Swissvale Woman Helps to Organize Discussion on 'War on Women'

A woman is opening up a dialogue this Saturday entitled, “War on Women: Fighting Back with Our Eyes Open,” at the Oakland location of United Cerebral Palsy.

Anne Lynch, who works with Three Rivers Community Foundation, organized the event with the executive director of the same organization, Nick Palazzetti of Butler.

The idea was born out of a larger event that happened in October, where more than 1,000 people attended a conference on social change at the Heinz History Center.

“The one thing we didn’t want was for people to say, ‘Wow, that was a great conference,’ and go off and do nothing,” Lynch said. “We wanted some sort of way to keep the momentum going.”

The discussion is free and open to the public, running from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday at 4638 Centre Avenue. Speakers include Denice Ferranti-Robinson and Lois “Toni” McClendon. After the speakers are done, the participants will be broken up into smaller discussion groups.

“There are a lot of issues about women’s rights and reproductive rights, and we really need to be talking about this.” Lynch said.

Based in The Factory building near the corner of Braddock and Penn avenues, the Three Rivers Community Foundation has a mission of promoting change by funding and encouraging activism among community-based organizations in underserved areas of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Disability rights, economic justice and human rights are some of the organization’s main areas of work.

With a recent bill that is currently tabled in the state house, women in Pennsylvania could potentially be required to get an ultrasound before getting an abortion.

“The committee agreed that we should take advantage of the fact that it is Women’s History Month, Pittsburgh has a great feminist history and let’s tackle this issue for the first forum,” Lynch said. “It’s just taken off.”

Palazzetti said he is determined to get more men involved in supporting women’s rights and issues.

“We think that what we are seeing now is unprecedented,” he said of political attacks on women’s rights. “We need sane, logical, male voices to join this conversation—the rhetoric has gotten so poisonous.”

Lynch added that she is excited to meet new people at the event as well. Already, about 40 people have RSVP’d for the event.

“There are people out there who care who I haven’t seen yet,” she said. “It shows there is a real need.”

Light refreshments and food will be provided by Lynch, who also runs her own business called, “The Vegan Goddess.” Visit the event’s Facebook page here for more details or to RSVP.