Women's Fightback, Feminism

Ecuador has made the following absolutely clear: 1) Julian Assange can be questioned at their London embassy in connection with these allegations (at the moment he is only wanted for questioning); 2) If the Swedish government had given an assurance that Assange wouldn't be extradited from Sweden to US in connection with his wikileaks journalism, they would have asked him to leave their embassy and return to Sweden to face questioning long ago. To be fair Assange himself has said the same. If you recall, he volunteered to be questioned by the Swedish authorities in September 2010 before leaving...

I don’t quite know where to start unpacking the claim that socialist feminists who feel that Julian Assange has a case to answer are really “liberals” who “don’t mind being raped by imperialist ideology”. Yet such a contention — which would have been inexcusably offensive even if there were any indications that it was meant sardonically — was recently advanced in all seriousness by a Trotskyist bloke on an AWL woman member’s Facebook page. Although I have to confess that a shameful lack of knowledge of feminist theory leaves me open to much gentle ribbing from female comrades, even I was taken...

The Assange case has shone a light on the degree of political degeneracy of parts of the left. Women's rights, and regard for the rights of victims of rape and sexual assault have fallen by the wayside in the Assange case. Put aside because of a perceived conflict with principles of “anti-imperialism”. Facts and politics are interpreted through the lens of conspiracy theories. The limited legal protections against sexual abuse, often won through struggle, can be dismissed as “capitalist justice” and therefore grounds for dismissing the allegations here! Many “left-wing” commentators are...

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is now holed up in Ecuador’s Embassy, west London, having been granted political asylum by Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is now holed up in Ecuador’s Embassy, west London, having been granted political asylum by Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa. Correa says he granted asylum to prevent Assange being extradited to a “third country”, meaning the US. There is now a stand-off between the British state — which wants to send him to Sweden, where he faces allegations of rape and sexual assault, following a completed process in...

Several months ago, there was an image going around social networking sites of Julian Assange and Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire owner of Facebook. The caption next to the image of Assange was: “I give private information on corporations to you for free, and I’m the villain”. The caption next to Zuckerberg was: “I give your private information to corporations for money, and I’m man of the year.” While Zuckerberg is obviously a class enemy, Assange is a suspected rapist. Yet many comrades – some who describe themselves as feminists — were still posting this image. In recent weeks many leading...

Campaigners hoping to save The Women’s Library at London Metropolitan University held their first public meeting on 6 July. This follows the campaign’s success in garnering support with an online petition that has attracted 12, 000 signatories. The Women’s Library, currently housed in Lottery-funded, purpose-built premises, is under threat from management cuts. This is not only about a detrimental cut to a vital women’s service but about the future of Higher Education. It will contribute to the government’s vision of a two-tier Higher Education system, in which wealthy “Russell Group”...

The Women’s Fightback blog has just been set up by members, supporters and friends of Workers’ Liberty. It’s a socialist feminist blog. A space to write about, talk about, moan about and plot how to get rid of class exploitation, sexism, racism and homophobia. It’s going to include history, politics, poetry, campaigning, jokes, stories and ranting and raving. And most especially debating ideas. Want to write something for the blog? You are very welcome to become a contributor. Find out how by clicking here . Latest posts: Anti-capitalism and pride Save the Women's Library

This year in Britain we’ve seen Christian fundamentalism asserting itself. In London, Brighton and Manchester we have seen pro-life pickets outside abortion clinics, where women are harassed and told lies about the effects of abortion. Fourtunately those pickets have not gone unchallenged by pro-choice campaigners. But increasingly, on our streets and university campuses, pro-life organisations hold stalls and workshops distributing anti-abortion propaganda. Now Catholic (“pro-life”) charity Care Confidential is seeking to bring all its affiliated centres up to “commissioning status” standard...

RadFem 2012 (14-15 July) is billed as the place to explore “the realities of women’s lives”. There’s plenty I could say about how and why I disagree with RadFem 2012’s politics — it’s anti-porn, anti-men, anti-sex worker, and more. But something else stands out, and is making many feminists (justifiably) angry. The conference slogan is “women together for liberation”, but on closer inspection what they mean is “women born women living as women” (an amendment from earlier “biological women”). “This isn’t transphobia!” cry RadFem 2012 organisers — it’s not about excluding some people but “assert...

We have heard shocking words from the UMP [Sarkozy’s right-wing party which ruled until the last French election], such as “scum” [“racaille”] or “cancers” when talking about young people from poor areas or the unemployed. We also have seen the right pin the bill for the economic crisis on the workers — for example, with the pensions reform. This open aggression, this class hatred, at least had the merit of being a straightforward attack to which we could react. But the establishment has also passed a whole number of reforms in great secrecy, during the school holidays or even at dead of night...