Global women's liberation

In Juárez, Mexico, just over the border from Texas, there are over 340 assembly factories. Big names such as Ford and General Motors have flocked there for the excellent opportunities. Over 220,000 people have moved there for the work, many from the poor rural areas to the south, most of them young women. Wages, although not nearly enough to cover the cost of living, are much higher than they could hope to get back home.

But in just ten years 370 of these young women in Juárez have been murdered, and a further 450 have "disappeared". The average age of the murder victims is 16, some as young as 10, and at least a third had been sexually assaulted. The local police, in the pockets of the factory owners, are not taking the investigations seriously. These women are apparently disposable. Under the conditions of these special assembly zones, the factory owners have no responsibility for local services, safe transport, street lighting etc. All they do is exploit the workers, refuse to talk to the unions, and make the biggest profits they can.

In the Dominican Republic the situation is no better. Almost 60% of the 200,000 workers in the export producing zones (EPZ) are employed by the textile industry. The bosses will not let the workers organise in proper unions. The ICFTU reports that jobs are insecure and conditions harsh. There is often no canteen. Women workers are often subjected to sexual harassment. As for wages, an EPZ worker will earn under US$100 a month, and in the more "depressed" regions near the border, less than a third of that.

These women's experiences are not unique. The penetration of capital into all areas of the globe and into every aspect of our lives has an impact on everyone, but most starkly on people in the poorest countries of the world...

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