Radical Women call for solidarity across the Kaleidoscope

I received the below e-mail from the organization Radical Women.  I thought others might find it interesting if you are not already connected to this organization.  I like that this very feminist group is making a clear connection between women's rights and economic justice specifically.  They make a clear call out to women to stand in solidarity with working-class men and women, the queer community and people of color (both men and women), in the fight for full rights as a means for moving the rights of women, specifically reproductive rights.   

They also appear to be very anti-capitalist and anti-democrats (along with anti-republican).  My question is then: what is the solution, politically and economically?  It looks like the Radical Women's group sees the Occupy Movement as one clear solution and I too believe this is a key step towards demanding equity, however, where do we go beyond the Occupy Movement.  A critical step, and often the hardest work, in all my years of organizing has been to forge strong and strategic alliances. This is very difficult work, we could see a little of those dynamics in the film "Ironed Jawed Angels." However, I also recognizes the relevance of this alliance building work more strongly throughout the 3rd Wave Feminist era that we are in.  In the reading "Gender Communication Theories..." "transversal politics" is mentioned as an important piece of this era of feminism and it is definitely something that rings true for me and in my experience ... anyway, these are just a few of my thoughts as I read this :)

-Enei Begaye

January 26, 2012

Dear Friend,

Happy 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade , the monumental U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion throughout the United States! Abortion is a simple medical procedure that is vital for women to exercise any form of control over their lives. But despite its safety and legality, the fight for full
reproductive health care for all women continues. 

Last year a record 135 new provisions related to reproductive rights were passed in the United States, including bans on funding, prohibitions against abortion after a certain gestation period, forced waiting periods, and mandatory ultrasounds. When abortion is unavailable or unaffordable, it is poor women who suffer because they can't pay the medical fees and travel costs, or take the time to overcome all the outrageous barriers that have been devised by opponents of women's equality. 

But there's good news too. Reproductive rights advocates are mobilizing.  Last summer, activists converged in Maryland to defend Dr. LeRoy Carhart and the Germantown Reproductive Health Services from Operation Rescue harassment. Recently, voters in Mississippi rejected a "fertilized-egg-as-person" amendment to the state constitution that would have effectively banned abortions and many forms of contraception. New legislation has been introduced in Washington State to require private 

insurance plans to cover abortion if they cover maternity care. Young feminists in the Occupy movement are embracing the fight for reproductive justice and gender equality.

Where to next? With a presidential election looming, the pressure is increasing to "elect Democrats to protect us from Republicans." This is an often tried and always failed approach. The Democratic Party is a capitalist party that maintains loyalty to its investment base, not the voter base. The wealth of the 1% rests on the second-class status of women, queers and people of color. Corporate America's massive profits demand the super-exploitation of women providing free labor in the home (cooking, cleaning,
care of the young, sick and elderly) and cheap labor on the job.

Many hoped President Obama would be different; that he would champion women's equality. Instead, his policies have repeatedly sided with the far right. Federal health reform sacrificed abortion coverage. In December, the Obama Administration took the unprecedented step of overruling the Food and Drug Administration's decision to remove age restrictions on Emergency Contraception. These are not isolated incidents. Jodi Jacobson's article in Conscience Magazine, "Is Obama Prochoice? " concludes that "the President has presided over the greatest erosion to women's reproductive health and rights in the past 30 years, and a continuing degradation of our rights at the state level."

Instead of diverting energy into electing Democrats, feminists should continue the momentum of the vibrant Occupy movement and demand what workingclass women and men need - things like healthcare (with full reproductive services), food, social services, housing, and union-wage jobs. We must look beyond politics-as-usual to support socialist or anti-capitalist candidates who will take action in the interest of the 99%. Let's make the next year one of tremendous growth for the movements 

for equality and justice!

In struggle,
Anne Slater
National Organizer
Radical Women

___________________________________________________________

National Radical Women
747 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone 415-864-1278 * Fax 415-864-0778
RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com
www.RadicalWomen.org

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