Democratic Palestine : 10 (ص 29)
غرض
- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 10 (ص 29)
- المحتوى
-
women’s movement has seen the growth of many organiza-
tions and especially among the middle class. An umbrella was
established in 1984 to join all the women’s organizations. It is
only a year and a haif old. It is trying to bring all the women’s
organizations together to advance an open protest movement
to carry women’s issues into the movement. We are trying to
study various issues of our women as a basis for a major cam-
paign.
«To Struggle» was principally formed to advance the
people’s struggle for liberation and democracy in the country,
and at the same time to advance women’s emancipation from
all forms of oppression and exploitation. But it works within the
framework that Filipino women are confronted not only with
women’s oppression but also with national and class oppres-
sion. So we see that the general women’s movement has to
address these three problems. In fact, the problems of
women's oppression are very much determined and influ-
enced by the national and class problems. While the problems
of male domination are universal, the existence of a semi-colo-
nial and semi-feudal system, or the national and class prob-
lems we have, also determine the forms of oppression by
which this male domination is expressed. For instance, US
imperialism makes women’s labor cheaper, so the division is
also expressed because of a national problem. Women's polit-
ical repression would basically mean that women who partici-
pate in the struggle also suffer from political repression. The
regime does not distinguish between men and women oppo-
nents. So women have the same problems. Except that the
military-patriarchal thinking is expressed through raping
women or committing sexual abuses against women, espe-
cially in the strategic hamlet areas set up by the military.
«To Struggle» also expresses the need for mass educa-
tion around women’s issues and women’s concrete conditions
and problems in order that attitudes towards women can be
changed in the process of the revolutionary transformation of
the society. We are participating and want to be equal partners
with the men in the struggle. But at the same time, we feel the
need for the men to change their ideas towards us. Having a
feudal culture, our men express the attitude of over-protective-
ness. They would like to protect us from violence and harm and
things like that. But we are both faced with violence. The
regime does not choose whom they would kill or arrest. So we
say that we need to struggle as well and we need to bring the
women into the struggle. We need to confront the violence
together. It is this kind of attitude that also stifles our women’s
Participation in the struggle. For instance, in the New People’s
Army where women have to struggle, they have to be in the
main forces - not only doing educational work and health. They
want to be fighters as well. We realize that massive education
has to be done while we are participating in the struggle. @
ANC - South Africa
a
During the UN World Conference On Women,
Palestinian women met with women from the Afri-
can National Congress. One of the ANC women
offered the following statement on their struggle:
Women have struggled very hard with education to raise
their standard. Politically they have come up to the level of
men. They are doing as much political work as the men are
doing. In the military field, they are fighting side by side with
their menfolk. Even in the home, the men have come to realize
that women are equals. In that respect, |’m convinced that
there is a beginning for everything, a new way for everything.
A beam of light has come up. It will grow with time. There is
nothing spontaneous. We were not born old. We were born as
babies and we grew up to be children, young girls and boys,
and we grew up to be old women, young women and men. It is
a process. It cannot be spontaneous. We must not underrate
the achievements that some women have scored during this
past decade. Even we ourselves in the ANC have made
achievements. The organization has realized the potential of
women and has given us responsibility. We are doing exactly
what men are doing. We are in the national executive commit-
tee; we are in the army; we are commanders; some of us are
commissars. Therefore the decade has really improved the lot
of women.
There are some men who are diehard traditionalists, who
will not yield. But | can assure you that as time goes on, the
trend will change because no country wants to see itself as the
odd one out. If women are given the chance of going to school,
which is the base for everything, if they achieve their education,
if they qualify, and if they take their rightful places in institutions
and industry - then equal justice will come automatically. We
must come up from the grassroots and grow until we reach the
correct state whereby we can play our role side by side with our
men. That is my feeling and this is the case in the ANC. |
believe that when we finally achieve our goal, the ANC will
have women in goverenment, unlike other governments where
women fought, struggled and did everything, but when they got
home, they still went back to the kitchen. We are not going to
allow that to happen.
é
29 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 10
- تاريخ
- أغسطس ١٩٨٥
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
Contribute
Not viewed