Women's Seminar 2019

Agenda

Saturday morning

9.00-12.30 Chair: DK

- Introduction to the seminar - Penny (English)

- introduction of participants

- Introduction to the Institute - Maral (English)

- organizing (cooking teams, language groups, etc)

Saturday afternoon

14.30-16.15 Chair: Nadia+CH

- introduction to the theme - Nadia (French)

- introduction on social reproduction theory: Tithi Bhattacharya (USA) (by skype) English

- Introduction on ecofeminism: Julia Camara (Spanish state) (Castilian/Spanish)

Discussion in plenary

16.30 - 18.30

- language groups discussion

Sunday morning

09.00 - 09.30 Chair: Christine+B

- Plenary

09.30 - 12.30

- language groups discussion

Sunday afternoon (with break)

14.30 - 18.30 Chair: Christine+B

- plenary discussion

- conclusions

Monday morning 9.00 - 10.30 Chair: Terry+PH

- introduction to the theme - Terry (English)

- Introductions on the women's movement from

Ximena Argentina (Castilian/Spanish)

Ahlem Belhadj Tunisia (French)

Patri Amaya Spanish state (Castilian/Spanish)

- questions and answers

10.45 - 12.30

- language groups discussion

Monday afternoon

14.30 - 17.00

- language groups discussion

17.30 - 18.30 Chair: Cheron+P

- report backs from groups

Tuesday morning

09.00 - 12.30 Chair: Josie+BR

- plenary discussion

- conclusions

Tuesday afternoon

14.30 - 18.30 Chair Laia+MX CSR

Women in our parties - form of discussion to be decided

Wednesday morning

09.00 - 12.30 Chair: Penny+GR

conclusions - what document(s) to prepare for the IC

Reading materials

Theoretical questions

What is social reproduction theory? Tithi Bhattacharya https://socialistworker.org/2013/09/10/what-is-social-reproduction-theory

What is Ecofeminism Yayo Herrero and Juan Tortosa http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2407

The movement ON 3rd or 4th WAVE

English / Français / Castellano Laia´s notes

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E7-bdJS1tNU2ljeTfl92aXyZbVJZsQCr/view

Manifesto “Toward a Feminist International” (2019)

https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4259-beyond-march-8th-toward-a-feminist-international

Feminism of the 99% (2017)

“Beyond Lean-In: For a Feminism of the 99% and a Militant International Strike on March 8”

https://www.viewpointmag.com/2017/02/03/beyond-lean-in-for-a-feminism-of-the-99-and-a-militant-international-strike-on-march-8/

ANALYSIS OF THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT by country

1. ITALY: Article of 2017 analysis of the beginnings of the new wave and its characteristics

English: A new feminist movement in Italy is on the move

http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article5002

2. SPANISH STATE: Article of 2019 to reflect on the limits, potentialities and challenges of the movement and the 8M

“Change Everything: Foundations and Challenges of the Feminist Strike in Spain”

https://www.viewpointmag.com/2019/05/13/change-everything-foundations-and-challenges-of-the-feminist-strike-in-spain/

3. ARGENTINA: Interview of 2018 on struggle for abortion with some keys to understanding the movement in Latin America

“Beyond the rejection of the law for the legalization of abortion in Argentina: a fourth feminist wave?”

http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article5740

4. ALGERIA: interview to reflect on mobilizations in Algeria from the standpoint of feminism

“Many women have become conscious of the value of claiming their rights and demanding the end of the system”

http://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article6026

5. FRANCE. WOMEN IN THE MOVEMENT OF YELLOW VESTS. This text is included to analyse the new wave beyond the feminist movement itself, to also analyse what we have called "feminization of protest"

“Women in the yellow jacket movement: class revolt, gender transgression”

http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article5843

Documents of the Fourth International on Women's Liberation

1979 WORLD CONGRESS

Socialist Revolution and the Struggle for Women’s Liberation http://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?rubrique133

1991 WORLD CONGRESS

Latin America: Dynamics of mass movements and feminist currents: http://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article142

Western Europe: Changing forms of the struggle for women’s liberation: http://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article140

Positive action and partybuilding among women: http://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article143

Outline of document for IC

The new rise of the women’s movement

1. What is the context

1.1 Neoliberalism,

1.2 Rise of far right, authoritarianism, anti “gender ideology” (Brazil, Eastern Europe)

1.3 Religious fundamentalism

1.4 Climate change (or disaster)

1.5 Massive migration

1.6 Crisis of reproduction

2. What are the factors that have provoked this rise

2.1 Women hardest hit by all these factors although some contradictory effects ie women in Poland and Hungary more like to vote for far right because of loss of services, "family friendly" policies of far right

2.2 Feminization of labour

2.3 Increased gender violence (and its perception)

2.4 Increasing role of women in society and in popular movements

2.5 Building on previous international contacts: Latin American Encuentros, World March of Women, social forums movement

2.6 NGOization of women’s movement, glass ceiling or “lean in” feminism

3. What are the specificities of this movement

3.1 Geographical spread (strongest in Latin America, Western Europe, specificity North America – anti-Trump mobilizations, Poland – abortion strike but weak in Eastern Europe, Arab region, Africa, Asia)

3.2 New generations

3.3 New preoccupations

3.4 New methods of struggle - feminist strike

3.5 New theoretical understandings (social reproduction theory, ecofeminism)

4. What is its strategic importance

4.1 Leading resistance of class as a whole eg anti-Trump in US, antio-Bolsonaro in Brazil. Also teachers strikes in US, processes in Algeria, Sudan

4.2 does it lead us to reconsider our strategic understanding of the role of the women’s movement

5. What are our tasks (our orientation) within the movement?

5.1 Mass self-organized action

5.2 Demands that address the needs of the most oppressed/exploited while building unity between (a) the broadest women’s resistance against the right, (b) feminism for the 99% (women’s strikes etc.) and (c) revolutionaries.

5.3 Importance of international coordination

5.4. Intersection (articulation) with other social movements

Responses to Questionnaire on movements - English only

Subverta Brazil, Britain, Philippines, Denmark, Pakistan, Brazil Comuna, Brazil MES, Greece, Germany, Turkey

Organization: SUBVERTA Country: Brazil

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? No, in Brazil, we don’t have a national coalition and We have no agreement with other feminist organizations like the World March of Women to call for a feminist strike.

Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? The unions participate, but in a very minority way. This year saw a major effort, involving the unions and labor centrals, in which many unions approved a standstill on 8 March. But we still have a long way to go before the unions incorporate the feminist agenda as central to the working class.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? The demands of March 8th of that year were Marielle Franco's justice, against the withdrawal of rights, against pension reform, legalization of abortion, for the lives of women. In several states they had a manifesto, but we could not produce a national manifesto. March 8th in Brazil is still very fragmented.

Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) The 8M this year, had an important role, because it was the first major act against the Bolsonaro government. We had acts in 14 of the 26 states. They were important and big things, but we still have a very big challenge to get women on the streets.

Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? This union did not occur in all Brazilian states.

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? It was sought nationally to involve the black women's movement, such as the black women's forum, the articulation of black women and the unified black movement. One of his demands is the end of the genocide of black youth. In some states, black women opened the 8M Act. More black women perform their own act every July: the march of black women to celebrate the Latin American and Caribbean day of the black woman.

To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? The indigenous women's movement is still very invisible within the feminist movement, especially in the southeastern region of the country. The indigenous people have an important encounter that is the free land encampment that occurs every year.

To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership?

To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands?

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? The Palestinian solidarity movement is not much vindicated in the feminist movement.

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? It did not have a collective balance of 8M in many states of Brazil. the movement falls apart as soon as the act is finished.

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? The 8M of 2020 has not yet begun to be organized.

To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? We at Subverta, always help in the construction of 8M.

In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements?

Organization Socialist Resistance Country Britain Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? There has not been a national coalition of feminist organisations in Britain for many decades. 8M in general tends to be very fragmented – in many parts of country an indoor meeting organised by institutions rather than militant marches or even rallies. The only current we were aware of that responded to the women’s strike call in 2017 in Britain were the Wages for Housework current – Selma James et all and the various organisations they are involved in, which tend to be almost exclusively based in London A new coalition called Women’s Strike was founded we think in 2017 – certainly in advance 8m2018 of which doesn’t seem to involve Wages for Housework people or groups. https://womenstrike.org.uk/. For 2019 they were able to get some modest trade union support – though we don’t know what level of participation this involved.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? Not as far as we can tell – its more a critique than a series of demands

Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) Some growth but still very small in comparison with southern Europe or Latin America.

Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? Not relevant in Britain

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? There are no specifically black womens’ organisations involved at this point but there are a number of specifically migrant women’s groups (Polish, Chinese, Brazilian Kurdish for example) and some of the highest profile women writing and speaking for the group are not British – and may well have links with places eg Italy where the movement is stronger. Website talks about the specific contribution of black feminism and they have been significantly involved in anti-racist and anti-fascist actions

To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? Not relevant in Britain

To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? There is one trans womens’ organisation involved and from the beginning it has been involved in trans inclusive actions and taking up demands of trans women eg around health cuts and is also very pro-sex worker which is often an overlap

To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? Not relevant in Britain To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? No trace of it on their site

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? Don’t know- women’s strike website quiet on this

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? Don’t know- women’s strike website quiet on this

To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? Because of the small and fragmented nature of the coalition its difficult. They seem to have 3 bases – London, Bristol and Leeds – we have no women comrades in the latter two. They in majority young women with an anarcho-libertarian approach. We did try and take the issue up in our trade unions but we should have a strategy of doing more work in the Labour Party and trade unions towards 2020 as well as trying to link up with them over more ongoing stuff eg a feminist protest when Boris Johnson, who was clearly involved in domestic violence very recently, is elected leader of the Tory Party. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements? Answers already given I think - Women's Strike definitely refers to the development of an international movement.

Country Philippines

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? In the Philippines, 8M 2019 mobilizations were not as big like in other countries. Due to political fragmentation, there was never been a coordinated, unified call for Feminist Strike. So, mobilizing organizations or/and coalitions, which are Manila-centered, have their own calls and respective activities in different places. Some of these women’s movements in Manila are our friends but they did not invite us for joint planning or even just to inform us of their plans for their focus is just at the main political center (Manila). For our group, we have an open campaign organization where all women members are in. However, under Martial Law, the Women Leadership of this campaign machinery has difficulty in mobilizing women in the streets. Especially that in 2018, we experienced arrest and harassment of our group of young activities in one of the cities we operate. Early this year, the military under the order of the president released in the media the lists of some progressive and militant groups tag as terrorists. Some of these groups are our allies. The anti-insurgency campaign of the President is intensively implemented in Mindanao so many of our women comrades are hesitant to mobilize. The Women Commission also saw the need to take extra precautionary measures this time. So instead of going into the streets, we launched coordinated indoor educational discussions where women members in Bangsamoro, IPs and Migrants Communities participated and this took place in several regions.

Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? In the Manila-centered mobilizations, trade unions were not visible at all. Only all-women’s groups.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? Common demands are against the anti-women attacks of the misogynist president denouncing policies and laws oppressive to women and women’s oppressed condition including the increasing poverty, joblessness, ending of contractualisation policy that subjected women in food chains, supermarkets, big malls and everywhere. All kinds of attacks against women under this capitalist system. However, because it is fragmented, each group had each own sort of manifesto or open statement.

Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it takeplace? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) NO, those were not so big. And it is limited in Manila and few cities in the Visayas and southern Mindanao. In Davao City, the place where President Duterte lives – there was no mobilization or any kind of activity conducted by progressive groups.

Did it bring together rural and urban organizations?

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition?

To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership?

As shared earlier, our Indigenous women comrades also ensured that Indigenous women in their communities participate in the 8M 2019 activities. They themselves have their own discussion session. Their issues being push include the regulation of polygamy and arranged marriages, the abolition of forced marriages in the context of rape; violence against women, against mining and the campaign for the protection of their ancestral land now being under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). They campaign also for their SULAGAD – a traditional way of farming or methods of production of safe food. In the tribal structure, it is now part of the demands of our women IP comrades the creation of an all-women special committee for settlement of women’s complaints and grievances. ` To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? In our country, the issue of trans women in the women’s movement is not yet very much discussed. Women’s movements and groups remain to be composed of all women – whether lesbians or straight. There are few small trans woman groups (mostly Manila-based). Some of them are just support groups to the LGBT movement. However, others have started to articulate their own- demands trans people’s health, human rights, security & empowerment. There are known transwoman personalities and politician, but remain least represented in political/public sphere). Demands: gender recognition law aside to the anti-discrimination law

To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? In our context, we have many women members in the peasantry or the women farmers. We also have all-women farmers organizations that are very much active in women issues, in the food sovereignty campaign – in the struggle for land rights, safe food production, and struggle for environmental protection. These struggles are very close to the heart of our women members in the peasant struggle.

