by ‘power to restorative justice!’ …. …. translation updated 18:53 10/02/19
Leer en español aquí abajo. / Original en Catalá AQUÍ
We write this communication in order to share our concern and irritation due to many situations that we have known or experienced directly in recent times in relation to the definition of gender violence and its management in social and libertarian movements.
We start from the idea that gender violence is the product of a heteronormative model that imposes a unique form of existence in terms of what our body, our identity, our gender expression, our sexuality and our relationships are. All those people who do not comply with this norm can be exposed to violence, as punishment for transgressions and non-compliance with the hetero-norm.
And those agressions that happen in the spaces that should be of support and solidarity make the lives and militancy of those who fight untenable, and for that we strongly oppose them. All of us who signed this communique have spent years fighting against the heteropatriarchy, as well as for the liberation of all.
A Greve Feminista é uma proposta feita pelo movimento feminista internacional, que convoca uma greve de mulheres como forma de protesto e revolta face às situações de precariedade e violência que invadem as nossas vidas. É o maior movimento mundial de mulheres de paralisação social das últimas décadas, acontece no dia 8 de Março, Dia Internacional da Mulher.https://climaximo.wordpress.com/2019/02/08/a-caminho-da-greve-feminista-internacional-8-de-marco-de-2019/
Now that our position is clarified, it is essential to share a reflection on how the hegemonic feminist discourse is defining violence and, by default, how the so-called aggressions are being managed.
The first issue that is problematic is the way in which gender violence is being framed, conceptualized and considered. From certain feminisms it is named with this term structural or symbolic gender inequalities, causing the concept of violence to take on too great a spectrum of meanings. Continue reading “You will not find us there: on Gender Violence and Collective Management”
The left takes the streets against the change of government in Andalusia
Feminist collectives, LGTBI, Podemos, IU and the SAT are promoting mobilizations in Andalusia before the investiture of a rightwing coalition including the new fascist party Vox, on Tuesday 15th and 16 Jan..
Its the first time since the Dictatorship that openly fascist candidates have been elected and the far right have gained control of the Andalusian local parliament.
The PP got the support of Vox without openly assuming its shocking anti feminist measures but Vox with 10 seats will hold the balance of power..
The news of the despicable Vox in power generated rage on social networks and sparked calls for multiple demonstrations and rallies on the investiture dates, on January 15 and 16 .
Podemos and Izquierda Unida parties yesterday joined the feminist calls to demonstrate and encouraged their respective militants and supporters to attend the events planned next Tuesday: a concentration at 12.00 in the Andalusian Parliament (Seville) and provincial concentrations at 7:00 p.m. in different points of the Andalusian cities.
Camp and antifascist concentration that took place in Granada after the Andalusian elections. MIGUEL RODRÍGUEZ
The mobilization is driven by a large group of feminist organizations that on Wednesday presented a manifesto for what they consider an “attack” by the party led by Santiago Abascal, with its claim to repeal the Law of Gender Violence.
Support demonstrations and actions have also been called in towns and cities across Iberia.
Map made by Irene Martínez for El Salto
Under the slogans ‘Not a step back in equality’ or ‘Our rights are not negotiated’, posters in purple and blue tones have been distributed quickly through social networks to gather as many people as possible on January 15.
Leaders like Antonio Maíllo, from IU (communist), or Teresa Rodríguez, from Podemos( Left) and candidate from the confluence of both formations, Adelante Andalucía, yesterday supported these initiatives and urged citizens to support feminist mobilizations.
The LGTBI movement also joins the feminist demonstrations in rejection of the reaction and regression in the conquered rights that they believe the pact between PP and Cs with Vox will bring.
But in addition the Andalusian Union of Workers (SAT) called yesterday a protest called ‘Surround the Parliament’ for the day of the celebration of the full investiture in which the candidate will foreseeably be voted on next January 16 .
In principle, the union has requested authorization for the possible days – the date is still unknown – and aims to surround the Parliament with a human chain, the SAT said in a statement.
This protest will take place from 18:00 hours on the day of the investiture under the slogan ‘Andalusia is not for sale’, with the intention of preventing the change of government with its aim to launch “new attacks” against social rights and democratic institutions and public services, with privatizations and cuts in social policies.
