This page provides a report of Feminism in London 2008.
Feminism In London 08 was held at Conway Hall on Saturday, 11th October, 2008. Its success proved that those who claim that ‘feminism is dead’ or ‘feminism is no longer needed’ are obviously out of touch.
The event was well attended, not only by a diverse range of women from different backgrounds, ethnicities, classes, etc. but also by pro-feminist men.
Before examining the events of the day, I want to record that all speakers, workshop leaders, comedians and the women who co-ordinated and made the event happen were volunteers.
There were a wide range of stalls which enabled us to sample the diverse activities feminist and pro-feminist groups are involved in. There were stalls from The Women’s International League For Peace And Freedom, Housmans (an independent and radical bookshop), Object (a campaign that challenges the sexual commodification of women), The White Ribbon Campaign (a pro-feminist men’s organisation which challenges dominant ideas of masculinity), Rape Crisis, a Tibetan women’s organisation and Women In Black (an international organisation that holds non-violent vigils against militarism and nationalism), amongst others.
Of course the event would not have been such a success if it were not for the speakers and workshop leaders who all brought energy, passion and commitment and showed in their own individual ways what can be achieved when women ignore and refuse to accept the negative stereotypes that claim that women are not capable speakers, women’s voices are too high, etc., etc.
Majorie Nshemere Ojule began by saying ‘my English is not very good’ but went on to make an electrifying speech. She spoke very movingly about her life in Uganda and what happened when she dared to speak out for underpriviledged women. She was imprisoned and tortured and she spoke about her subsequent flight to England and her struggle to gain asylum here. Her first plea for asylum was turned down, but she appealed and finally won. She spoke of the sexism inherent in the way the Home Office treated her and how she feels they don’t look at women as human beings. She spoke of the plight of other women asylum seekers, of their loss of hope and low self esteem. She praised the organisation Women For Refugee Women, which gave her the courage to fight for justice and to encourage other women. She ended by saying that if each one of us can do something for women seeking asylum, it’s not too late to ignite their hope.
Another inspiring speaker was Shahida Choudhry who spoke about the Million Women Rise campaign, which is challenging men’s violence against women and children.
Rania Khan told us about her entry into local politics where she became England’s youngest woman elected local councillor. She inspired us with her work against lap dancing clubs in Tower Hamlets and encouraged women to get involved in local politics as a mechanism for bringing about change.
Marie-Claire Faray-Kele talked passionately about the women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although women were major players in the struggle against colonialism they are now sidelined and excluded from power and face devastating gender discrimination and violence. When they try to assert their point of view, the men dismiss them saying they are ‘acting like white women’. She told us how wars in parts of this vast country have been provoked by multinational corporations that want to get their hands on the rich mineral resources. She talked of networking and campaigning with women’s organisations in the DRC for women’s participation and representation in the decision making process, and for the implementation of the United Nations Security Resolution 1325.
Other speakers included Finn MacKay who spoke about the London Feminist Network’s Reclaim The Night march. Helen Atkins from The Poppy Project talked about the increasing numbers of women being sold into female sexual slavery, which is euphemistically defined by politicians and media alike as ‘Human Trafficking’. A speaker from Abortion Rights gave a presentation about the high profile campaign they have organised this year to defend and extend abortion rights in this country. This includes challenging the on-going refusal of the UK government to recognise Northern Ireland women’s rights to safe and legal abortions. Sasha Rakoff director of Object spoke about Object’s energetic campaign against the proliferation of lapdancing clubs.
The workshops were varied and demonstrated that feminism incorporates a whole range of subjects affecting women as a group. The workshop hosted by Professor Cynthia Cockburn raised important issues about how femininities and masculinities are interconnected in respect of how gender is constructed, together with how masculinities are framed around power and male violence. Cynthia said that patriarchal gender relations, including masculine violence against women, show their effects in times of so-called ‘peace’ as they do in ‘war’. ‘Masculinities’ is very much a hot topic that is immensely difficult to raise and even name, because it directly affects men both individually and as a group. This applies across the board, from within academia to feminist street activism.
One huge problem is the widely held (but false) assumption that if we are talking or problematising ‘masculinities’, we are also criticising individual men and blaming individual men for men’s violence against women. Often this is a deliberate tactic designed to silence any debate about the fact that certain constructions of masculinity are not only detrimental to both women and men, they also justify and excuse unequal power relations between the sexes.
The conclusion of this workshop was that until we are able to name the problem of the social construction of masculinities, it is almost impossible to challenge dominant ideas of masculinity and this effectively hides the gender of male perpetrators.
Another very effective workshop was ‘Objectification: What’s It To You?’. This was presented by Springboard Arts and the emphasis was on the visual representation of women. Participants were shown images of sexually objectified women and asked to think about their immediate reactions and responses. Later, all participants were invited to enact words and phrases such as ‘sex slave’ and ‘model’. The aim was to help participants to recognise that visual images do impact on individuals but predominantly on a sub-conscious level. Because we are saturated with images of women reduced to dehumanised beings, we have become de-sensitised. I am certain that all who attended, both women and men, gained an insight into how visual representation can be used to reinforce misogyny, but can also be used to challenge dominant ideas of masculinities and femininities.
Springboard Arts had a very busy day, because in between facilitating and running this workshop they also provided live suffragist and suffragette theatre. Photographs of the live theatre are posted on this website. Actors portrayed Emmeline Pankhurst and another suffragist Selina Cooper and they remained in character as they mingled with the attendees. It was startling to hear these actors refer to incidents which occurred early in the 20th century as though they had just happened.
The other workshops were equally as powerful – one challenged the normalisation of pornography and another provided an excellent introduction to how the media functions, whether it is radio, television or journalism, and the best way to get your message across. Special thanks to Rebecca Morden of Scary Little Girls productions for facilitating this important workshop. It was also heartening to know that women asylum seekers had not been forgotten. Women who seek asylum here in the UK are often fleeing persecution and male violence inflicted on them primarily because of their biological sex and/or political views.
To end the day there was a Comedy Night compered by comedian Kate Smurthwaite (who also compered the day). This was a great success, not least because for once there were no jokes or misogynistic comments about women and their bodies. Well done to the comedians for giving their time and also to the audience who attended. Last but not least a huge thank you to Kate Smurthwaite who in her capacity as compere for the day’s activities and events ensured everything went smoothly and to time.
Here are a selection of comments and views from some of the attendees. ‘The whole day was excellent and extremely inspiring.’ ‘Great organising, interesting panels, loads of good energy around.’ ‘To get such great speakers, venue, catering and comedy for such value was also much appreciated.’ ‘I was profoundly impressed by the Feminism in London event.’ ‘What a wonderful day, and so important in drawing new women and momentum to the Feminist Movement. It was so well organised and ran so smoothly that you made it look completely effortless, when in reality it must have taken months of hard work and planning.’
Already ideas are being suggested about what subjects will be highlighted at Feminism In London 2009. This time the organisers are hoping to be able to provide a creche and to include more focus on the many feminist issues surrounding childbirth, breastfeeding and raising children.
Nearer to the date publicity will of course be widely circulated and hopefully even larger numbers of women and men will come along.
Jennifer Drew
November 2008