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Irish HR activist ushers in 'Global Women's Strike' by Sudha Shrestha The Kathmandu Post, Nepal's Largest Selling English Daily, 29 March 2003 She came all the way from Ireland to give a message to Nepali village women who lost their husbands and children in the seven-year Maoist insurgency. Margaretta D'Arcy, the Irish playwright who has made waves in northern Ireland as the vocal human right activist through her radio station (Radio-Pirate) for suppressed women, recently took part in the celebration of the 93rd International Women's Day in Kathmandu. Although she was here in connection with the conference on community radios (AMOK), she ushered in here a movement - the Global Women's Strike. With much enthusiasm, she shared the jubilations of the Days celebrations with the kids of the Prisoner's Assistance-Nepal with slogans "Money for kids and moms, not for wars and bombs". The celebrations were organised by Indira Rana, a devoted social worker running a home for children of jailed parents in collaboration with World famous Nepali cyclist, Pushkar Shar. Global Women's Strike is the women's movement taken up in 64 countries for social justice. Although women account two-thirds of the work force in the world, their works are hardly paid and often go unregonised. The message of the movement is invest in life and welfare, not in military budgets and prisons. "War is not valuable. What is valuable today is the caring works that women today do in the family, in the society and in the community. It is deeply shocking that the value of caring works of poor village women are not given due recognition. The governments should spend their resources on these women instead of war," said the Irish playwright, who holds high reputation back home. When it comes to Nepali village women, Margaretta is filled with both inspiration and rage. With strong and courageous signs in the face of miseries, they have become simply a source of inspiration to her. "The village women are not as ignorant as the co-called modern people think. They do know how to care for baby and their community better than us," said Margaretta. She is more vociferous when it comes to the state that spends more on arms than on the welfare of women and children. "Now these women should speak up as to what the war has done to them and decide how the government money should be spent. They should be the vital part of the peace process, " added the mother of four. Being a child of World War II (her birth date 1934), Margaretta had come across face to face with the war and devastated lives of women and children caused by the war. Starting life as an actress of a theatre, for Margaretta, war itself has become a theatre. And this, she said, "women have got to change the type of theatre now we experience and men need to help them". After quitting school education in the middle, Margaretta began her life as the theatre actress and also took to writing dramas making her views known through her works. Along with her British husband, John Arden, also a creative writer, she intensified her creative works writing a series of dramas. According to her, the creative spark is largely derived from her experience of British imperialism in Ireland and the suffering and bitterness it causes. She was imprisoned twice for vociferously protesting against injustices in northern Ireland and depicted her experience in a semi-autobiographical Tell them everything. But in the later part of her life, she has a revelation that writing books alone is not enough for the better world of women. Activism is what she thinks is necessary to push the governments into good things for women. "My main mission has come to realise the importance of works that women do in the family and the society because creativity starts from women themselves. Giving birth to a child, caring it and the community, she serves as something which no one can do other than women, " said the radio pirate woman. Even in her 60s, the Irish lady is as vocal and confident as anything and always ready to fight for injustices against the suppressed poor people including women and children in the villages.
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