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? We still integrate Solidarity for Palestine in our on going peace campaign of which women azre very active. However, in the 8M 2019, it was unfortunately not integrated.

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? We conducted evaluations of 8M 2019 in different respective areas. But as to the over-all country-level balance sheet, this is not possible.

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? It has been initially proposed in our women commission that in 8M 2020 even under the context of extended martial law, we will initiate a new concept of street, open space mobilization that is innovative where we can still display our slogans and calls. It will be synchronized in different regions and cities in Mindanao and we will try to link up with the group of the World March of Women in the Philippines, even if they are confined only in Manila. This is a project of the women commission of the party, hence, we expect full support of all members. We will ask the national leadership to release a MEMO to the party organization for everyone to take active participation – even asking that men comrades can play an auxiliary support. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements? This is quite difficult to comment as of now given our context when there is Martial Law in Mindanao and with this misogynist and fascist president.

Organisation: SAP (Socialist Workers’ Politics) Danish section of the IVth Country: Denmark

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? No Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? Some of the more left wing of the traditional trade unions and the Students’ union were in on the call for a demonstration. What were the demands of the mobilisation? Was there a manifesto? There were no clear or radical demands. The biggest demonstration in the capital city was very much a “bring your own slogan” demonstration and was also called by the social democratic party. Their presence was protested against by left wing radical militants who problematised their extremely racist policies throughout the last few years especially. Was the mobilisation stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was is representative? Bigger? How much?) There were more people on the streets in Copenhagen (the official number is 7000) than last year, but last year had a particularly weak demonstration. There were mobilisations in at least three cities, but only one bigger one in Copenhagen. Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? No. To what extent are black women’s organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? Not really to any extent. To what extent are indigenous women’s organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the leadership of the coalition? Not really to any extend. To what extent are trans women’s organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the leadership of the coalition? Not really to any extend. There was a racialised, trans speaker at the demonstration in Copenhagen. To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they only send a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands?

Not really to any extent.

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? There was no explicit declaration of solidarity. To what extent has there been any collective balance sheet of 8M 2019 None. To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will he feminist strike have a central place in the call? There has been an open call for activists by the same independent initiative that planned 8M 2019, but to no extend in neither the Socialist Youth Front nor the Red-Green Alliance. To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? Neither has played any major role in the last two years, but the demonstrations has been arranged by members from both organisations under an independent initiative. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to the discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links? (and with which other countries/organisations?) How does it relate to traditional working class organisations? To other social movements? There has been a lasting increase in feminist consciousness and especially the impact of the MeToo movement was felt around Denmark, however this momentum has unfortunately not been taken up by the left or any others and turned into real political movement with political demands - yet. Thus, individualistic identity politics with an extreme focus on personal responsibility of individual ‘allies’ instead of attacking the larger social and economical structures and with little to no focus on the actual emancipation coming from groups of the oppressed themselves, have come to take up too much space, because it is very visible online and there is no real movement presence anywhere else. This is also true in some parts for the lgbtqi-movement and the antiracist “movement”. All of this has been met with a backlash from the extreme right, extreme center and economist and populist parts of the left (including people within the Red-Green Alliance) talking about “political correctness”, “division of the left”etc, and to some extent also a transphobic backlash, which luckily has only been a minor issue in feminist circles.

There has been some public discussion of a new feminist wave, but it has gone in the opposite direction of the places where a feminist movement has otherwise been strong. In Denmark talk has mostly been of a so called “fourth wave” of liberal, individual, mostly internet based feminism, and the idea was mostly put forth by a few women made famous by the internet. The talk about a new feminist wave has mostly died out by now.

There have been some visible changes in the issues that are at the forefront of feminist discussions - most noticeably the movement to criminalise the purchase of sex has died out in the later years, and there has been more emphasis on concepts like intersectionality and media representation. The idea that we have already reached gender equality in Scandinavia is still prevalent in the general public.

In these newer feminist circles (mostly made up of young people), there does not seem to be any big idea of being part of an international (anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial) movement, and generally the horizon seems to be limited to inside the national borders. Perhaps during the height of #MeToo there was a feeling of international cohesion, but not much notice has been paid to the rest of the global feminist movement. And no link to traditional working class organisations or other social movements seems to exist in Denmark.

Organization: Jammu Kashmir Awami Workers Party

Country: Pakistan

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? Thousands of women from a cross-section of society rallied in cities across Pakistan as part of the "Aurat March" (women's march) to mark the International Women's Day 2019. This was a call from a national coalition of different feminist, social and political women activists around the country. Women from Kashmir also participated in the March.

The "aurat march" was first launched in the southern port city of Karachi last year when a group of women decided to expand the feminist movement beyond the upper-class of the society.

Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? There were no trade unions involved in this mobalisation as organisations. But few women leaders from trade unions participated in individual capacity. Few labour organisations from civil society also participated in the Aurat March and mobilised informal sector women workers.

Lady Health Workers Association (LHWA) with a membership of about 90,000 women from across the country was one of the first to have endorsed the initiative.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? It was the march for the person, who was victimized by patriarchy. It was march for all the women to be treated as equal as men. Aurat march was mobilized to unite women across Pakistan to demand their social and economic rights and demand an end to gender violence and discrimination. It was about women taking charge of their own destiny and paving the way for their daughters. Demands of mobilization were economic justice, equal labour, safety at workplace, acknowledgement of work in the home, equality at work, equality at public places, sexual harassment and access to equal justice as men. Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) Comparatively Aurat March to mark International women Day in 2019 was stronger than ever. Upper-class women can speak for some but this year the intent was for every woman to speak for herself and women can speak more if they are given support. Large number of women participated in Aurat March representing cross- sections of society. It was the first time that this march opened the discussion on national level and also faced criticism by religious section due to their bold slogans like warm your own food, find your own socks, their bodies, their sexuality. Women asked for rights within the home. In 2018, nearly 5,000 women, children and men took part in the women's march in Karachi. But this year, the march was expanded to other cities such as Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Quetta, Peshawar and Faisalabad, as people from the younger generation joined the movement for gender justice. This time younger feminist movement was enabled by the older feminist movement of the 1980s, but this has a different energy, a different face. The issues facing women today are inequality in public spaces, discrimination at work, no safety measures at workplace, and most importantly, no infrastructure support, while the previous generation fought for political rights. The older generation laid the foundation stones for the new feminist movement. Illustrators created the artworks for the march, and many other illustrators came together to make their own versions of the "self-expression" of women. The posters raised in Aurat March meant to show Pakistani women as strong, opinionated, loud and can reflect the bold stand." Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? Not much actually, there were very few rural women mobilised by some NGOs. Mostly the women were form urban areas.

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? Not relevant

To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? Not from indigenous but women from slums were part of this march. They are being displaced by the Government and fighting for their ownership rights to be legalized.

To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? This was first time when some of the trans women also participated openly in Aurat March in cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and they raised slogans for their rights. There are no trans women in the leadership. The leadership is mostly in hands of feminist movement.

To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? Very few peasant women participated in the march. Peasant women are not very well organised in Pakistan and there are not very strong links between feminist women leadership and peasant women.

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? There is a sense of solidarity between feminist movement and demands for Palestine struggle but during the march there was no demand or slogans raised for Palestine.

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? It is no secret that feminism is often co-opted by many to be viewed as a Western construct which marginalises non-Western identities. Western hegemony over feminist movements then feeds into repulsion towards feminism that is found in countries such as Pakistan.

We have grassroot feminist efforts working on the question of gender, yet we still lack a vernacular that can be used to refer to issues of gender inequality. While our languages are extremely evocative in expressing the full range of human emotion, it is a shame that we still have to rely on words such as 'zyadti' (excess) or 'zina-bil-jabr' (adultery by force) or 'asmat-dari' (defloration) to refer to incidents such as rape. With the Aurat March, terms such as 'pidar shahi' (patriarchy) and 'aurat march' are being circulated and created. Slogans such as "ghar ka kaam, sab ka kaam" (domestic task for all), "khud khana garam karo (warm your own food)", find your own socks" and — "paratha rolls, not gender roles" give a local flavour to the ways we can talk about feminism and gender. Most importantly, women’s mobilisation in the form of the Aurat March banishes the belief that women are not conscious of their own oppression. The idea that women are complicit in maintaining the status quo that decrees them second-class status and are unwilling or unprepared to fight for their rights utterly ignores the protective features of internalised misogyny. Women across social media have come forward to share their stories under the hashtag #WhyIMarch to support the aurat march on International Women's Day. It was a huge success of the march that taboo topics like women’s rights to their own bodies, their sexuality, are being discussed for the first time. Because it’s OK to ask the government for the right to education but you can’t say you are happily divorced because the breakdown of a marriage is a shameful thing, a woman’s failure.

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? There is lot of pressure on the organisers of Aurat March (women’s march) after the event held in 2019. For 2020, there will be need of lot more mobilisation and effort to organise the march. Religious section criticized a lot, even some organizers of march got harassed and threats.

To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? As we are initial stage of building our organization (Jammu Kashmir Awami Workers Party) but have support at all level to empower women. We believe that just society is based on gender equality. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements? Yes there is no doubt that in some countries we can see qualitative growth and change in women’s movement. While the challenges for women are increasing, facing more oppression but on other side, women are ready to resist and becoming part of feminist movement. They have different issues to fight as compare to past struggles but there is still question on access to their fundamental rights. To some extent this new movement pose itself as part of global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative. They have very few links with international organizations.

Organization COMUNA - Brazilian Section of the IV International. PSOL - Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (Socialism and Freedom Party) Brazil'

1. Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? The Feminist Strike was not called in Brazil in 2019, as was not in Argentina. There is no unitary national coalition. Brazil has important characteristics, such as its continental dimension, as well as a strong political culture of regionality, which leads to a greater dispersion of feminists, on the one hand, and greater plurality and representativeness - local and regional - of women's organizations, on the other. A sample of this is the São Paulo convocation, which alone was signed by more than 1 hundred organizations. But, it is important to note that the call has not been made only by women's organizations, mixed movements have also been added. The election of Bolsonaro represents a war against women, and also against the poor, black people and LGBTIQ +. This 8M can be considered as the most unified in many years, since it was possible to carry out 1 unified action in all Brazilian capitals. Some organizations that called the 8M at the national level: AMB (Articulation of Brazilian Women); CDD (Catholics for the Right to Decide); Evangelicals for Gender Equality; Defemde (Feminist Network of Jurists); MMM (World March of Women); MMC (Movement of Peasant Women); PLPs (Popular Legal Promoters); UBM (Brazilian Union of Women); CMP (Central of Popular Movements); CPT (Pastoral Land Commission); CTB (Federation of the Workers of Brazil); CUT (Unified Federation of Workers); Intersindical; Popular Brazil Front; National Front against the criminalization of women and for the legalization of abortion; Front of Fearless People; MAB (Movement of the Affected by Dams); MNU (Unified Black Movement); MTST (Movement of the Homeless Workers); MST (Movement of Landless Rural Workers); MAM (Movement for Popular Sovereignty in Mining); MAB (Movement of Affected by Dams); APIB (Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil); PCB (Brazilian Communist Party); PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil); PT (Workers' Party); Psol (Socialism and Freedom Party). That is, political parties (left and progressive), unions, indigenous women, quilombolas and peasant; women of the country and the city; social and religious movements.

2. Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? Many unions, from different categories of workers participated - the (sexual) division of labor was not central. Some Trade Union Federations convened and participated in the mobilization on March 8. But, the participation of their militancy varied in each Brazilian State, with lesser or greater weight, although the Social Welfare Reform was one of the main demands of women and main agenda in the national scenario.

3. What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? As mentioned, Brazil has continental dimensions and important cultural differences, so each region established a dynamic, according to different force relations. In all the capitals, in addition to dozens of other cities in the country, almost weekly plenary sessions have been held since mid-January to prepare what was the first mobilization against the government of Jair Bolsonaro, it is necessary to highlight this point. We can list other unitary guidelines: Justice for Marielle, against the Social Welfare Reform and the end of violence against women. We emphasize the role of black women in the struggle for jobs, better wages, the fight against incarceration (of young women, their children and their families), against the criminalization of poverty; the struggle for Legalization of Abortion; the defence of the rights of migrant women - no woman is illegal; against the environmental crimes of Vale do Rio Doce, in Brumadinho and Mariana ("feminist procession"); the resistance of people of “terreiros” (meeting place of the religions of African origins); and presence of indigenous women; and LGBTIQ + demands. In Brazil, March was one of many struggles: 8M, 14M (Justice for Marielle, 1 year of the execution of Marielle and Anderson), 22M (against the Social Welfare Reform), 27M (suspension of indigenous health system, against FUNAI and INCRA extinction).

4. Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) The mobilizations of 8M in Brazil must be understood in their decentralized dimensions. They occurred in all capitals and many cities of different sizes across the country (even in small cities motivated by # EleNão!). More than a hundred thousand women throughout Brazil have been occupying the streets. Some estimates: in São Paulo: 50 thousand; in Rio de Janeiro: 50 thousand; in Recife: 15 thousand; in Belo Horizonte: 30 thousand.

5. Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? Yes

6. To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? Many black women's organizations have emerged in Brazil in recent years. In particular, small groups of young women. Many young black feminists have found in cultural movements an important space for denouncing their reality. Issues such as the right to the body, against the criminalization of poverty, labor rights and better salaries, quotas in universities, the right to religion and religiosity of African origins, and free expression of their ancestral culture are some of the demands. It is also important to highlight the participation of the Black Women March, a large and national black women's organization that has exists since 2015.

7. To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? The presence of indigenous women in women's movements has had greater visibility, albeit less than could be expected the Brazilian reality. The attacks of Bolsonaro government have contributed to indigenous women taking up public space. Their demands are linked to the defense of land and territory, common goods and well-being. In August 2019, the 1st National Meeting of Indigenous Women will take place with the theme "Territory: our body, our spirit", whose objective is to give visibility to the actions of indigenous women, discussing their realities, recognizing and strengthening their protagonism and capacities in the defense and guarantee of human rights, especially care for the Mother Earth, the territory, the body and the spirit. It is estimated that 2,000 women will participate, the march will coincide with the Marcha das Margaridas (100,000 rural, forest and water women workers). 8. To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? Bolsonaro's attacks also target LGBTIQ +, there is an increase in police and state violence fueled by the hate speech of the president and his supporters. Some unity demands in the movement: to fight against the "gender ideology" and against setbacks in rights. It is important to highlight, besides the activism of trans women, the presence of Amparar (Association of Friends and Relatives of Prisoners) in the fight for the rights of their children, women and trans incarcerated. This entity has had joint initiatives with the MNU (Unified Black Movement), Uneafro and the Network for Resistance and Protection against Genocide. And, the Mothers for Diversity movement against homo-trans-lesbo and biphobia. In Brazil, every 48 hours a trans person is murdered. It is the country that kills most transvestites and trans in the world. Of the total, 67% of victims of violence are young, up to 29 years old. While the average life expectancy of the Brazilian population is 75 years, a transvestite or trans woman lives only 35 years, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). These data were widely reported by trans women. In defence of life, trans visibility was also on the agenda. There has been a movement on the part of trans women in recent years for their participation in feminism against patriarchal violence and the defence of trans identity. Part of it considers that the Maria da Penha Law represents an advance in the rights of women, and that it should be extended to transvestite and transsexual women. The participation of trans women towards 8M is different in each region or locality in Brazil. In general, they are still not very present.

9. To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? The Movement of Peasant Women was very present in the mobilizations of 8M and responsible for the most radical direct actions in Brazil. In Rio Grande do Norte, rural workers distributed 15 tons of food produced in state settlements, and in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul) panels were organized on feminicide, violence against women and reproductive rights. Two hundred militants from the Landless Workers Movement (MST) and the Movement for Popular Sovereignty in Mining (MAM) occupied a unit of the Australian mining company in Bahia to protest against the predatory model of nickel exploitation and the risks of contamination of the rivers by dams of the company. In Belo Horizonte, one of the main slogans was: “Profit is not worth living. Our life is worth more” to denounce the environmental crime of Vale do Rio Doce and violence against women. They defend agroecology, the work of women and social security rights, against agribusiness, against pension reform that changes the criteria for rural and riverine workers as special insured. In addition, they denounced Bolsonaro's initiatives to disconnect the rural unions and the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform. In August, the Marcha das Margaridas will be held, coordinated by the National Confederation of Farm Workers and Family Farmers (CONTAG) - more than 4,000 affiliated unions - in partnership with the feminist and women workers' movements, trade union federations and international organizations.

10. To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? In Brazil, the WMW presented solidarity with the Palestinians as one of the demands. They animate the BDS campaign (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).

11. To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? Some 8M regional organizations conducted balance of the protests and actions. In some localities it remained as a permanent movement, as in Belo Horizonte. Some initiatives have continued, exclusively in social networks, but in a very diffuse way - without meetings or coordinated actions of streets.

12. To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? In Brazil, the strike has not been central to the 8M and is not being accumulated for its convocation in 2020. It is possible that the Brazilian situation leads us to a strike, although we have to reflect more on its sense and meaning. 13. To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? The women of COMUNA take part of commissions of women in each community in which we are organized. The women of the PSOL have a relevant presence in the Brazilian capitals. We all participate as women of PSOL in the organization of 8M, as well as represent the women's and feminist movements in which we integrate. 14. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements?

The women of COMUNA have observed the quantitative and qualitative growth of women's movements. We have a historical trajectory in the women's and feminist movements, in the parties and in the political organizations in which we participate, even though we have different experiences corresponding to our different militant generations. The women of COMUNA are aware that the World March of Women was a milestone in the Brazilian feminist movement when it took on the fight against poverty (equal work, equal pay) and against sexist violence. It related the daily struggle of women to the "macro-economy-politics", that is, constructed a perspective of popular and diverse feminism. We identified in the WMW the connection between eco-socialism and eco-feminism, the dialogue with the demands of rural and urban women, and feminist internationalism. Their insertion of these debates into the feminist agenda was fundamental to the rapprochement with the peasant women and of these with the feminist agendas. We evaluated that the WMW without having the hegemony in the feminist movement was able to elevate the consciences of many women, from different sectors, to think-to make another world, with new social relations, free of patriarchy. We believe that it was a success that, at a given moment, in different countries, companions of the IV, different organizations and political parties, had opted for this alternative. There are many contradictions in each of our experiences - female quarters with the WMW - in Brazil, the alignment of part of the direction of this organization to the developmentist (and liberal social) governments of the PT made its construction impossible for a considerable part of COMUNA.

