International Women's Day 2014 - www.socialistworld.net - Fighting austerity and oppression world-wide
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Fighting austerity and oppression world-wide
International
Women’s Day 2014
www.socialistworld.net cwi@worldsoc.co.uk
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International Women’s Day 2014
women greater choices in life. Along with
the development of affordable labour-saving
F or more than a century, 8 March has been
known as International Women’s Day - the
domestic appliances, they lightened the load of
domestic drudgery which, in class society, falls
day to commemorate and celebrate the struggles unequally on their shoulders.
of working and poor women against exploitation
at work, in society and at home. Over the years, Sometimes, as in Russia in 1917, reforms came
however, its meaning has been distorted. as a direct result of revolution. Elsewhere, as in
In the Stalinist states claiming, falsely, to be Europe after the Second World War and even
socialist, it became the day to pay lip-service in Asia, state provisions in terms of health and
to the contribution working women make to educational provisions arose from the threat of
society. (Men were expected to buy flowers and revolution. Sometimes advances were gained
do the washing up for one day!) In capitalist through effective movements involving women
countries, the day has become a commercial - especially trade union action - with women
opportunity, like Valentine’s Day, for money to and men together, specific political agitation
be made from promoting the idea of gifts, cards, and mass demonstrations.
clothes, romantic meals out.
Around March 8th, the media in different
countries carry various items - some useful
and some spurious - about women’s plight in
modern-day society. Many deal with women’s
oppression as if it originates with men, rather
than being the product of a society divided into
classes and based on inequalities of power and
wealth. Across the world, many men are still
socialised to see their role as superior to that of
women, both within and outside the family.
This year the so-called ‘fourth wave’ of feminism
gets an airing but fails to offer a way out of the
very practical problems of the women workers
and poor farmers who make up half of the
world’s population.
For socialists, International Women’s Day is for
remembering how much has changed and how
much remains to be done. Through struggle,
some of the worst aspects of women’s inequality On the other hand, life for women in rural
have been alleviated. It is also salutary, however, communities in many parts of the world has
to remember how far there is to go and how been unchanged for centuries. Theirs is a life of
socialists can make a difference. endless toil - tilling the land, bearing children
and caring for the whole family. They often
Reform and lack of reform have no access to maternity or health care and
lose their babies at birth or in the first five years
Great reforms were won in the 20th century of their lives. Millions of women themselves
in many countries - political, social and die from preventable illness and disease, often
reproductive rights, job opportunities and pay, connected with child-birth.
access to education, the provision of health
and social services. Many of the changes gave
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In so many countries women are regarded as baskets onto bonfires and refused to do this
second class citizens and forced, by tradition work. Campaigning on many issues affecting
and religion, to obey fathers, husbands and women has led to some reforms but the only
brothers. They can enjoy little or no education, way to get real improvements is through mass
recreation or health care. action and political struggle.
Because family wealth is often passed on only
through the male line, and daughters are seen
as a burden, millions of females are ‘selected’
out of existence before they are born, or very
soon afterwards. The latest estimate for the
number ‘missing’ females world-wide is 117
million (New Internationalist, October 2013).
Three quarters are accounted for by pre-birth
‘selection’ and one quarter by infanticide or
discriminatory neglect before the age of five.
This phenomenon is most prevalent in India
and China, but happens on every continent.
So too does Female Genital Mutilation. Recent
press coverage of campaigns in schools, helping
young girls to resist this barbarous practice,
indicates that more than 140 million women in
the world have been ‘cut’. Campaigns in Britain
and France, for example, are having an effect,
but how many more millions of women are
denied the chance of ever experiencing sexual
pleasure by the odious tradition of ‘cutting’? After the Rana Plaza disaster of April last
year, when more than 1,100 textile workers
were killed and 4,000 more injured and left
How can attitudes be changed? jobless, the workers, who are mostly women,
staged noisy and effective protests to demand
Are women from every continent condemned compensation and new jobs. Their action
to a life of perpetual hardship and degradation? brought into the spotlight the massive profits
Amnesty International ‘s latest magazine they make for companies like Benetton,
covering a sample of problems faced by women Walmart, Primark, Matalan and Bon Marche in
in just eight countries - Bahrein, Zimbabwe, an industry globally worth at least $48 billion.
Colombia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Guatemala For the oppressed of Africa and elsewhere, the
and Cambodia - certainly give that impression. development of the Workers’ and Socialist Party
In the teeming cities of Asia, Africa and Latin in South Africa shines like a beacon. The new
America, tens of millions of women labour long party inscribes on its banner basic demands for
hours in factory sweat-shops or on market stalls “publicly funded, free education from nursery
- risking their lives and limbs. Female market to university” and “free health care accessible
porters of Accra sleep on the ground at night, to all” as well as the nationalisation under
huddled together for protection. Dalit women democratic workers’ control of the mines, the
in India have the job of cleaning latrines farms, the banks and big business.
with their bare hands, others are forced to do
manual scavenging. In a campaign to break Campaigning against the myriad injustices
the link between occupation and caste, women meted out to women and their children is vital.
in Patna have raised their voices, thrown their Articles on socialistworld.net have exposed the
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scandal of domestic slavery and the fightback of
Indonesian and Filipino women in Hong Kong,
of women and their
children in Pakistan.
