October 8th 2008—Feminist Struggles on the Move at the Americas Social Forum

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Jacqui
About Jacqui

October 16, 2008

We started the day with the March of Women throughout the grounds of University of San Carlos-Guatemala where the Social Forum is being held. Hundreds of women marched carrying banners and shouting chants such as: Alerta, Alerta, Alerta que camina! La Lucha Feminista para America Latina! (Alert, Alert, Alert because the the feminist struggles for Latin America is on the move!) Las Mujeres Adelante, El Machismos para atras! (Women in the front, machismo in the back) Saquen sus rosaries de mis ovaries (Take your rosaries out of my ovaries) Si la mujer no esta, la democracia no va! (If women aren’t present, democracy won’t work!) Aborto legal, dereco fundamental. (Legal abortion, a fundamental right.) Nosotras parimos, nosotras decidimos, (We give birth, we decide) Y somos las meras Las meras petateras. (We are the real weavers.) Feministas contra la Guerra! Feministas contra el capital! Feministas contra el racism, contra el terroismo neoliberal! (Feminists against the war! Feminists against capital! Feminists against racism, against neoliberal terrorism!) (Images from the march will be uploaded soon.)

Later in the day we had a conversation that was structured similarly to the Truth Circles of which WOCU sister Mehret often speaks. Women from El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cuba, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Honduras, the United States, and elsewhere came together to share experiences and struggles. We gathered, not with any preconceived expectations of “measurable outcomes”. We convened instead to share, hear other perspectives, receive compassion and support, and to plan the seeds for some, and fertilize the blooms of other, linkages of struggles.

I shared about Women of Color United and how we came together around the intersection of violence against women and HIV&AIDS globally, but also how those pandemics are intersectional with so many dynamics that we find ourselves also working on issues of economic justice, racial justice, sexual and reproductive rights, housing rights, environmental justice, disability rights, and a variety of concerns. I shared the challenge of organizing across racial, ethnic, and indigenous groups in the US, as well as across borders and that one aim of our time here as WOCU is to deepen our links with our global sistren, particularly as so many WOCU members have roots in the Americas region.

As an illustration of some of the challenges of movement building that we also experience at home, during a lengthy period of this shared space, there was open tension and animosity between several women from Nicaragua. Some of the women who stated that they were feminists were pro-government and spoke in defense of the government, stating that the regime supports women and does not persecute feminists as was alleged. Several of these women had spent up to 40 years fighting as part of the Sandinistas. Some women stated that they were also feminists and spoke of infringement and denial of their rights and stated that their very lives and wellbeing have been threatened under the current regime. It was a very tough discussion and was illustrative of the fact that though there is much more that unites us in our struggles for women’s rights, there are a plethora of intersectional issues, including political allegiances and other principled stances, that act as significant and historical divisions that can impede a linked walk and joining of forces to agitate for women’s rights.

When I met up with the Petateras again later in the day they were in the women’s tent dancing in a conga line. After refusing several entreaties to join in, I couldn’t deny the invitation of an elder woman who was a Guellirerra (female in the armed struggle) in the Guatemalan war for 23 years. My albeit pacifist self still felt a deep sense of respect and honor for this woman who had sacrificed so much for freedom and social justice, and yet was still there feeling the joy of the dance.