Babs MacGregor of Glasgow was the ‘A’ in NATO: ‘NATO is a dinosaur. Security can only be achieved through justice, conflict resolution and ridding ourselves of fear’.

 
Marie Claire Faray, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, wearing a ‘T’, says ‘Women’s voices aren’t heard enough. They ought to be part of the decision-making. They ought to set the agenda.’

 
Angie Zelter’s ‘O’ became a women’s symbol: "NATO is part of the military industrial complex that has given us endless war and destruction. I am here to demand a return to our lost humanity and the rule of international law.’

On November 20th the Sheffield (UK) WILPF branch, with women from other peace groups, protested against NATO with eight big signs, each with a letter spelling “No to NATO”.  "Our white letters on a purple background were quite eye-catching and people were very interested, taking leaflets and asking questions about NATO," reports an organizer. The previous week people signed letters of protest to the Prime Minister at the Sheffield Peace and Craft Fair.

 WOMEN SAY ‘NO TO NATO’: November 20, 2010 (press release)

See also: article at http://www.london.indymedia.org/articles/6076; photos at www.flickr.com/photos/wiblondon and video clips on www.youtube.com/wiblondon

_{Hungerford Bridge steps. All photos Cynthia Cockburn}

"Today fourteen purple T-shirts gave London a message: Say No to NATO. Women of antiwar groups spelled out these words in a parade that took them into the pre-Christmas crowds of the capital on the day that Heads of State gathered in Lisbon to endorse a new ‘Strategic Concept’ for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Londoners took notice, enjoying the performance, reaching for a leaflet, but all too often asking “What’s NATO?” ...

_{Waterloo Bridge}

The women were out on the street to increase awareness that NATO, a relic from the Cold War era, is an ever-expanding, aggressive, nuclear-armed alliance of Western states. Its aim is to protect the worldwide economic interests of the USA and other relatively rich countries, isolating and threatening those, like Iran, North Korea and China, who don’t do their bidding.

The women’s T-shirt action in London was part of a Europe-wide day of protest by feminist antimilitarists. It was mounted by women of the networks Women in Black against War, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp, and Trident Ploughshares. Alongside women in Italy, Germany and other NATO states, they were pointing out that military expenditure steals money from the education, health and housing services badly needed by women, who carry the main burden of domestic life. In war, women suffer displacement, rape, loss, injury and increased responsibilities. In NATO member states its military bases are a source of social stress in neighbourhoods, of toxic pollution, sexual exploitation and violence." Full 1 pg statement here

 
_{National Theatre}

"Does NATO deserve a bigger place than it has on our antimilitarist agenda?" asks peace activist and researcher Cynthia Cockburn. "In this short paper (Making NATO Visible to Women, Making Women’s Opposition Visible to NATO) I sketch some of the history of NATO, and summarize the problems its new strategies represent. I go on to say a little about the No-to-NATO movement in Europe, and end with a brief outline of the feminist case against NATO some women are developing."
Women planned their demonstration against NATO

Members of Women in Black London printed these symbols on T-shirts, banners and leaflets. Read their 2 page leaflet here. Here is the Women against NATO logo, English and Spanish versions: