Dear friends and members of the Women's Caucus,
As we navigate this global pandemic together, I hope you and your loved ones both in the continent and in other parts of the globe are staying safe and healthy.
As many of you know, we received no indication from ASA that the 2020 annual meeting will not take place. Part of me wants to be optimistic and say how much I am looking forward to seeing you all in November. But as an African, as an immigrant and a WC officer tasked with co-convening this transnational space, I am full uncertainty about what the future holds. The pandemic has fundamentally altered human mobility and has increased global and racial inequalities. This will inevitably have long-term repercussions for us as a global and transnational community of majority black and brown women.
I stand in solidarity with all of you who have been affected by the COVID 19 pandemic, especially with those who are most vulnerable to its economic stress, those who are separated from their loved one, those who experienced the loss of loved ones and those who have no access to health care. I also stand in solidarity with African migrant women in the continent and elsewhere, documented and non-documented, who cannot work nor return to their homes right now because of the global cessation of movement.
Below, you will see our Summer 2020 Issue of the WC newsletter edited by Tshepo Masango Chéry and Martha Ndakalako-Bannikov. Thank you for sending them your moving and provoking testimonials. They are included in the newsletter. Please continue to share your thoughts and experiences with them. We also want to hear your concerns as well as your vision for the November 2020 meeting so we can prepare for it collectively.
Read the African Feminist Initiative's Statement of Solidarity Against Police Brutality and Systemic Violence in the US, Africa and Globally.
Sincerely,
Maha
Co-Convener, Women's Caucus
African Studies Association