Others have pointed
to women in schools
and hospitals
demonstrating great
determination to
fight back against
the cuts.
Within major
‘developed’
countries women,
especially from
immigrant
populations, tend
to make up most
of the workforce in
menial, sometimes
dangerous jobs
- sweatshops,
electronic assembly
lines, cleaning and
domestic service. Trade unions are vital in Not only in Greece, but across Europe and
organising campaigns and industrial struggle the United States, millions of people are
to end this super-exploitation in our societies. dependent on food stamps, food banks or
The modest but very real victories of cleaners soup kitchens. Spain, Greece and Ireland
in London in the past year have shown that have all seen a sharp reduction in birth
organising and fighting gets results. rates since the onset of the crisis, as couples
decide that a child is an expense they simply
cannot afford. Stories of babies being given
Clock turned back away by impoverished parents in Greece are
a heart-rending condemnation of austerity
Today’s world-wide crisis of the capitalist
programmes demanded by bankers and well-
system hits all working and poor people hard.
heeled politicians. Millions of children in
They are expected to endure austerity and
modern, developed societies are facing poverty
hardship while the 1%, who own as much as
and hunger.
the poorest 50% in the world, grow richer by
the day. Cuts and economic slowdowns tend to
Even in Sweden, a storm of privatisation has
impact most on the everyday lives of women.
wrecked the legendary welfare state. Care
Across the globe, incomes, job opportunities and
homes, health clinics and schools are being
state-financed welfare provision are dwindling
bought and sold as profit-making ventures.
- both for women and the people they care for.
Next will come attacks on maternity and
Zero-hour contracts and casual jobs are often the
paternity rights along with other so-called
best the capitalist system can offer millions of
reforms in the interests of cutting taxes for the
women and young people, who face never being
rich.
able to find a job. The clock is being turned back
The social and economic crisis has been
and each new generation of workers and poor is
accompanied by new attacks on abortion rights
living worse than the previous one.
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in various countries. Mass demonstrations in The distinct weakening of the fighting traditions
Spain against attempts to reverse progressive of the unions and the demise of the traditional
legislation, allowing abortion in the first 14 parties that workers supported, had an effect
weeks, have shown the deeply felt anger on this in society as a whole in many countries. Earlier
issue and the preparedness of young women struggles on equal pay, abortion rights, LGBT
to fight. Socialists in Ireland have played an rights, domestic violence etc. had meant many
important role in maintaining the pressure for advances. Sexist attitudes in advertising and
legal reforms that came into sharp focus after in the media, belittling women and approving
the death of Savita Halappanavar who was violence, were less tolerated. Today the clock
refused a life-saving abortion at the end of 2012. often appears to be going backwards on these
issues too. On
LGBT rights
there have
been advances
in some
countries, but
vicious attacks
on them in
others.
Along with the
cuts in public
spending there
have been cut-
backs in the
provision of
assistance for
those suffering
from domestic
violence,
reports of
which are on
the increase in many countries. Socialists have
Political alternative been to the fore in combatting these trends and
in highlighting the issue of domestic violence
Before this latest, very deep crisis, which and getting it taken up, particularly by the
has shown the inability of capitalism to unions. The role of class struggle in changing
satisfy even the minimum needs of the the consciousness of women and attitudes
overwhelming majority in society, there was a towards women were amply demonstrated in
period of triumphalism and gloating over the the miners’ strike of 40 years ago in Britain,
alleged lack of any alternative to this rotten as articles appearing in the Socialist this week
system. This had followed the collapse of the recount.
Stalinist-run planned economies. ‘There is no
alternative’ was the watchword of Thatcher in Housing
her hey-day. Last year, when she died, many
rejoiced that this enemy of working people had The housing scandals in country after country
gone, but there was still a lack of confidence affect millions of women trying to make ends
that the labour movement can change things meet and keep a roof over the heads of their
radically. families. Speculators and the super-rich are
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leaving millions of properties empty while more Women generally outnumber men amongst
and more families each day are thrown onto the refugee populations - victims of wars and
streets for want of a meagre rent or mortgage civil wars. From Syria and Iraq to Sudan and
payment. Somalia, those fleeing armed conflict have
nothing - no means to feed, clothe or shelter
Anti-eviction movements see large numbers themselves and their children. Mass rape is
of often very courageous women involved. In common in the refugee camps and is also
Kazakhstan, they widely used as a weapon of war. NGOs,
have been prepared
to fight to the end,
organising mass
demonstrations and
hunger strikes. They
have been driven
to such desperation
by seeing the big
banks bailed out
by the state when
they have been
told they will have
their homes taken
from them. In
Spain, bailiffs have
been prevented
by demonstrators
(many of them
women) from
removing people
from their flats and
houses. And this in a
country where, as in
Ireland, hundreds of
thousands of newly
built houses remain
empty! charities and United Nations bodies cannot
In the US, too, homes have been saved by cope with these human disasters. Sometimes
campaigns such as that in Minneapolis they even become part of the problem! Wars
organised by Socialist Alternative. In Scotland, are an inevitable part of life under capitalism.