The union indicated that the new government will also mean “a threat to women’s rights and policies of equality and a promotion of sexist violence” and invited other anti-fascist and feminist groups to protest, since theirs will be a “complementary” mobilization » to all the other demos on that day.
REACTION OF THE PATRIARCHY
Both García and Navascués agree that one of the keys to the rise of the far right is as “very clear reaction to the 8M Womens General Strike.”.
A famous quote by Simone de Beauvoir has gone viral in recent days. A phrase from the forerunner of feminism that says: “Do not ever forget that a political, economic or religious crisis will suffice for the rights of women to be questioned again.
These rights are never taken for granted. You must remain vigilant throughout your life. ” In this line Dolores García deepens by stating that “any gap that is opened globally, in the political or economic space, will cause a reinforcement of patriarchy” to explain the current situation.
“Patriarchy becomes very angry when feminism takes center stage, not only here, but in Latin America, all over the world,” something that connects García with the economic system because “the neoliberal model needs women to do care of life work, to corner ourselves around the family, bringing up kids”.
Police violence at an anti fascist counter demo against a meeting of the new VOX party in Girona, Catalonia.
The new Family Counseling or the anti-abortion plan in the PP-Vox agreement are other measures denounced by the Andalusian feminist movement.
THE LGTBI MOVEMENT ADDS
With the same sense of “aggression” to their rights, the Andalusian LGTBI community has joined the mobilizations in the provinces and in the capital. Rafael Gil, president of the association Delta LGBTIQ of the Sierra de Cádiz, calls LGTBI people to second the mobilization.
“They have negotiated with our rights, they have been currency on the table, it seems a shame,” he complains. Gil is firm in the need that “every time the ultra right in our autonomous community touches us, even if only in words, they must have us confronting them, on the street.”
In addition, the historic Grenadian transsexual activist Kim Pérez has announced a hunger strike in protest. “We will not stop being visible in front of this danger to our rights, which we thought was already extinguished, in my case, through a hunger strike, which will represent the anguish that will be renewed now, as long as the new leaders do not declare the will to respect us”.
FUTURE OF THE FIGHT
Beyond the 15th, the Andalusian feminist movement is thinking of ways to counteract the messages of the extreme right. In the opinion of Dolores García, one of the keys is “to work much more in the neighborhoods, because sometimes we do not reach those towns where women or the poor are most vulnerable.
We have to get to those spaces to counteract the discourses of fear that lock up women in the house. ” On the other hand, Alicia Navascués thinks that it is not enough to protect the conquered laws but to denounce “very dangerous speeches of the Citizens Party that seek the commodification of the woman’s body, such as the legalization of ‘rent bellies’ or of prostitution”.
However, both are optimistic. “In the face of such an attack, there is going to be a strengthening, uniting different feelings of feminism,” says Garcia. “From now on we’re going to have a unified, strong feminist movement. We’re going to confront them, and the legislative change for the worse is not going to happen..”.
translation by The Free. Info from.. Por Irene Martínez @ireirenuka / Alfonso Torres @alfonsogtorres at Kaos and El Salto..elsaltodiario
Journalists from around the world have been reporting on these large-scale women’s rights rallies, which have taken place almost every month since May. Chartered buses transport women from towns and cities all over the southern half of the Korean peninsula to attend. Continue reading “How Radical-Feminist Koreans confront Misogyny”
Summer is over and the far-right have not gone away.
On October 13th (Facebook event page for antifascist counter protests: https://www.facebook.com/events/257939294927379/, EIE) the far-right Democratic Football Lads Alliance plan to march in London. In the last year thousands of them have taken to the streets, uniting racists from UKIP to Generation Identity. By manipulating information and outright lying the far-right now present themselves as free-speech campaigners and protectors of women and children from sexual abuse committed by ‘Muslim’ and ‘Asian’ men.
Back in the real world.
We know that sexual assault and abuse aren’t isolated acts of violence. Rape culture is rampant and widespread. Most sexual violence is committed by people who are in our everyday lives – our spouses, partners, ex-partners, bosses, priests, sports coaches etc. Ignoring this fact contributes to why people of all genders, including the very women and girls fascists claim to protect, are still not believed supported when they speak out. What the #metoo movement has made clear is how utterly normalised and widespread sexual and gendered violence and harassment is.