But what do we learn from them?

What challenges remain and what new challenges have arisen?

We consider that one of the challenges lies in building strategies to articulate revolutionary marxism and eco-feminism with the growing movement of women. We understand that there is a rise of the movement (s) of women and feminist (s), but not necessarily the inauguration of a new wave of feminism. We have identified a new and younger generation of women with a lot of reference in feminism, articulating the struggles of women LBTs (rights over bodies and the debate about families), peripheral black women, indigenous women and quilombolas. We also understand that there is a combination of new forms of struggles, including digital ones, with different feminist generations. In order to be characterized as a new wave (what wave?). We would have to consider the duration of women's struggles and the overcoming of the previous guidelines. We have a tendency to consider as a "new" milestone, the insertion of the demands of women peasants (rural workers, quilombolas, riverine, fisherwomen) articulating human emancipation, ecology and liberation of women from patriarchal oppression.

Organization: MES Country: Brazil

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? No strike was called. There was a call organized through Facebook events, mainly. Such events arise from the articulation of various feminist organizations in assemblies and meetings in each department/state. There is a certain tradition of 8M preparatory meetings in Brazil and unions, parties, social movements, feminist movements and independent women participate in them.

Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? The main trade union centers of the broad left field participate. This time, the 8M had as its center the fight against the Pension Reform - an issue on the agenda of the National Congress. For this reason, the unions had significant columns of women.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? There was a manifesto for each event/call in the states. The central focus was on the fight against the Pension Reform and feminicide. To a lesser extent, the theme of Lula Livre ("Free Lula") arose, when the sectors of the PT managed to hegemonize some meetings. Our women, through their movements, acted to prevent this theme of Lula's freedom from becoming the center of the 2019 mobilization, despite it being quite fair. This position found a lot of support among independent women concerned about giving more voice to feminist demands in the country.

Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) It was not the largest mobilization of the last few years, but it was quite large. With emphasis on the number of people gathered in the main capitals: São Paulo had almost 100 thousand, Rio de Janeiro more than 50 thousand, in the national capital (Brasília) about 20 thousand.

Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? Mostly urban. However, on August 13, 2019 the March of Daisies will take place, a traditional mobilization of peasant women in Brazil. This year's march tends to be quite large as well.

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? There are many black women's organizations that participate in the mobilization of 8M. As specific organizations they are not the majority, but the protagonism of black women in the different feminist organizations in Brazil has been growing.

To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? Mainly in the northern states of the country, indigenous women participate intensively. In the rest of the country they do not have the same protagonism. During the National Indigenous Camp in April 2019, which meets annually in the federal capital, there was an enormous assembly of indigenous women, a fact that reveals the increased participation of indigenous women in the Brazilian feminist movement. To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? To a much lesser extent, but there are trans women ahead of some movements.

To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? Peasant women participate less in the 8M calendar because they have a specific agenda in the year that is the March of the Daisies, which usually gathers tens of thousands of peasant women in the federal capital.

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? It is only a principle of some left-wing parties, but it was not included in the list of claims in the context of the 8M of 2019.

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? Within the organizations that built the mobilizations and through their press outlets. Among the different movements, there was none.

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? It hasn't started yet, but it's an established calendar in Brazil.

To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? Every year, the social movement of women that we promote, Juntas, is a fundamental part of the construction of this calendar. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements? In recent years, a significant growth in the struggle of women has been observed in several countries, which has taken to the streets, homes, workplaces and studies, the media and the spaces of power, corroborating the hypothesis that we live a new wave of the feminist movement, which has returned to being a vital and relevant political force in the world. Since 2011, a series of episodes have been reinforcing this thesis and showing both a greater adherence to feminist ideas and a feminization of protests and social mobilizations: the Arab Spring (2010 to 2012), the Indignados of Spain (2011), the Occupy Wall Street (2011), the June mobilizations in Brazil (2013), among others.

Since then, major movements with a specific gender perspective have had an international projection, starting with the Slut Walk in Canada in 2011 and the massive mobilizations in India in 2012 against the collective rape of a young woman on a bus. Massive protests against the culture of rape and violence against women, and for the right to body and sexuality, have been repeated in many countries - often using social networks as a tool for their dissemination.

