Women's Issues - A gender and class approach [View all]

[TBF]

In light of international women's day and the comments of a certain Republican commentator this week, this is a fine time to look at women's issues. As I pointed out when I provided you all with a copy of the USSR's constitution of 1977, the Soviets had codified equal rights for women. We have not done that here - and is there an argument to be made that it must go along with changing the political/economic system? Consider KKE's words on the matter -

International Women’s Day: Significant Activity of the KKE and the class oriented movement

The 8th March, the International Women’s Day was celebrated with a series of events and interventions of the KKE.

The KKE organized two central political events on this issue with the GS of the CC of the KKE, comrade Aleka Papariga. The subject was: “the consequences of the capitalist crisis on the life of the working woman and the proposal of the party for the way-out”. At the events the GS of the CC discussed with working women in industry and students at the University of Social Studies, in Panteion University. Aleka Papariga mentioned in her speeches amongst other things:

“the question for the vanguard is that struggle for the problems of equality, for the emancipation of women becomes an integral part of the struggle of the labour movement, an integral part of the struggle of all the organizations of the workers, the self employed, the poor farmers because we do not reproduce the discrimination between men and women -which we had never supported and continue not to support- and because the question of the women’s emancipation is a clear class and gender issue which in the final analysis concerns the workers family in its entirety, 100% (…)

We will not be able to understand this and above all we will not be able to repel this assault with a mass labour movement, if we do not understand the women’s question as a class and gender issue. Our propaganda will be incomplete. Of course, when we say class and gender we clarify that this is opposed to the view that holds the position that the women’s question, the inequality of women, is caused by men’s dominance, by the patriarchal views, by the male dominated society and that the issue will be solved through the conflict of the two genders. This must be clear”.

“According to the development of the class struggle capitalism made certain concessions reluctantly. This period is over. And you know that because today they take everything back. And this will not last for the next couple of years, until the PSI is concluded; they officially admit that our life has been mortgaged for 30 years, note it officially. So objectively, since the attack is unified and does not concern a single sector or a single aspect of life, the political choice on the agenda is the struggle for the overthrow of the political system, the struggle for the overthrow of the dictatorship of the monopolies, the struggle for the workers’ and people’s power...

Much more here: http://inter.kke.gr/News/news2012/2012-03-09-gynaikes