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The Women Against Racism and Fascism group was formed in response to our experience as women on the 23 April antiNational Front demonstration.
Whilst the demonstration positively illustrated the effectiveness of and necessity for a united front of all groups actively opposing racism and fascism — both in a broad political sense and in their communities - for many women there was only a qualified sense of unity with the other groups present.
Women as a group were not informed of the strategy of the demonstration and neither were our interests raised at the planning stage. Several women with children were unable to come as it had never occurred to the planning group that childcare was a relevant issue. Given that all fascist movements and right-wing ideology generally sees as one of its major aims the strengthening of the family, thereby rendering women a consistent target of such movements, a refusal to see women as a political grouping is sexist and fails to confront one of the major ways in which the growth of the right-wing is expressed, e-g. attacks on rights, economic measures which strengthen women's dependency in the family, etc.
The positive aspects of organising as women within broad political struggles has been illustrated by the involvement of women from the women's movement on the mass picket of the Grunwick factory, which has enabled us to see ourselves as a cohesive group and to derive support and solidarity from The WARF group initiated a mobilisation of women for the Lewisham demonstration on 13 August. The women's contingent was one of the largest, strongest and certainly most impressive at Lewisham. There were 300 really well organised women, with a strong feeling of solidarity. This was the first time that women marched together in such numbers on a demonstration that was not specifically feminist.
The group was extremely critical of the tactics used at Lewisham and a great deal of discussion is still going on as to what are the best strategies and tactics we can use in the struggle against fascism. This was apparent in our position on the ban on demonstrations in the Tameside area early in October. A contingent from the group went to Manchester to support the local anti-fascist groups opposing the ban.
The group is comprised of women already involved in local anti-fascist work and women hitherto not affiliated to any local group, and our aims are both practical and theoretical.
Firstly we aim to initiate and co-ordinate women's involvement in general anti-fascist and anti-racist work. This means that we can act as a discussion and support group for women becoming involved in local anti-fascist campaigns, etc., and means that those of us who do get involved in local work will not have to do so merely as individuals but can use the group as a basis for discussion with other women.
We have developed channels of communication which facilitate mobilisation when necessary — for example, for Lewisham (August), Manchester and Hackney (October). Clearly many more women have mobilised nationally for anti-fascist activities knowing that there was going to be a strong women's contingent present.
The existence of the group also means that we are able to be more informed of developments and more involved in the planning stages of work. We have been affiliated to the AllLondon Anti-Racist Anti-Fascist Committee since the group was formed in May and have been active on the committee. As a result of our involvement, creches have been organised for both the Lewisham and Hackney demonstrations.
As part of the Women's Liberation Movement, we feel it is crucial that we address ourselves to women to ensure that the issues of racism and fascism are raised within the movement as areas which feminists should actively concern themselves with both inside and outside of the movement. It is important that we publicise and raise the issues of fascism and racism within campaigns such as NAC, for example, since the interpretation of concepts like "A Woman's Right to Choose' will in part be determined by both the issues of sexism and racism. Whilst for white women this will probably mean the right to decide to have an abortion (although, remembering Keith Joseph's speech, this might well depend on her class), for black women it may and often does mean the right not to have an abortion or sterilisation. As such we feel it is important that campaigns such as NAC realise the implications of its demands for the fight against racism and fascism.
As a group of women actively participating in anti-fascist work alongside other groups involved in this sort of struggle, we will also raise the issue of and confront sexist attitudes and behaviour that we are often subjected to in such circumstances. Just as we feel it is imperative that feminists take up the issues of racism and fascism, so we feel that it is imperative that the left' take up the issue of sexism (both inside and outside) in all practical and theoretical undertakings. This we have done a number of times at Grunwick.
It is also envisaged that the Women Against Racism and Fascism group will have a role to play in the development of feminist theory. We feel it is important that women attempt to analyse the nature and extent of the threat that fascism holds for women. For example, it is not just right-wing organisations like the National Front that see women's major role as in the home, nor indeed is it just fascists who think that black people "breed" too much. In this context we can ask what are the particular threats of fascism for women and how does the existence of racist and sexist attitudes in countries like Britain help to facilitate the growing strength of fascist organisations.
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These are some of the areas that we would hope to be able to address ourselves to.
In developing feminist theory of women's oppression it is also important that we realise and discuss the issue of racism and see that contradictions can and do arise when the issue of sexism is complicated by that of race. The classic situation where this type of contradiction arises is in cases of rape involving a black and white person. Rape, like all types of violence against women, is bound up with women as the property of men. Yet being a woman may not be the only criterion by which you are deemed to be property, race may also be a factor. The thousands of cases of rape suffered by black women on the slave plantations at the hands of white men, and of Jewish women in Europe in the 1930s and '40s, are cases in point. Similarly, rape of white women by Our London-based group - the Women and Ireland group — was black men also gives rise to many contradictions since it involves more than just the power of men over women.
We would also hope to be able to contribute to developing a feminist position on fascism and racism in a broader context than sexism alone. This means that we hope to be able to contribute to developing an understanding of the nature of racism and fascism, the links between them, their implications, etc. It also means that we feel that feminists should take a position on these issues not just in terms of what they mean for women but as part of the revolutionary movement.
The Women Against Racism and Fascism group meets fortnightly on Wednesdays at Camden Women's Centre, Rosslyn Lodge, Lyndhurst Road, London NW3. The contact address is: c/o LSE Students Union, Houghton Street, Aldwych, London WC2.
women'soppression in Ireland.