Mumbai, 16 January 2004 -They concluded with more questions than answers. However, participants to "Beyond the Local-Global Divide: Resistances in Current Geopolitics"-the final session of the International Feminist Dialogues-did not seem to mind. As a matter of fact, they stressed the need to ask crucial questions at this point, when the women's movement is examining the different facets of feminist organising.

At the session, participants analysed how current feminist organising is shaped and constrained by global economic, political, and cultural forces, particularly globalisation. They also identified strategies for movement building at different levels, one of which is to ensure feminist agenda are heard and addressed by other civil society actors such as trade unions, peasant organisations, and youth movements. In the ongoing WSF for example, it was suggested that rather than concentrating on all the women's events, feminists should ensure they also attend those by other civil society organisations. Another suggestion was to hold the WSF every four years instead of yearly and between each forum, to concentrate on local organising and consolidating already existing women's organisations.

Funding was another concern suggested for examination. Some participants observed that funding or the process and strategies around fund sourcing has caused tension among women's groups. Some of the questions raised regarding this issue were: How can women activist groups maintain political autonomy while receiving financing and engaging with dominant institutions? How successful are women's groups in accessing funds while maintaining their own politics, agenda, or work areas? What are the strategies in addressing issues and dilemmas related to funding from international organisations (such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, regional development banks, and the United Nations) whose work, systems, and structures we criticise? What are the strategies in addressing issues and dilemmas when dealing with global private sector and transnational corporations that provide funding or other forms of support to NGOs such as Body Shop, Nike, and CISCO?

In the same meeting, Feminist Dialogues organisers met with members of the Network of Women in Media, India to explain the involvement of feminist organisations in the WSF processes. Josefa "Gigi" Francisco of DAWN traced it to the second WSF in Porto Alegre in 2002 where women attending the Forum held a "lightning rally" (a quick rally staged by a small group of protesters) to draw attention to the Global Gag Rule. The lightning rally brought the issue of abortion to the forefront of the WSF, which many members (mostly male) of the WSF Organising Committee did not consider as a priority.

Issued by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1984, the Global Gag Rule is an executive order imposing restrictions on U. S. funding for international family planning and prohibiting nongovernmental organisations outside the U.S. from receiving funding if, with their own funds and in accordance with the laws of their countries, they "performed" or "actively promote[d] abortion as a method of family planning". In 1993, President Bill Clinton issued an executive order ending the rule. However, on January 22, 2001, on his first business day in office, President George W. Bush reinstated the ban for all US Agency for International Development population programs. <my voice counts. http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/youth/advocacy/globalgag.htm>

The women's initiative during WSF 2002 inspired many other women's groups to lobby for the integration of other women's issues in WSF spaces. As is evident in the number of major women's events in this year's WSF and the broad range of topics they are addressing, the feminist agenda within broader social movements is clearly being recognised.

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, in Mumbai, India