Racism and sexism go hand in hand.
So, why do the far-right use the terms “grooming gangs” and “industrial-scale abuse” for Asian and Muslim men, but make no mention of sexual abuse in the Catholic church or international sports teams? By scapegoating migrants and refugees the far-right deliberately ignores the fact that sexual abuse happens in every country, culture and community – and in our own homes. Sexual violence will not be stopped by racist solutions such as tightening national borders or making the problem only about men in minority communities, nor a return to “traditional’ gender roles for women. The far right do not have genuine answers, because this would mean them recognising and confronting the fact that white men continue to hold more power, structurally, in all spheres of our society – whether in politics, our communities or workplaces.
When the far-right are left unchallenged their confidence grows, their messages becomes more hateful and their ideas more accepted. This is how fascism has begun in the past.
Feminists to the front on 13 Oct
The Women’s Strike Assembly are calling for a joyful and militant feminist presence to confront the Democratic Football Lads Alliance on Oct 13th. We will disrupt the far-right’s attempt to use our experiences of sexual violence for their racist agenda. It is time to put an end to the lie that all the victims are white women and all the perpetrators are black and asian men. Far from being weak and in need of ‘protection’, women and non-binary people in every community are the ones holding families together, putting food on the table and making ends meet. We are powerful, even more so when we take action together.
We are calling on feminists of all genders to come to London on Oct 13th. We need your help to mobilise at least 500 women, trans and non-binary people to form a feminist anti-fascist bloc to lead the counter-demonstration and show the far-right what a feminist response to structural and systemic violence actually looks like. We will hold space, make noise and keep each other safe. There is transport from other cities being organised. On the day there will be childcare and food provided, and there will be information nights across the country in the next month.
Now is not the time to be silent and stay at home.
Let’s make feminism powerful again. Anti-fascism must be feminist, and feminism must be anti-fascist.
Contact: info(at)womenstrike.org.uk
Endorsed by:
Women’s Strike Assembly – London, Birmingham and Cardiff Kurdish Student Union UK Plan C – London, Birmingham, Essex and Cambridge The x:talk project Sister not Cister UK Fourth Wave: London Feminist Activists
To add your organisation or group to this call out please email: info(at)womenstrike.org.u
London, UK: A coalition of groups including London Antifascists have made a call-out for a unity demonstration against the far right Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA). Saturday October 13 in…..
South Korea’s ‘take off the corset’ movement should inspire feminists everywhere towards radical action against reactionary misogynist society linked to the extortionist beauty products industry and culturally forced surgery.
”They are cutting their long hair short or completely shaving their heads. They are burning skirts and high heels. They are abandoning bras. Students are discarding skirts as uniforms and instead wearing pants that are more functional. And they are uploading their pictures on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook — basically everywhere on the internet, encouraging other sisters to follow suit”.
A before-and-after transformation picture captioned, “I became a human after ditching the regime of looking sexy or fragile.”
via Feminist Current.. shared with thanks
This resistance movement was inspired by radical feminist critiques of beauty practices coming from the West, but today, Korean radical feminist campaigning from within one of the beauty industry’s global strongholds serves as a galvanizing force for feminists everywhere, who are seeing their sisters reduced to empty shells who aim only to be beautiful in the eyes of men.
Young women in South Korea calling themselves “beauty resisters” are fighting back against the powerful and incredibly profitable beauty and cosmetic surgery industries.
The #MeToo movement has reached countless women around the world, morphing into various campaigns specific to what women are experiencing under local forms of patriarchy. In April, The Telegraph reported on a growing movement against “cultural violence against women” in South Korea, which rose up in response to the fact that women in the nation were undergoing more plastic surgery than anywhere else in the world. Emanuel Pastreich, head of the Asia Institute, told Julian Ryall:
Today 1.3 billion people in India can now have gay sex without risking prison. A British law from 1860 has finally been struck down.
Campaigners celebrate as India decriminalises homosexualitelebrations erupt in India after landmark gay rights ruling – video
by Michael Safi, the Guardian, in Delhi. Celebrations erupted in India after the supreme court unanimously ruled to decriminalise homosexual sex in a landmark judgment for gay rights.
