WOMEN living conference in a nearby school.
of time to themselves. conference. 1 WAS immediately struck by the diversity of women at the conference of all ages, backgrounds political opinion They were milling around in the hallways and corridors of Ladywood school, or already settled into the workshops where they would spend the estates Birmingham, wanted to leave their children in the creche at the eighth national women's liberation These women weren't attending the conference: they just urgently needed a place to leave their children while they shopped, cooked and worked, or got a bit The Women's Liberation Movement has a demand for 24 hour nurseries provided freely by the state. This highlights the importance to all women of the discussions in the school down the road, where over 3000 women had gathered to share ideas and discuss how to take forward the fight for women's liberation. JUDE WOODWARD gives a personal view of the the rest of the day.
SATURDAY MORNING:
SHOPSEven for registered in advance movement.
In Digbeth, feminist REGIS TRATION AND 'BLOCK' WORKtbose of us that bad the WELC base that fest half hour 1 had already seen at least half a dozen long lost friends women's It is cheering to realise that they are all still active in the movement. We compared experiences and exchanged useful information about events in Oxford women talked about the nursery opcupation there; Liverpool women described the women clothing workers who are occupying their factory against closure, others talked anti-racist activity. socialist groups and regional conferences.
Even is that first hall hour & got the impression that the movement growing by leans and bounds and that involved politically confident year hy year.
After registration supposed to go to "block" workshops balk of the day discussions were meant to be on three questions: bow we oppress cach other within the movement; ment's campaigns and how advance them; and alternative formis of action, weren't happy with this structure and wanted to move straight on to a discussion of the activitics of the movenient. They feared that an unconstructive debite would ensue irom talking about how we oppress cach other.
Despite this disagremment there useful discussions. In workshop we had lively interesting exchange about problems of having or not having children, We were fortunate having women with children and at least one pregnant woman in the workshop.
we talked sopus the constant ambiguity in making a decision not ro the pressure women were under to fed that that decision can always be changed, to feel that someday they may regret it or falsely separating themselves from the mass of women that do have children The problem Tot chidesre wa raised and the importance of fighting for nursery provision SPECIAL INTEREST WORK SHOPS: SATURDAY SUNDAY 9.30-11.30 After the block workshops bad broken up for women to grab a cup of coffee or a sandwich, we seturned lo the tray.
There were workshops on subjects as diverse as Voice Production and Socialist Feminism. Most were well La wide discussion, Women reported back to session their workshops.
Black sisters raised the impoctance of the women's movement taking up struggle fascism, The need to be sensitive to the particular probiems of black wousn and tinvolve them in the movensent.
woman implicity women For lacking sensitivity when she said. You may think you know Who your coemies are, but when you march against rupe through black areas, how do I know that you are not in the Nationa Front woman spoke repression of women in Norther The conference agrood 10 STARTI Sectar telegran Ray Tor supporting SInE clemency for Noreen Winchester St is serving seven years in prison for che manslaughter of ber father who had tepeatedly rapod her since she was 11.
Women fram one workshop called support for the International on Britain's Prescoce in Others from the workshop suggested trying to build next year's Internalional Women's Dayrally as a united event to oclebrate more were The ten years of the women's movement around the theme of repression of women worldwide to Other progress of the Campaien, on thesituation of women in Iran and many more THE PLENARY. SUNDAY 11.30 onwards.
Perbaps the major lesson that socialist feminists must learn from this conference is that they must no my longer be afraid of pulling forward Their ideas about the structuring of the Jarger decision making meetines in the women's movement. several Comparisons between the conduct of the plenary session at the Socialist Feminist conferenoe in Manchester in January and the plenary on Sunday afternoon in Birmingham showed the that former up in a positive light Some socialist femitists want to challenge the tyranny of structure lessness and are preparing to develop their views in the women's movemens By arguing for clear chairing and descloping and understanding the reasons behind democratic meetings, feminist current can heip the women's moveinent find ways to settle it differences, Unfortunately wolden do not agree with these ideas relatively small revolutionary Teminists women throughout the plenary on Sunday. Cocasonally they made quite impossible for women to speak? Such behaviour has no place in the movement. Sisters have to show sell ranging discipline when they lear die lay dare the wit operate other women will not overcome their Sunday own lack of seif confidence anour 10L830 Political intinndation thugeery — is quite definitely a male and political stereotype that we should not aspire tol DECISIONS criticised this Despite the acteropred domination of the plenary by this vocal morny some important docisions were made. The wonen' movement How Kasa seventh demand on rape and vinlence 1b add to the other six on, cotal pay and education, nurserice, DE CHE and conirncegsion, financial, inde pendenos, lesbian Sexuality:
Mason, The new demand reads, For the Northern freedom of all women to live free call for from the threat oc use of ciolence of satus. sumptons perpetuate male donacation and men's agcression to women. women demand should be statement saying that male violence to women was an expression of nac and control."
Socialist feminists, among others. reported 0D the For National Abortion By ter demande CanEDULT overdue socialist plenary.
minority group harracked OUT DWD anybods:
there was aborties rights and tlicatre ca all the and insitutions which all cheerful.
And argued that the preceded by a the cuntiesense, male politica)
Photo: ANGELA PHILLIPS (FLI objected to this — mainly because il embodied an analysis of women' oppression that not all women agree:
cxample socialist Teminists we see that capitalism and class society play a major role in the oppression of women.
To adopt any one analysis of women's oppression would exclude : large number of women who don' aproe with it. Dur aim must be to bet: the broadest stovement to fight our national noserted that the next conference should Take a full discussion of the demand and principles of the movement. The Last socialist feminist conference also suggested that its next conference should discuss this.
Various questions remain unanaround of the women's movement: about the nature of the the difference berween demands and principles and policies their relationship to demands raised in the campaigns of the movement That such a discussion is long revealed by the somewhir confusod debate on the sixth demand wear the end of the sith demand 1esd "against discrimination of lesbians: for the right of all women to define our own sexuality LESBIAN RIGHTS proposed thi the demand should be split in hall a that is should only deal with lestia rights, while the second halt of the demand bould precede all the other demandsas a principle of the WIM.
This was for three reasous; firstly because women felt that the issue or Tesbian rights had not been treated seriously enough by the movemen; secondly, because the right to define sexuality it not really demand as it is not demanded of thirdly. bocause the demand implied that lesbianism wit simply a matter of sexual preference rather than involving materin!, socia and cultural discrimination.
Albough this motion was carried cutsiderable confusion expressed i wonten in the hail.
My feeling is chat it is a pity List the question of the sixth demand bad to he raised in such a rushel tastion ar The end of the conference rather than waiting fora full discussion of the role of this demand along with the achers Not everything at the SOCICIE was lust hard work. Throughout the conference there were fims, music and ott Saturday nighr, socin with bands and disco to keep u despite bigh emotions disagreement and some distress, most women feit that they bad gained team and that they left fol of ideas about the work that needs to he done before the conference next And it what we all go away and de that It is really all about.
characterised the The lively continental the readers koow that without CP votes the Tories would not even have won a single pince on the NUS executive?
T'hus the paper lacks credibilicy, If facts do not accord with the political projections of King Street, they can be ERTEU omnitted. included it should need a very sharp FeLIn DEEMCE LOC BIC 10 BCE u them. Objoctive truth is more often than sot missing trom the paper A number of pointed out the logic of this polies Letters which are critical of the CP Tine on fundamental questions of strategy and tactics in Britain or world political developments are simply not published. Or if they are, there can be no comeback. No debate.
which Et they press, Britain.
What this readers have also Printing PPPS had