History of women´s struggles

The aim of this session is for starters to unveil the inspiring stories of the women s movement. Lot of great stuff has happened in the past hundred years, and is still quite unknown, even in the “radical” circles. I think many women s group were really revolutionary in their analysis, strategies and tactics, “our” movement is very much the continuation of the kind of thinking them bra-burning feminists came up with.

It is good to explain the aim of the activity in the beginning, and your motivation for doing it. Then explaining the rules of the game.

So the names of the following groups should go each on one card, with the year and the country to give a few pointers. Deal the cards out to the participants, if you are many, have people working in pairs, or if you are few, give 2-3 cards each.

Then start mingling, like in a cocktail party. Get on yer feet and browse around trying to find someone who knows something about the group that is in your card, or help others if you know something about the group they got. The idea is to try to find out what this group was about, what they did, how they functioned, funny anecdotes etc. Most of the people know snippets about a lot of stuff, we are trying to pool our collective knowledge together. As the person facilitating the activity, you ll obviously know a bit about every group, so offer your wisdom far and wide.

Allow 10-15 minutes for this activity. When the mingling discussion starts to die out, ask the participants to sit in a circle and take turns in explaining what they know or found out about the group in their card. When one person has given all the information they have, the others can pitch in. This is a nice conversation stater about the innovative strategies of them wimmin in the frontlines.

Here are 15 suggestions for the cards. It is just stuff I knew or found out about, add more, change them, have a completely different set if you like. Have some blank cards available, especially for when you start the discussion round, so the participants can add their own favourites.

Women´s Social and Political Union, est. 1903, UK

The epithet of British suffragists. Founded by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst and a few other ladies as a splinter group form a larger, non-militant coalition fighting for women s right to vote. Their first rally slogan was “Deed, not Words” Had a monthly journal and only-women conferences. A few years on started demonstrating outside the parliament and had those photo-opportunities of them chained into the gates. Adopted more confrontational tactics when the vote debate, along with all the other wrongs of the world, was not moving anywhere. Did serious property destruction, especially shop windows of prominent industrialists and members of the house of lords, burned the house of the prime minister and put a bomb in Westminster abbey, to name just a few of their antics. Faced serious repression and many were imprisoned. Used prisoner hunger strike first time in the UK.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Social_and_Political_Union

Abolitionists, 19th century, US and elsewhere

On both sides of the atlantic many early feminists got their organizing experience form the anti-slavery struggles. In the first International Anti-Slavery Convention in London 1840, some of the female US delegates received a really shit treatment in the conference, and met up with a few british powerful ladies and chewed fat about patriarchy. This led to the US delegates, for example Lucretio Mott, to organize the first women s conference in the US in 1848, where thay came up with the famous Seneca Falls “Declaration of Sentiments”, that campaigned for women´s rights to be included in the constitution.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention

Mother Earth, Journal est. 1906, US

Emma Goldman´s monthly journal that covered current events from an anarcha-feminist perspective, with very radical articles about birth control and abortion, marriage, worker s power, political murders…

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman

Mujeres Libres, 1930´s, Spain

Officially founded in 1936, in its heyday Mujeres Libres had a member base of 40 000 women . They insisted on remaining autonomous from the anarchist unions of the time like CNT, feeling that the large mixed anarchist organizations and dogma ignored the question of women s rights, or rather, waited for it to sort itself out “after the revolution”. Mujeres Libres didn t proclaim to be feminist, because at the time in Spain feminism was mainly a bourgeois movement concentrating on the right to vote. Instead M.L. organised schools for women, a newspaper and discussion groups, and fought for their right to carry arms and fight in the frontline during the Spanish Civil War.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujeres_Libres
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws98/ws54_mujeres_libres.html

Redstockings, est. 1969, US

The original bra-burners. Another splinter group from a wider New York Radical Women, which worked with consciousness raising groups. Founders include for example Shulamith Firestone. Redstockings the stage in 1969 Miss America contest protesting against the objectification of women and burned the bras on live TV. Throughout 70´s they organised speak-outs and zap actions, combining disruptive protest and street theatre, particularly around the issue of abortion.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redstockings and http://fsweb.berry.edu/academic/hass/csnider/berry/hum200/redstockings.htm

Rote Zora, 1970´s and 80´s Germany

Rote Zora is a militant women's group that carried out over twenty attacks and various other offences in Germany in the eighties. They fought against atomic, gene and reproduction technologies; the corresponding targets of their attacks were companies such as Bayer, Schering and Siemens, research institutes and property of the "representatives of the patriarchal order". Rote Zora formed a radical political opposition to the existing power which they carried out through a politics of property damage. It was their principle to avoid injuring anyone.

More info in http://www.medienwerkstatt-wien.at/files/titles/rote-zora_main.htm

Combahee River Collective, est. 1974, US

A collective of black feminists, founded in 1974. Their “mission statement” reads:
“eliminating racism in the white women´s movement is by definition work for white women to do, but we will continue to speak and demand acoountability on this issue”. The collective took its name from the river where Harriet Tupman (an incredibly inspiring woman, go google!) helped hundreds of slaves to escape before the amercan civil war.
More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Feminism and
http://www.buffalostate.edu/orgs/rspms/combahee.html

Women in Black est. 1988, Palestine/Israel

Started as a strategy by a group of Israeli women during the first Palestinian Intifada, who started holding vigils in protest against the atrocities in the occupied territories. Nowadays spread world wide.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Black and http://www.womeninblack.org.uk/

Consciousness raising groups, 1970´s US

A strategy adopted by American feminist groups of the 60´s and 70´s. Only-female discussion groups looking at issues of body politics, sexuality, patriarchy in the day-to-day life, parting from the “Personal is Political”

Women on Waves, 1999, Netherlands

A Dutch group of doctors, nurses and other women performing off-shore abortions in a mobile clinic on a boat.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_on_Waves and www.womenonwaves.org

RAWA - Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan, est. 1977

Founded in 1977 by Meena, who was later assassinated for her politics. A women s organization opposing all forms of religious fundamentalism and developing ways to survive in the midst of it. They ve organized underground schools, health clinics etc, and held seminars and other consciousness raising events. Strongly oppose the US invasion.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Association_of_the_Women_of_Afghanistan and http://www.rawa.org/

Asociación de Mujeres Nicaraguenses Luisa Amanda Espinosa, 1977

A massive women s group (over 80 000 card carrying members in the 80 s) founded by women who fought in the frontlines of the Sandinista revolution but got fed up with their issues always being sidelined. Did loads of work around workplace equality, women in arms, rape, abortion etc. Went quite mainstream in the end.

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMNLAE_(Asociacion_de_Mujeres_Nicaraguenses_Luisa_Amanda_Espinosa)

Wimmins Fire Brigade, 1980´s Canada

A five women militant groups bombing and burning porn stores in Canda in 1980´s, strategy that continues in many countries today.

Lesbian Avengers, est. 1992, US

A new yorkian phenomenon of the 1990´s , now spread around the States and UK. Street theatre and symbolic actions, include all kinds of queers, but no men. Slogan “Be the bomb you throw”…

More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian_Avengers and http://geocities.com/gainesvilleavengers/aboutavengers.htm

Mujeres Creando, Bolivia 1992
A Bolivian anarcha-feminist collective that participates in a range of anti-poverty work, including propaganda, street theater and direct action. They are most famous for their beautiful graffitis. Members include Bolivia´s only openly lesbian activists. Mujeres Creando publishes Mujer Publica , produces a weekly radio show, and maintains a cultural café named Carcajada.
More info in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujeres_Creando and www.mujerescreando.org (in Spanish)