Rain Couldn’t Dampen Spirit Of Women’s Forum Attendee

Sat., Sept. 16, 1995

Pat Bryant Special To Opinion

I recently returned to my home in Spokane County after attending the first four days of the 1995 Non-Governmental Organizations Forum that ran concurrent with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. I was at the Women’s Forum in Nairobi 10 years ago and I did not want to miss this historic event.

The first day of the China forum was busy as many of the 26,000 confirmed participants went through the security gates to attend the forum. Workshops were held in classrooms and in open tent areas. Informal meetings were going on under parasols set up on small tables.

The first day was sunny, hot and humid until near the end of the day. Then the rain started. The second day it continued. Posters were soaked, parasols and some awnings were blown over; inflated tents were deflated because of the danger of water in the electric air pumps which kept the tents up. None of these obstacles kept the forum form continuing. The crowds were even more colorful in raincoats and ponchos. The mud outside and wet floors inside didn’t deter the women.

I attended workshops presented by women engineers from Russia who were working on the conversion of weapons manufacturing to civilian products and another given by a group from San Diego on a similar topic. Both reported some success, but knew they had a long way to go.

I tried to attend several other workshops but some were canceled, many workshops were full and there was no room for us latecomers who had trouble finding our way through the forum grounds.

The variety of subjects presented was overwhelming - more than 350 each day. The choices were difficult. Should I meditate, try my hand at Chinese brush painting, watch a mini-drama or find out what’s happening to the women in the labor market in Poland?

Despite the chaos and bad weather, I came home hopeful. I saw that powerful women’s voices are rising up in the world. And their dominant message is peace and cooperation. I came home determined to get on the Internet to learn more about the women’s movement all over the world. I truly believe that the spirit generated at the forum will live on and continue to grow.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.

Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.