In Latin America, in 2015, we had the Ni Una Menos movement, strengthening the fight against feminicide, as well as the fight to legalize abortion, which peaked in Argentina in 2018. Preceded by the example of Polish women, who declared a strike to protest against a bill banning abortion in the country, the struggle of Argentines was undoubtedly a turning-point in discussions and actions around this agenda throughout the world. In a country with a strong Catholic tradition (where even the current pope comes from), women have achieved, using their green handkerchiefs, the unlikely approval in the Chamber of Deputies of a bill to legalize abortion. Although it was not approved by the Senate, the mobilization of Argentine women had a profound impact on public opinion on the issue, influencing the world feminist movement. In the United States, in 2016, the election of Donald Trump, known for his numerous misogynistic and racist statements, was the trigger for the call for the Women's March, a movement that brought together more than one million women in Washington in the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2017, as well as in numerous other cities in the US and even in other countries. The U.S. elections two years later reflected this new rise, through the conquest of seats in the legislature by many democratic socialist women, especially young, Latino, and black women, like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. This accumulated indignation erupted in the acts of March 8, 2018, when an International Women's Strike was called with the slogan "If our lives do not matter, produce without us". This year, once again, millions of women made the protests of March 8 overflow: Spain, Chile and even the Philippines had a crowd of women on the streets on the International Women's Day. In addition, they also have been prominent as a political vanguard in a new stage of the African Arab revolutions, which are currently affecting Algeria and Sudan. Despite the differences with Egypt and Tunisia, and even between them, these two countries faced decades of autocratic regimes, which led to great popular dissatisfaction, resulting in the emergence of a strong mobilization against the "system" - the slogan of the streets. For these women, however, it is not enough to gain partial participation: faced with the opportunity to achieve more political participation, they began to claim the consolidation of their rights. In Algeria, as well as failing to recognise the facade elections of the old regime, women have included in their demands the fight against the laws that subjugate them to men. In Sudan, they demand the fall of the military government, but also the recognition of their leadership role - founded on a long tradition of women of the popular classes - in the revolt that began with the tripling of the price of bread in April of this year, in the midst of a serious economic crisis. In Brazil, the Feminist Spring of 2015 was a milestone for the affirmation of the new stage of feminism in the country, with the proposal of the then House President, Eduardo Cunha, to restrict access to emergency contraceptives as its starting point. It was the struggle of brazilian women for sexual and reproductive rights, outside the more traditional feminist organizations linked to the PT government, the most forceful voice against the hated and powerful political articulator of the 2015 impeachment, which today is imprisoned with the support of much of the population. Still in 2015, Brasília was the stage for the largest March of Black Women in the history of the country, also reinforcing the beginning of this new wave of feminist mobilizations around here. Since then, adolescent girls (12, 13 or older) have had feminism as their own motto, present in their daily lives. According to a survey conducted by DataFolha, among those known as millenials, 65% identify themselves as feminists. The latest processes of women's struggle in Brazil, however, demonstrate that it is not only young women who have taken for themselves the construction of feminism, but that there is a diversity of profiles that believe in women's strength as a way to achieve better living conditions. The search for equality between genders, the rejection of the condition of subjugation of women and various subjects of national and local politics are issues that have become a concern to a much larger number of women. This feminist wave, therefore, has reached all spheres of everyday life and, fortunately, has also sown fruit in the homes of power, since women's discontent with the political caste that governs our country is flagrant.During the elections in 2018, hundreds of thousands of women led a gigantic demonstration against Bolsonaro, in the #NotHim mobilization. At that time, they already demonstrated that the reactionary policy evidenced in the public appearances and the government program of candidate would be even more harmful to women. Fortunately, despite Bolsonaro's election, the number of women elected to the Legislative Houses has more than doubled compared to the previous legislature. In such a worrying scenario, it is extraordinary that the struggle of women has been strengthened: PSOL, for example, has elected a parity deputies bench, which now includes Sâmia Bomfim (SP), Luiza Erundina (SP), Fernanda Melchionna (RS), Talíria Petrone (RJ) and Áurea Carolina (MG). In the states, many women also occupied the Legislative Chambers, especially Luciana Genro (RS) and Mônica Seixas of Bancada Ativista (SP), besides many others, such as the three black women elected to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro - Renata Souza, Mônica Francisco and Dani Monteiro, all collaborators of Marielle Franco's mandate - and also Erika Malunguinho, the first trans representative in São Paulo. In light of this, we believe that the possibility of defeating the extreme right necessarily involves strengthening the struggle of women, something that has been expressed not only in Brazil, but throughout the world. In this sense, we agree with the anthropologist Rosana Pinheiro-Machado's statement that "the extreme right won, but so did the feminists,", because reactionism has risen to power, but feminism has also been strengthened. This, however, does not mean that we can underestimate the strength of our adversary, but that the construction of a broad democratic resistance will only be possible if we can identify and catalyze the enormous transformative energy already gathered by the struggle of women so far.

Organisation OKDE TPT Country: Greece

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? Yes it did. The call was issued by women’s organisations and some unions mainly in the public sector under the pressure of leftists unionists. But there was no actual involvement of unions. There is no national coalition, but there are either political or informal networks between activists nationwide. The movement is at the same time decentralised and dependant on the various left / anarchist coalitions and networks.

Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? There was a call for an afternoon warning strike and for participation in the evening demo, but there was no real engagement and discussion.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? There were separate calls in different cities. In Athens the call focused on a variety of topics, from everyday sexism to labour rights, welfare and the effects of austerity. In recent years, one of the main axes for mobilisation in Greece has been gender violence, so this was also prominent.

Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) Every year it has been growing. There were calls in at least 3 big cities. The new element is that it now attracts the left, which was previously treating feminist claims as secondary and unimportant. Unfortunately, feminists seem unable to overcome the fragmentation and the sense of defeat that is widespread in the movement or to reach broader audiences. The limits are becoming clear.

Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? This is not relevant in Greece.

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? In Greece the question has been how to involve migrants, who are often undocumented and therefore hard to involve, and the refugees. There are some migrant women associations that are very active and have been part of feminist mobilisations for some time now, but due to the vulnerability of this population, further involvement is hard to achieve.

To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? It’s not relevant in Greece. To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? There is not really a coalition leadership and all meetings are open and public. The largest union of trans women in Greece has been very active and known within feminist networks for some time now. But they generally follow their own path in activism. This year many smaller lgbt, gender, queer etc. groups participated in the mobilisations. Their involvement increased significantly after the brutal murder of a well-known gay activist last September in downtown Athens. To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? This is not relevant in Greece.

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? It was not part of the demands, but in general the feminist movement has supported solidarity calls to Palestine.

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? In Athens there was a proclamation afterwards that the demonstration was successful. There were also calls for the 1st May and for the Pride in June.

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? Considering the state of the Greek left and movements as well as the fact that there are general elections and the right wing will most probably win, this is too far in the future to tell. But we are positive.

To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? There have always been comrades actively involved, but the organisation in general underestimates the topic, so the work is carried out individually.

In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements? In Greece, a country with a weak feminist tradition and a huge generation gap, nation-wide feminist groups and networks have been gradually emerging in recent years. Although they seem to lack the strength and media attention that feminist movements have gained elsewhere, their appearance comes at a period of a generalized sense of defeat and regrouping among the Left- including strong sectarian tendencies. The main focus of the new feminist movement in Greece has been, similarly to many of its counterparts across the globe, the pressing issue of gender violence. Nevertheless, the multiple forms of gender violence are linked not only to structural oppression in abstract, but also to the specific forms this takes under the antidemocratic project of austerity and the implications of the crisis. Due to the strong left tradition, feminism in Greece has developed in relation to the political left and therefore it has always identified the relations between class, gender and other forms of oppression and it always tried to articulate demands from the perspective of the oppressed / exploited majority. Antiracism, solidarity to lgbt struggles and working-class struggles have been part of the agenda of Greek feminism and still are. More recent developments include the involvement of younger generations of women. They bring along new influences, discussions and language, but these are often learned through the Anglophone internet and academic feminism. Also, younger women are largely suspicious of the left, its organisations and its (usually male leaders), as they have been politicised in a conjuncture in which the left was in Government, implementing the austerity. On the one hand this invokes healthy reflexes, but on the other hand it echoes the disconnection from a long tradition of activism and radicalisation but with no new replacement. So far this (re)produces splits and fragmentation within the feminists, who don’t have the experience or the tools to handle different opinions and disagreements.

