A-ACK Canadian public sector workers fighting for equal pay countries half as many girls as boys КУЖУ Но - но WHILE visiting my former students' union recently, I became involved with their preparations for this year's International Women's Day. All the old banners and placards from previous events came out and people searched for last year's details so they could simply replicate them this time round.
It's wrong to approach the day like this - though it's great that they are approaching itbecause it suggests that women's politics are not sufficiently inspiring and important right now for us to think of new ideas and campaigns to get active around.
Feminists today have had a hard row to hoe because activity within the women's movement is at a pretty low level.
So, young women today are fearful that declaring themselves to be "feminists" is little more than a declaration of revulsion for the male species.
Others say they are feminists because they do have such a revulsion, so low is the level of education about what the women's movement is really about.
Those who are involved in women's polities at colleges or in the workplace feel divorced from any widespread unifying struggle that they can be a part of.
This is not because young women are suddenly no longer angry about the state of the world: it is down to a lack of real political activity.
You only had to look at all the women who recently took to the streets of Windsor against the Criminal Justice Act to realise how much political anger and thirst for change there is.
But students' and trade unions do not highlight the struggles that the women's ..we movement went through in. going to change things.
the 1970s and 80s around abortion rights, when mass action - meetings, pickets, demonstrations - won and defended improvements on this issue.
They don't use the history of Women Against Pit Closures to re-inspire young women, though it could do so very well.
Too often, women's
groups are solely discussion clubs on matters which are very important, but which on their own do not galvanise young women into action about changing their lives.
There is also the babble from the capitalist press and media along the lines that women now have "equality." Yes, women are strong because they have fought to improve their status and quality of life; but we certainly haven't achieved "equality" -as if "equality" under capitalism would be worth cheering for anyway.
Socialist feminists reiect the idea that all our demands have been met.
The history of our movement tells us that it is only by joining together politically that we will see the kind of child-care provision that really frees women to have lives of their own, or the right to abortion that cuts out getting "permission" from doctors, or further erosion of discrimination at work.
So, International Women's Day should not involve a dusting down of last year's banners as though the issues belong in last year. Instead it's a great chance to get across to as many young women as possible that the struggle for women's liberation around the world is here and now.
Let us remind ourselves and everyone else of what can be achieved by women when they decide they are