A five-judge bench at the country’s highest court ruled that a 160-year-old law banning sex “against the order of nature” amounted to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and was unconstitutional. The judgment, after 24 years of legal challenges, triggered elation among LGBT Indians and their allies across the country who held all-night parties in nightclubs in major cities.
In Mumbai, people marched carrying a giant rainbow banner; in Bangalore they draped themselves in the LBGT flag and let off scores of balloons. In Delhi’s luxury Lalit hotel, run by one of the activists who fought Thursday’s case, and home to one of the city’s furtively gay-friendly nightclubs, staff danced in the lobby.
“Criminalising carnal intercourse under section 377 Indian penal code is irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary,” said the chief justice, Dipak Misra, in his decision, announced at about 11.30am on Thursday.
DESiblitz> Cultural (article updated due to legalisation victory)
How many people would love to tell Jacob Rees-Mogg to go and fuck himself? Well, last night we did so in joyful fashion. We paid a little visit to the countryside just outside of Bristol, to his mansion called Gourney Court in the quiet village of West Harptree.
For those of you who are reading this and do not know who this man is, he is one of the most detestable members of parliament ever, and fuck me they’re a bad bunch. Other politicians claim he is the one truly ruling this country from behind the scenes. Here are some of his charming characteristics…
He is extremely wealthy, staunchly Roman Catholic, a clear friend to fascist groups and has his eyes fixed on being the actual political leader of this fucking prison island (after May decomposes fully).
He was raised by his nanny. After prep school he attended Eton college and then Oxford university (for the poshest people in the country).
Him and his wife have a 100 million quid together, they just bought a new house in London for 5 million, he makes 168,000 pounds a year from his partnership in a hedgefund business called Somerset Capital Management that is worth 7.5 billion pounds (apparently it invests in tobacco, mining and oil and is based in offshore tax havens, for those who care about such details). He proudly claims he has never changed a nappy in his life despite having 6 kids.
He uses his religion as an excuse for his xenophobic views. He is opposed to same sex marriage and contraception, he is against feminism, LGBTQI people and specifically gender re-assignment.
He is opposed to abortion in all circumstances including cases of rape.
He has argued for the abolition of environmental protections and for fracking, he is pro fox hunting and has also argued for the Conservative party to be almost entirely white skinned.
He is opposed to immigration, he supports zero hours contracts and loves the equally charming DUP (Northern Irelands right-wing Democratic Unionist Party) and the Conservative governments billion pound deal with them.
Last Wednesday, the municipal police have evicted the A Insumisa social centre in Galician city A Coruña. The space originally belonged to the Ministry of Defense until, after more than 15 years of abandonment, it was ceded to the city council. In November 2016, it was reclaimed by residents of A Coruña and since then it has been carrying out a range of social and cultural activities organized through open assemblies.
After it was occupied and set up as a social centre, the city council came up with their own proposal to turn the space to a cultural project similar to the one already set up by the citizens: except that it was to be managed by the council. The council’s proposal was rejected by the local residents and participants of A Insumisa, who defended the local self-managed project that already worked well without the intervention of the town hall and without public funding. After this defeat, the city council initiated the eviction process, which was finalised last Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, fifteen hours after the deadline for the eviction, the local police turned up at the door, and were met with locals gathered outside to defend the space. During the eviction there have been police charges that have resulted in several people being injured, some with blows to the head. The police also used tear gas.
In recent months, repression towards social centers in Rome has increased. Now also the feminist social spaces and women’s anti-violence centers are at risk of being evicted.
a video by Julia Lindblom. Rome, spring 2018. ENGLISH SUBTITLES
In recent months, repression towards social centers in Rome has increased. Now also the feminist social spaces and women’s anti-violence centers are at risk of being evicted.
We start from the idea that gender violence is the product of a heteronormative model that imposes a unique form of existence in terms of what our body, our identity, our gender expression, our sexuality and our relationships are. All those people who do not comply with this norm can be exposed to violence, as punishment for transgressions and non-compliance with the hetero-norm.
via 
.
The Free 