6-7 October 2018, Frankfurt/Germany
Yesterday Hitler, Franco and Mussolini; today, Erdogan, Trump, Putin, Orbán ... The rise of fascist regimes have historically and also today mostly impacted women and communities that do not conform to their norms. In Turkey, the fascist regime of AKP-MHP first closed down women’s, communalist and other institutions that enabled self-organizing.
In Europe, we can also see a rise in fascist rhetoric; in Germany and France fascist parties demand a return to the classical role of women. They aim to destroy the achievements of the women’s movements and assimilate them into a system that serves only their interest. While this is subtler in western countries; in the form of defending their ‘own’ women from ‘foreigners’ coming into the country, the fascist forces in Turkey and other surrounding regions have no inhibitions about attacking women in every possible way.
When we look back at the 1930s, the correlation between hegemonial systemic crises and fascist rises becomes clear. In times of deep turmoil of the capitalist modernist system, attacks on women increase. Fascism conflicts with women’s liberation and promotes a white supremacist model. While doing so, self-determined life of women becomes biggest target of attack. This attack can only be countered with a common strategy and struggle against fascism.
Building a Feminist Front against fascism...
Creating a common campaign against Feminicide
Women murdered on a daily basis is increasing globally, feminicide is still a disregarded crime that is downplayed in the media as ‘family drama’ or ‘relationship act’ etc. But as long as feminicide is not considered in all its dimensions an effective struggle against patriarchal violence will not be possible. Campaigns like #NiUnaMenos or the call of Yazidi women to declare August 3, the day of IS genocide in Sinjar, International Action Day Against Feminicide, aim to point out the need for a common struggle.
Self-defence of Women against: the (state) rape culture
The constant violence against women restricts our freedoms and prevents women’s self- determination. Violence and feminicide are a crucial part of the patriarchal system of rule; that will not be solved within the system of the State. We need an adequate, self- organized way of dealing with it.
Creating an ethical transformation through a women’s liberation perspective to restore the relation of respect between society, nature and all living organisms...
The exploitation of earth for the benefit of the capitalist powers brings disastrous consequences not only to nature, but also to the entire society. State civilization knew well that cutting the connection of society from nature and the rest of living organisms would mean to cut its connection with its roots, ethics and autonomy and with this cutting society from its strength. Today we have reached a place where under so-called “development” and “energy” mega-projects, the most atrocious plans such as: dams, hydroelectric plants, coal mining, fracking, gas pipelines, new electric lines and high speed trains are making earth an uninhabitable place.
A common understanding and practice for an ecological struggle in the women’s movements...
From America to Asia, through Europe we can see women are especially standing up and resisting against the complete destruction of mother earth by the techno-industrial system, and consequently they have been assassinated.
Identity and diversity not from the centre of liberalism (the West), but from the natural societies...
Queer feminist theory and practice has brought new impulses and insights into alternative movements. But, we can observe the same attempts of assimilation that has taken place after the strengthening of the women’s and LGBTI movements. The ruling system and its powers seek to integrate ‘new’ identities into their system of representation, by facilitating identities to contest, and thus capitalize from these impulses.
Understanding one another, mutual recognition and overcoming divisions...
societies and movements today...
- How can we develop emancipatory understandings of social relations based on the respect to diversity of identities?
As Europe and the US have locked off their borders against the flood of refugees, that they in the first place created themselves, we see a spread of extra-state borders. By doing so, they exploit states and make them dependent, such as: Turkey, Libya, Eastern Europe, etc. Yet, they are the ones who deliberately push wars and conflicts, in order to destabilize the Middle East, Latin America and other resource-rich regions, to divide and control among themselves.
Today worldwide nearly 70 million people, more than half of them children, are on the run. Although only a small proportion lives in the global West, Europe and the US manipulate the ‘refugee crises’ in order to consolidate statist politics. Refugees are declared image of the enemy and nobody cares about the roots of their displacement. How do we as women need to address root causes of migration and flight?
According to the mentality of capitalist modernity and the hegemonic ruling elite, the control of women is absolutely crucial for implementing imperial and colonial politics. Western supremacy has been established in terms of racial virility and nationalism...
In a comparative perspective to discuss: what are the effects of cultural racism on women? Dispossession in colonialism deals with so-called epistemologies of violence, the problems of categorizing and orientalism...
Within the historical process of global accumulation, we see how scarcity has specifically affected women and society, since production was based on patriarchy, from the creation of hierarchical societies and exploitation. In the tension between global accumulation, feminization of poverty and communalist economy, how can we reimagine the production of different values (against process of valorisation oriented on profit) created by women in different concrete experiences of communalist economy, against the material and symbolical capitalistic valorisation directed specifically and strategically to women.
Indicators that measure poverty in various societies have a western centred, stereotypical approach, created in accordance to the thoughts and practices of the privileged. Up till now the quality of life has been described and categorised by the privileged.
Re-valuing what’s life and economy, building women network linked to the principles of the common alternative
Analysing alternative media is a core competent for social and political mobilisation. We can see media as a space of conflict and reapropiation of technology against censorship, playing a crucial role against women’s negative portrayal and making women’s multiple voices heard using different strategies. Apart from that media is one of the main spheres where social sexism is reproduced. How to use alternative media to overcome sexism?
Importance in questioning of media and technology as a professionalized space reserved to elites based on inequality on the bases of gender/class/race.
The understanding of women and feminist practice has became limited nowadays and theory and practice are more and more separated from each other. How this came to happen? Which role did the (feminist) academia played in this? Why there is a growing gap between activism and academia? Why the idea of separating academia and activism is highly problematic?
If we want to put our theory into practice we have to build a new society. We have to stop the passive role of criticising that patriarchy has given to us and instead start recovering our creative, forming, initiative abilities.
The workshop aim is not only to bring attention to the issues women are facing, but provide space for discussion and action on how to strengthen our activism and practice for radical change.
What kind of methods do we need? Self-criticism, creativity, will-power, au- tonomous organization...
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