the iniquitous bedroom tax has been defeated Fighting for socialism is a matter of life and
by a mass campaign led by socialists. The death. Building the forces that can lead to the
movements of the ‘landless’ and the ‘roofless’ in successful transformation of society begins in
Brazil, also involve many thousands of women. individual countries on the basis of more and
They have gained a new momentum in the more people drawing the necessary conclusions
context of the billions of dollars being spent on about capitalism. We have seen, in the past
football stadiums and luxury accommodation year, mass movements reaching revolutionary
for this year’s World Cup. proportions, with many women on the streets
and fighting - in Turkey, in Thailand and in
Ukraine. They have been struggling to remove
Wars and revolutions discredited, corrupt regimes, but with no
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clear alternative to the rule of the bosses, the One of the main tenets of socialists is that all
banks and their political representatives, their women should have the right to choose whether
sacrifices will be in vain. and when to have children without financial
constraint of any kind. This means adequate
In many societies where advances for women contraception, abortion and fertility facilities
have been made previously, reactionary available free and on demand, as well as child
governments are trying to pull them back by benefits that cover the real cost of raising
centuries - into the dark ages of the Caliphate and educating children. Even assistance with
for example. Others, like the regime under conception and pregnancy are seen as a money-
Vladimir Putin, now putting troops on a war making opportunity.
footing over Ukraine, use the methods of
decades ago or even of Tsarist times. Nadezhda Women politicians
It is worth remembering that
getting a better proportion
of women involved in
politics or women elected to
high office is no guarantee
of more female-friendly
policies. In Rwanda there
are two female politicians
for every male MP and a
majority of women in the
parliament, yet the country
has one of the highest
incidences of gender-based
and domestic violence in
Africa. The struggle against
the subordination of women
Tolokonnikova, one of the ‘Pussy Riot’ in society will take more than redressing the
protesters, imprisoned for the performance of a gender balance of representative institutions or
“punk prayer” in the central Moscow cathedral, even heads of state. Ask the people of Germany
was put into solitary confinement after going under Angela Merkel, Brazil under Dilma
on hunger strike in protest at “slave-like labour Rousseff and Chile under Michelle Bachelet.
conditions”. Prisoners have to work 17 hours
a day and suffer Gulag-style punishments for In India, where women have held high office
minor ‘misdemeanours’ - forced for out of at state and national level, little has changed in
doors for exercise in harsh wintry conditions relation to the treatment of women as second-
and being banned all day from going to the class citizens. Recent publicity has been given to
toilet. the trafficking of girls from the tea plantations
of Assam to be sold into domestic service for
Fighting capitalist exploitation high-born and wealthy women who accept it
as part of the Indian way of life. The number of
Socialists fight every injustice in society, rapes in Delhi and Mumbai being reported to
fighting around demands which show up the the police has doubled since the publicity given
rottenness of the capitalist system and all its to two particularly horrifying cases that reached
‘representatives’. Our programme on issues the world’s media. Public campaigns and mass
facing working and poor women is outlined in protests have given Indian women courage to
various leaflets, pamphlets and books. report to the police, but the crime is still rife
7throughout society. The hostility to demands for a minimum wage
on the part of bosses and the politicians who
Reactionary attitudes to women’s role in society, represent them exposes the rottenness of the
the banning of books, as happened recently profit system. Fighting all forms of repression
with a history of Hinduism, as well as an and oppression means a fight to the finish in
entrenchment of the caste system will have to industrial and political battles.
be combatted even more vigorously if the right The only way to win the complete
wing chauvinist BJP led by Narendra Modi transformation of women’s lives, and the
comes to power in May’s election. eradication of all forms of exploitation, is
to struggle for an alternative to capitalism.
Although the political views and programme Fighting together for the common goal of a
of candidates are more important than their socialist society would weld together women
gender, when it comes to the struggle of half and men with the common goal of the
the world’s population for fair treatment, it emancipation of the whole working class.
gives great encouragement to working and As capitalism becomes mired in greater social
poor women everywhere to see the victory and economic crises, hundreds, thousands
of someone like Kshama Sawant in the recent and millions of people will become convinced,
election in Seattle - a socialist immigrant woman. through their own experiences and the
She gained widespread media coverage for agitation of socialists, of the need to finish with
her powerful arguments against capitalism, the iniquitous system. Support for candidates
Wall Street and the 1% and in favour of like Kshama Sawant, parties like WASP in
nationalisation of the major banks and industry South Africa and the ideas and programme of
and genuinely democratic planning. The focus of the Committee for a Workers’ International
her campaign - the demand for a $15 minimum will grow as the crisis grows deeper.
wage for all - was extremely popular amongst Socialism holds the key to ending all forms
working people. For low-paid women, its full of exploitation; it is the only way to develop
implementation would help to redress one of the a harmonious society free of wars, poverty,
major inequalities they face. Their wages would injustice and all forms of discrimination and
be raised and also put on a par with that of male inequality.
colleagues doing the same work.
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