FEMINIST LETTER NO 13
To all feminists
I want to start with wishing you all a Happy New Creative and Inspiring Year! The year 2005 is going to be an exciting year for all those of us who hope for social justice!In our own life time! This time perspective has hitherto never applied in the context of the subordination of women and discrimination against them. Even the foremost trade union and political leaders in Sweden express themselves in terms of ”a few generations” when asked about how long it will take to achieve fair salaries! Imagine such an answer when questions are put on unemployment – it might take a few generations before it has sunk to acceptable levels!!!!.
Today’s feminists want to see a gender equal society in their life time! This is perfectly clear and is manifested in the tremendous response to my leaving the Left Party.
But I have also been asked the following question – If we wish to break down the patriarchal order, can’t we do that through the political parties that have feminist programmes?
This is how I look at it. When political parties, hitherto have handled feminist issues in collaboration with radical forces, many important results have been achieved. Women’s rights have been strengthened in many fields, for example through legislation. In Sweden we have come a long way in the following areas, the expansion of child care services, laws against wage discrimination, legislation against the customers in prostitution and more stringent laws against sexual offences and violence against women(with regard to repeated offences) and we have a relatively even representation of both sexes in the political sphere. Without the impressive work which has been done through the years by many indomitable and resolute women(besides the odd courageous man), both inside and outside of political parties, we would not be where we are now - a statement respectfully made!
Nevertheless we must dare to acknowledge that the basic power relationships in the patriarchal order are still there, unthreatened, and in certain areas stronger than ever before. Women are still systematically discriminated against (wage and - career-wise) in the labour market and in different sectors(3000 Skr a month is the wage difference between the care sector and the workshop). The commercial sexual exploitation of women is greater than ever, sex-typing is encouraged in the very young, men’s trade in women’s bodies is on the increase, as is men’s violence against women. Also in a global perspective. The vulnerability of women is growing in spite of increased knowledge, of the rising awareness over these issues and in spite of tighter legislation.
So something is basically wrong. At the heart of the ideology of contemporary political parties lies the awareness of class conflict. Economic power structures must be broken down, altered and reorientated. In collaboration with old and new popular movements, such as trade unions and other radical forces(environmental, women’s and peace movements etc) we can shape a majority capable of investing for the future in the long term and of organising production to meet human needs, prepared to plan for sustainable development and a fair distribution of assets.
During the past 100 years or so political, class based struggle has of course evolved, both in theory and in practice. At the same time the (historically) most fundamental conflict, that between women and men as groups, shaped by gender power structures, has been kept out of sight. It is not so difficult to understand why a political ideology that in a historical context has regarded “the women’s issue” as subordinate to the main conflict between labour and capital and has considered that class is more basic than gender, today has difficulty in accepting a feminist analysis with other than scepticism. Organisations within the working class movement that have been successful in furthering the position of women do not automatically free themselves of old ties to the patriarchal order – of this Sweden is a very good example. In spite of a (relatively) well established pre-school system, generous provisions for parental leave and near equal representation of the sexes in the political sphere, patriarchy still stands firm and unthreatened. Certain facts actually indicate that the way some of these reforms are designed, such as the rules for parental leave, actually reinforce patriarchal power positions!
The awareness that gender power structures surround us and influence us all as individuals from the cradle to the grave, that they are reflected in all institutions in society without exception, in all areas and at every level, leads naturally to the conclusion that politics too, through (historic) necessity, are still patriarchal. Both in form and content. From the bottom to the top. From the left and to the right. Women cannot find “free space” in the political parties, even in those with feminist programmes. Patriarchal structures still shape the political landscape.
The “soul” of the political parties is class conflict. Other dimensions become “ additions” or “deviations” and are considered equally subordinate. At the core of political action are policies inspired by class thinking, which can then be supplemented with feminist perspectives, environmental perspectives, ethnicity and HTB perspectives. This is how the final product of radical politics are shaped today. However, women are not a minority group, a perspective. We are half the population! The half that is denied democratic rights and that is systematically discriminated and against and exploited. All over the world. If we wish to change this state of affairs, that is to extend democracy and open up politics to the fundamental injustices that are constantly being reproduced by patriarchy, world wide, independent of political, economic or religious systems, well then we must dare ask ourselves unconditionally how to set about it.
How can we, starting off with a few key issues that concern everyone, create rings on the water and initiate lasting processes of social change?
En självklar utgångspunkt är sambandet mellan fördelningen av det betalda och det obetalda arbetet (särskilt föräldraskapet) och särbehandlingen (lönediskrimineringen, m.m.) av kvinnor på arbetsmarknaden.Regeringen har tillsatt en utredning som behöver påverkas av en starkt hörbar och ständigt närvarande opinion! Till samma frågekomplex hör en daglig arbetstidsforkortning. Rätt till arbete - tid att leva!.Oavsett kön.
A natural point of departure is the connection between the distribution of paid and unpaid work(especially parenthood) and the discrimination (over wages etc) against women in the labour market. The government has set up a commission that needs to be influenced by a vociferous and constantly alert expression of public opinion. Part of this issue touches on reduced working hours on a daily basis. The right to work – time for living! Irrespective of which sex one belongs to.
Another starting point is men’s violence, the most brutal manifestation of gender power structures. It is exercised systematically, from the intimacy of the bedroom to the brutality of the battle-fields. It rests on the assumption that men have the right to control the lives of women, that men’s virility can and should be expressed through violence and that power in the last analysis is military. This is a perverse concept of security policy that firmly rests on a patriarchal mind set. Another example of this is the European version of family policies, where marriage is the framework within which men may protect women who give birth to their children! According to the proposed Constitution “the family” should progressively assume greater responsibility for social welfare (previously publicly financed) that the state
increasingly disassociates itself from. To be able to afford, amongst other things, the increased military expenditure advocated by the Constitution. The proposal for a new Constitution is to be decided on by the Swedish Parliament before the election in 2006. The government and the opposition are in agreement that Sweden, unlike many other countries, should not hold a referendum. We should find “backing” for it instead, in other words the backing of a “yes” from the political parties. A parody of democracy!
None of these issues are “women’s issues”. They concern the whole of society. They are human issues that are profoundly connected with how we perceive our fellow human beings and our conception of democracy. To develop liberating policies around these key issues that influence the values and the experience deeply rooted in us all, in our own human identity, can be a driving force for further developing the civilizing process that is vital for the future!
What we now need to discuss is how to create a political platform (including a number of political demands), based on a feminist analysis, its main objective being to break down patriarchal power structures and tot place gender power issues at the top of the agenda, also in Parliament.
En "demokratirörelse" alltså, inte nödvändigtvis en politisk "konkurrent" till partier som inom sig bär feministiska projekt, men en ny möjlighet som vidgar handlingsutrymmet för fler.
In other words, a “democratic movement”, not necessarily a political “competitor” to those parties that are bearers of feminist projects, but a new option that opens up other areas for action to a greater number of people.
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P.S. I now have a web site, www.schyman.se. Here you can check out future meetings, in the nearest future(so far) the following:19/1 Gothenburg, the pub Gillestugan at 20.00, 20/1 Malmö, Folkets Hus, room 2 at 19.00, 25/1 Lidingö, the Ansgar church at 19.00, 1/2 Umeå, Folkets Hus at 19.00, 3/2 Båstad, 7/2 Norköping , Högskolan at 18-20.00, 13/2 Tomelilla Art Gallery at 15.00. D.S.
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