha-feminists raised
the issue of how anarcha-feminists can  support Maori sovereignty at the
'95 Anarcha-Feminist Conference. Shortly afterwards the first meeting of
non-Maori against the fiscal envelope happened giving us a chance to be
active in a group wotking specifically on this issue. We decided to call
ourselves Not In Our Name (N.I.O.N) - A coalition of Tau-iwi (non-Maori)
against the fiscal envelope and for honouring the Treaty.  

 The aims of NION are:
1. To take responsibility for Treaty of Waitangi promises as Tauiwi
inheritors of these promises. 

2. To actively challenge all levels of Government legislation and policies
which breach or fail to honour Treaty promises.  

3. To voice our view that the Government or any other representative body
is not acting in our name unless it gives effect  to the Treaty. 

4. To educate Tauiwi about the revelance of the Treaty to us. 

5. To challenge Tauiwi to make an active ongoing commitment to the Treaty. 

6.  To be accountable to Iwi/Maori as appropriate and to minimise any
negative impacts our actions on Maori. 

So far NION has held two protests. The first was focussed on the fiscal
envelope and held outside the "justice" department . A statement was given
to the Race Relations office to explain our position. The second was a
symbolic 'occupation' of Midland Park in support of Whanganui Maori at
Moutoa Gardens. Information about our group and the Whanganui occupation
was handed out to the lunchtime congregation of suits and lots of money was
raised to take up to Paakaitore Marae.  

NION meets weekly at the People's Resource Centre in Wellington on
Thursdays at 5.30pm. New members are welcome . 

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A plug for equality and Justice for all-Over-load Bureaucratic channels

If you're going to write into any government department this year, make
sure the one issue you do act on is the Fiscal Envelope. Writing a
submission is easy. Head the page with "The following is a submission on
the Fiscal Envelope".then underneath write all your views... yeah!.
Official instructions for making a submission is that one should, cite the
specific proposals booklet there are two, and to "restrict your comments to
the booklets and related issues". ( the booklets can be obtained free of
charge from Te Puni Kokiri regional offices) However if your not into
obtaining the offending booklets inform yourself through old newspapers and
looking up Maori media sources. It is an interesting indicator that the
round of hui, up and down the country did n ot run smoothly. At one
location local Maori refused to take part claiming that the government had
already made up it's mind. The hui scheduled for Lower Hutt was postponed
because the government sensed that there would be p! roblems with Maori
activists (isn't feedback, radical or otherwise, is what the government is
trying to promote thru the hui round??!) The government has conceded that
more time is needed for people to get their submissions in, the deadline is
now 31st A ugust (not the 19th of May). 

So think about it and send your submission into : Office of Treaty Settlements, Department of Justice, Private Bag 180, Wellington.

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