The NGO Conference on Women in Beijing

Stocker, Barbara, Free Inquiry

I first heard about the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) World Conference on Women in Beijing late last winter when I read about it in the paper. I thought, "Boy, wouldn't it be great to go along?" and began to make a few inquiries. I got the name of a professor at Webster University, who said, "It would be great to have you." I sent in a deposit and began to attend planning meetings. It was a matter of filling out forms and applications, sending in those awful passport-style photos, and waiting for processing. Actually, I was never quite sure whether I was going or not and would tell people, maybe I was going to Beijing. My attendance application was approved, but I didn't have a room reservation or plane tickets until much later. In fact, I got my visa the day before leaving.

There were eleven of us in the Webster group including one professor, a few students, and several hangers-on like me when we took off on August 24. The Chinese had moved the NGO Forum from Beijing to Huairou, about ninety minutes away, perhaps in an attempt to discourage participation. Our hotel was another 20 minutes outside of Huairou in a very rural area.

There were actually two conferences going on. The first was the NGO Forum, consisting of representatives …

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Publication information: Article title: The NGO Conference on Women in Beijing. Contributors: Stocker, Barbara - Author. Magazine title: Free Inquiry. Volume: 16. Issue: 1 Publication date: Winter 1995. Page number: 59+. © 1999 Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism, Inc. COPYRIGHT 1995 Gale Group.

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