In today’s plenary, speakers shared the key contextual forces shaping their movements – the challenges in closed and transitioning societies, the deeply entrenched stigmas that women face, and some of the strategies that are being used to mobilise against these forces. The crucial role of communication in our mobilising was also discussed, with examples of feminist use of technology in different rights contexts. Using a fluid, talk-show model - and moderated by AWID’s former Executive Director Joanna Kerr - this plenary framed women’s organising within the very different contexts of Iran, Poland, Zimbabwe and Indonesia, and within the sectors of sex work, HIV/AIDS, economic rights, and reproductive rights.

A major theme that emerged from today’s plenary is that women are facing deep-rooted stigmas, such as those around sex work, marriage and the moral code of the ‘good woman’, and also the public/private binary and the stigma that women are not, cannot or should not be economic actors. These stigmas are compounded if a woman is HIV positive. A second theme that emerged was that women are increasingly using technology in their mobilisation and advocacy strategies – but that the success of this can be severely limited by the power of the state. A common thread in all these different contexts was that these limitations and negative forces only serve to strengthen the power of our movements. As Shirin Ebadi noted in Iran: For every women's rights activist arrested, 10 more women join the campaign.

Shirin Ebadi – Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Shirin’s presence in the panel today – although extremely lucky for us – was unfortunately due to Iranian activist Sussan Thamasebi’s inability to leave her country because her travel documents were confiscated by the government. With this incident hanging heavily in the air, Shirin explained the most important issue facing women in Iran being the discriminatory laws that, when challenged by women’s rights activists, are linked to Islam to justify the oppression of women. The government is suspicious of women’s movements in Iran – and the current context is very difficult for activists, who are being harassed, arrested and prosecuted as a result of their work. Despite this intense climate of surveillance, the Iranian women’s rights movement is growing daily – exemplified by the One Million Signatures Campaign. Simple strategies such as door to door advocacy (being conducted by both women and men), and the construction of a website, are some of the strategies they are using to amplify their voices. Unfortunately, Shirin described how each time they prepare a website, it is hacked, filtered and shut down. The technology and knowledge is available, but the government intervenes and they are unable to use it.

Meena Seshu – SANGRAM, India

Meena discussed the context of organising for sex workers, and how sex worker movements are facing repression of their rights from many other movements – including women’s rights movements. Sex worker’s beliefs are deemed problematic because they are fighting for the right to be a sex worker – and there is a tremendous discomfort in these spaces of discourse. Meena spoke of how condom use programs funded by the US were originally based on the notion of preventing men from being infected by sex workers, rather than being about sex worker health. Sex workers are also face a double stigma if they are HIV positive. Similar to Shirin’s account of the Iranian women’s movement, however, Meena said that these struggles have brought great strength to sex worker movements globally – and that technology is being used as a tool to take back control. Cell phones are particularly important in this context, as sex workers can contact their clients, as well as being warned of impending raids through sms networks.

Wanda Nowicka – Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning and ASTRA – CEE Women’s Network for SRHR, Poland

In the Polish context, women are facing a “second wave” of conservative forces from the Roman Catholic Church and the State – losing their right to abortion in 1993, and the recent attempts to protect ‘life’ from the moment of conception. This has raised important questions of state secularism, as well as highlighting the impact of foreign policy like the US abstinence campaign. To counter these forces, women’s rights organisations used the media by inviting ‘Women on Waves’ to Poland which raised awareness of the atrocities women are suffering due to the legislation. Organisations also advocated a positive image for feminism using art competitions in their campaigning. Feminism has now become ‘fashionable’ as a result of this kind of organising, particularly amongst young women. One particular slogan used by young women is: Feminism – I deserve it.

Martha Tholanah – Network of Zimbabwean Positive Women, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean women are facing an incredibly challenging context – and with the dire economic situation and hyper-inflation, women’s rights organising is extremely limited. Marginalised women such as women living with HIV and AIDS are further marginalised in this extreme context, and are often targets for sexual violence, such as the violence that occurred during the drawn-out election process. With the economic crisis linked specifically to the political system, and a failing power-sharing arrangement currently playing out – women do not have much faith in politics making a difference in their lives right now. They have taken matters into their own hands as best they can – organising secretly in the absence of freedom of association, and using text messages and word of mouth to organise.

Nani Zulminarni – PEKKA (Women Headed Household Empowerment), Indonesia

Nani’s work with women who are heads of their own households in Indonesia is another example of the stigmas that women are facing. Two major issues for women who do not have an explicit connection to a man (whether it be husband, brother or father), are invisibility, and stigmatisation. The socialised moral code in Indonesia that many women have internalised is that they must be married, and that no matter what happens within the marriage, they must stay married. This has meant a decrease in self esteem for many women who fall outside this box, and a challenge in terms of organising. Nani’s slogan has been “a world without husbands is wonderful” – and has been working with these women to organise internal reflection, build collective solidarity and even to reclaim some of the language that has been used against them.

Natasha L. Primo – Association for Progressive Communications (APC), South Africa

Natasha’s comments on the role of communication in these sorts of contexts spoke about the initial vision for the internet as a tool for the free flow of information, but how there has been an ascendance of corporate and national security interests in the way the internet is being governed. This has profound implications for women’s rights work – as exemplified by Shirin’s account of internet censorship in Iran. On the other hand – Natasha explained how the internet is not just a tool – it is being shaped and transformed as we use it, and feminists need to work towards a feminist practice of technology to ensure that we can utilise its full capabilities. What is happening now with technology is the possibility of many speaking to many – and the ability for women to formulate, control and express what and how they want. The future of technology for women’s rights is only just beginning to unfold. This also has threats associated with it, such as the security of our data and our safety online – but it is important that we begin to fully explore the possibilities that technology can offer for our activism.

Interestingly, despite the difficult circumstances present in all of these contexts, the examples discussed by all of the speakers highlight the power of women. Men in power fear women, and the mechanisms they put in place that attempt to control our bodies, our minds, our freedoms and our access to resources are responses to this fear. This is a direct recognition of our power – and the fact that oppressive forces only serve to strengthen our solidarity, points to the inevitable triumph over patriarchy that we will see. As Shirin Ebadi exclaimed: When the path is the correct path, success is there – victory is there for us.

At the end of the plenary, there was a moving tribute to Miriam Makeba, mostly known as ‘Mama Africa’, who passed away on November 9th. A singer with an activist’s heart, it was only fitting that Miriam Makeba’s song, Pata Pata, had an entire auditorium of women’s rights activists dancing and singing and giving her the tribute she deserved.

Listen to the presentations here