CALL FOR WOMEN'S ACTION AGAINST BUSH

President G.W. Bush is due to visit this country as a guest of the Queen between the 19th and the 21st November. We are a group of female activists who are making a call for all women around the country who oppose the policies of war and neo-liberal globalisation, which have been pursued by the Bush administration, with the active support of our own government, to come together and demonstrate their opposition to Bush's visit.

We protest because:

- The Bush administration has pledged itself to pursue a "war with no end "which threatens to drag our world into a state of perpetual conflict.

- Women and children are the majority of victims of armed conflict; are 80% of refugees and displaced people.
- Rape is routinely used as a weapon of war, but rape victims are rarely granted asylum.

- Women's liberation has been used as justification for the wars pursued by the Bush administration, yet women have been left exposed to high levels of violence in the countries the Bush administration has targeted and there has been no significant increase in women's rights.

- The Bush administration has launched an offensive against women's rights to control their reproductive lives by imposing a ban on US aid to international groups that promote or offer abortion or abortion counselling.

We call for women to join us in our protest by:

Shaving their bushes and sending the trimmings to the Queen. Put them in an envelope with a note saying, "We've got rid of our bush, you get rid of yours!” When you have done this please send us an e-mail at:  God_shave_the_queen-s@yahoogroups.com. You don’t have to put your name if you don’t want to, we would just like an idea of the number of women who have taken part in the action.