Festival of women against the Tories

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Royal Pride strikers on the picket line The Festival Women's Rights against Tory Attacks' on May 9 was based on the principle of offering something for everyone, on a broad base of anti-Toryism.

As such it is virtually impossible for one individual to offer an overall assessment of the Festival.

It attempted to make available all the currents, strands and movements that have been developing over the past twelve years in the women's movement, in conjunction with the specific response of women to the Tory attacks..

With such a loose-knit grouping coming together on a vague basis of being anti-system, anti-state, and on the basis of all being women, it was very difficult to discern a united theme.

Whatever the intention of the organisers, each workshop and participating group followed its own line.

The original publicity had stated:

"We are marking the second anniversary of the Thatcher government with a national women's rights festival. Our message is. women are fighting back.

May 9 will be a day to rally our forces, to share experiences, ideas and information, to • protest against the Tories' attacks on our rights and to enjoy ourselves."

This was far closer to the actual day's events than the explanation about the Festival in the programme, which explained that the central theme of the day was the fight against women's unemployment and• a woman's right to work:

unemployment iss increased by 207% (compared with 61% for men) threatening to set back the fight for women's rights by decades: now in every aspect of our lives, women are under Yet out of nearly events on the day only one workshop was directly centred on defence of iobs.

This was an excellent workshop, though frustratingly short. Any of the struggles discussed warranted a workshop of its own.

There were speakers from BPC, Lee Jeans, Longworth Hospital and the struggle at Royal Pride.

It is all too rare a breath of fresh air when people from struggles can come together and discuss their experiences-in an open forum that is not in the stranglehold of some trade union official chairing or steering the discussion away from any demands on them or criticism of their inaction.

Certainly no trade union officer or official would have felt comfortable in that workshop.

Nearly every speaker focussed on the betrayals of trade union officials to whom they had turned for support, and who had sold them out or left the struggle totally isolated.

The message from the workshop came over loud and necessary, but won't win the struggles over jobs.

What is stopping the victories of these brave fights is the corrupt and deadly trade union leaders-whether from SOGAT, FTAT, or COHSE.

They are determined not to extend industrial action to keep it confined, to abandon it, to get it settled as quickly as nossible.

What was also clear is that it is women who have been in the forefront of the fight against unemployment -from Meccano; Eileen Crosbie, St Benedicts Hospital, through now to Lee Jeans showing the way jobs could be defended.

It is impossible to judge just how much this active fighting spirit was carried into the trade union workshops.

It looked as if the Women in the NUT was well attended, but Women in the Print Unions only had three, including the BPC and Pergamon speakers.

The engineering unions had two, and NUPE had five.

In the context of the necessary fight back against wholesale attack on women's jobs and rights the "Checklist of issues concerning women in the trade unions" issued as a basis for discussion depressingly missed the point.

Many a trade union official would be happy discussing this checklist of issues, which concentrated entirely on positive discrimination within the unions (without even raisine accountability and democracy), on equal opportunities committees, women's caucuses, training facilities available for women and national rank and file women's movements in each union.

Nowhere does it suggest discussing what each union is actually doing in response to the Tory attacks or what is the role of leadershin.

It is based entirelv on a concept of perfecting trade union organisation in terms of sex, rezardless of politics.

Presumably only when we've got the union sorted out with women properly represented can we turn our attention to fighting the Tories!

Fortunately the women in Lee Jeans, Longworth and Royal Pride have not waited for their unions to become properly structured before responding to the Tory attacks.

Of course their unions are horrifically unrepresentative-especially in the NUTGW and FTAT.

It is very important to change this-and there is no doubt that the struggles of these women will hasten that change.

Perhaps the intention of the festival was to be a way of organising women to show them what they can go forward and do, point by point, now in their workplaces, communities, women's groups, trade unions, labour parties, solidarity campaiens, to defend lobs, rights, services, and to bring down the government.

I don't think however we were all strengthened in an ability to tackle the Tories MARY-ANN TODD personal view of the Saturday May 9 •Without doubt the issues and themes that attracted the most attention were the question of violence against women, the workshops on rape and pornography, and What was : probably the biggest attendance at a workshop) over 200 participated on the question of Women in Armagh and the Irish The most memorable experience was the speech of a member of the Relatives Action Committee.

This came after a speech from Jo Richardson who described the Tories' attacks but offered no direction on what to do about it apart from réferences to NAC.

She ignored hecklers asking her where she stood on Labour Party policy on The speaker from the KAC gave a simple, direct, overwhelmingly powertul argument for political status and an insight into the horrendous oppression of the jails and the uncompromising bravery of the hunger strikers and the blanket protesters.

Though no call for troops out was made, it was implicit in the speech, which totally gives a festiva tinst th lon on except through listening tr the determination and ange of women who have struggled like Anwar Ditta:

We were excited and encouraged, however, by the have _developed to virtually dominate the alternative fringe theatre world in London; by the films and bands, that owe their exist. ence entirely to the women's liberation movement that challenge sex role stereotyping.

It was verv frustrating to have such a crammed full programme of events, makine it impossible to get to a fraction of workshops and events that you wanted to attend The festival could have easily been spread over a week and still have been enjoyable and stimulating.

Irish struggle

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and clear: solidarity, funds, rallies, and demos are fine

Women's Rights Ag Tories', held in Lon

richness and variety of the women's arts groups that