Organisation Internationale Sozialistische Organisation (ISO) Country Germany

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? There is a national coalition calling for the women’s strike and a nationwide mobilisation. Around the 8th of March regional massive demonstrations and imaginative actions took place.

Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? There was occasional support from trade unionists, mainly from Ver.di, but no organizational support. Trade union organizations did not call for a women's strike, but they welcomed the mobilisations of women. Women’s strike was considered a political strike, which is not allowed in Germany.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? There was a central call which also included long list of claims. More here: https://umsganze.org/feminsm-classwar-frauenstreik/ and here: https://frauenstreik.org/

Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) Yes, there were mobilisations is 80 cities across the country.

Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? This has not been achieved yet.

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition? There was a commitment to anti-racism, but non-white women did not have a leading role. This is also because there are only a few non-white women in Germany who are somehow politically active or organized.

To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? This is not important in Germany To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? Trans-women were involved and brought along their particular issues.

To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? This is not important in Germany.

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? The topic was not present.

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? The mobilization met the expectations and the idea of the women's strike is now better known than before.

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? There will most probably be a coalition call again. The first meeting will be in September in Essen.

To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? Due to the so far low involvement of the organisation in feminist struggles, only few comrades are involved and individually. We hope that the seminar in Amsterdam will assist in engaging the organisation more actively from now on. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements? As in many other countries, an increased involvement is observed also in Germany, which includes a lot of younger women. The topics range from anti-sexism to the gender pay-gap, the inequality in employment and the distribution of care work. But it is still early to tell whether this tendency will continue.

Organization: Sosyalist Demokrasi İçin Yeniyol (New Course for Socialist Democracy)

Country: Turkey

Did the mobilization for 8M 2019 call for a Feminist Strike? Who issued this call? Is there a national coalition? No. But there were demonstrations in several cities.

Were any trade unions involved? To what extent? Did they send only a few representatives, or did they actually mobilize their members? Few of the leftist trade unions sent representatives. Historically trade unions in Turkey have been quite male dominated and their relationship with the women’s movement have been distant.

What were the demands of the mobilization? Was there a manifesto? End to violence against women and children, end to dictatorship, peace, recognition of LGBTI+ rights, end to conservative gender politics and oppression on women

Was the mobilization stronger than last year? In how many places (cities, regions) did it take place? (Was it representative? Bigger? How much?) It is not possible to compare with the last year as police intervened and did not let the women to hold track of the movement. Yet, in general, it is safe to say that more women participated, posted shares on social media and became aware of the mobilization.

Did it bring together rural and urban organizations? No. The mobilization included only urban organizations.

To what extent are black women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there black women in the leadership of the coalition?

There is no black women’s organization in Turkey. To what extent are indigenous women's organizations involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there indigenous women in the coalition leadership? There is no indigenous women's organization in Turkey To what extent are trans women's organizations or organizations that definitely include trans women involved? Which ones? What are their demands? To what extent are there trans women in the coalition leadership? There are few trans women’s organization in Turkey (Pembe Hayat, Trans Blok, Trans Danışma Derneği); trans women are also organized in other LGBTI+ organizations and they are the part of the women’s movement; but their representation is quite weak in women’s organizations and 8 March demonstrations, although it is getting stronger. Their main demands are end to violence and discrimination against trans women. Trans killings are also a big issue in Turkey, and it becomes a bigger issue since trans women are highly discriminated in the labour market and mostly do sex work which is one of the most unsecure jobs for women. Trans movement demands the recognition of hate crimes as political (there are some laws that are supposed to protect all women; however, the concept of hate crime is extremely unclear in the laws and most of the time implementation of these laws are in the hands of extremely conservative judges). Another important issue is the recognition of equality based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the Constitution.

To what extent do peasant organizations participate? Which ones? Did they send only a few people or did they really organize around the marches? What are their demands? They do not participate at all.

To what extent is solidarity with Palestine a demand of the movement? Solidarity with Palestine has never been a demand of women’s movement.

To what extent has there been a collective balance sheet of 8M 2019? Not a significant extent. There have been some meetings to evaluate the current situation and 8M mobilizations, however it does not seem possible to say that a comprehensive and collective balance sheet was put forward.

To what extent is the work for 8M 2020 being initiated? Will the Feminist Strike have a central place in the call? To a negligible extent. It seems like the Feminist Strike will be on the agenda of 8M 2020, but it’s not possible to assess to what extent it will have a central place from this day.

To what extent is your political organization involved in this work? Our Women Coordination actively participated in the preparations for 2018 and 2019 and also participated in the Feminist Strike to a larger extent. In some countries there has been a qualitative growth and change in the women’s movement in the last few years. Is this true for you? Has this led to a discussion that there is a new feminist wave? Is there a generation gap in the movement? A focus on different issues? A different language? Different methods of struggle and organization? Does this new movement pose itself as part of a global anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial alternative? Does it have international links (and with which other countries/organisations) How does it relate to traditional working-class organisations? To other social movements?

It is true for Turkey as well. Women have been in the forefront of almost every movement occurred in recent years. In addition, feminist movement have become significantly powerful movement compared to other movements, attracting women from all age groups (But mostly younger generation). Feminist issues have been mainstreamed among socialist organizations. But this does not led to a discussion on the new feminist wave. This is partly because women are still fighting for the very fundamental rights and freedoms like right to live and freedom of divorce. And most of the time we, our feminist principles, our very rights and discourses are under attack on a daily basis; this leads women’s movement to be on a state of emergency all the time, in a way that sucks the energy and will of the movement and traps it in a state of being non-stop alert. This does not only create less and less space for such discussions, but also (to some extent) set limitations for the movement in terms of being part of an international anticapitalist/antipatriarchal/anticolonial wave, restraining it in the local agenda arising from the attacks mentioned above. So, in terms of qualitative growth, developing new strategies, the general picture does not seem pleasant enough. It can be said that a very important part of the women’s movement has also an anti-capitalist character; and women, and mostly feminist women are in the forefront of ecologist movement as well. But as stated above, most of the traditional working-class organizations are highly male-dominated in Turkey; although gender mainstreaming has recently been a part of their agenda to some extent.