Decorated with a handful of white balloons, the Bruin Plaza stage served as a commemorative platform Monday in celebration of International Women’s Day, which is later this week.
The event was organized by the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, a UCLA student organization and affiliate to the national organization, the Feminist Majority Foundation, which attempts to shed light on a variety of international issues regarding women’s reproductive rights and gender violence.
The focus of Monday’s demonstration was the consequences of the Mexico City Policy, commonly referred to as the Global Gag Rule.
The Gag Rule dictates that any foreign nongovernmental organization, or NGO, who provides or promotes education about abortion or abortion-related activities cannot receive U.S. family-planning funds or technical assistance.
The legislation was first introduced in the 1980s and subsequently reinstated in 2001 by President Bush.
In a memorandum on Jan. 22, 2001, Bush addressed his decision to reinstate the rule by emphasizing that taxpayer money should not be used to fund abortions or promote abortion-related activity in the U.S or abroad.
But FMLA members said this policy has had an increasingly detrimental impact on women’s health in the developing world as unsafe abortions are practiced and NGOs who refuse to sign the policy lose their access to U.S.-donated contraceptives.
“The Global Gag Rule cuts funding for clinics who have NGOs come educate (people) about sex … and unsafe abortions are the second-largest cause of death in Ethiopia,” said Simone Meyer, an FMLA leadership committee member.
Sporting bright pink T-shirts with glaring white writing reading “This is What a Feminist Looks Like,” members of the FMLA said the rule is an issue that is often overshadowed.
“Nobody talks about the Global Gag Rule,” Meyer said. “It resonates with what’s going on in this country ““ chipping away at Roe v. Wade.”
Posters planted on the ground on the way to Bruin Walk telling of the increasing number of unsafe abortions abroad generated a modest crowd of students seeking to learn more about the Gag Rule and feminism in general.
Members of the UCLA affiliate agree that there is a certain stigma surrounding the word “feminist,” which they say clouds the word’s actual definition.
“(People think) real feminists want women to take over the world ““ but it’s not so much like that,” said M.J. Rice, a first-year anthropology and women’s studies student and member of the FMLA.
Meyer said she understands where these students are coming from.
“I laughed at feminists for the first 16 years of my life,” she said, adding that people often overlook the definition of feminism, which the FMLA defines as those who seek to eliminate all forms of oppression. “(But) that’s the minority. … Most people want to find out more.”
A petition to lift the Global Gag Rule was also available for passersby to sign.
“Most people don’t know what the Gag Rule is,” said Ashley Tucker, funding chair for FMLA.
“When people find out about it, they’re adamant of signing it whether or not they are pro-choice or pro-life. … It’s an issue to be reasoned with regardless of stance,” she said.
As the event came to a close, FMLA members popped one white balloon every minute to symbolize how the law affects women around the world.