abortion

To commemorate International Working Women's Day for today 8th March 2015, Edinburgh Solidarity Federation members supported the event of local feminist group These Hysterical Women [1] which was a public gathering and exhibition held at Bristo Square to remind everyone that gender equality has not been reached.

The exhibition of "why I am a feminist..." comments were written by those attended and hosting the event. Following the exhibit was a performance by Rhythms of Resistance Samba band and then a brief speech (extract):

Anti-choice campaigners in Ireland like to insist that there is no ‘need or desire for abortion in Ireland’. Except, not only are they wrong, but were they right, it does not mean it should be unavailable for those who do need or want it. According to official figures over 4,000 women and girls travelled to England and Wales last year to have an abortion, and more than 152,000 have done so since 1980.

This number is large enough, too large in fact, but when you consider that many women and girls will give a false address, either out of fear of reprisal or to reduce the costs, then this number grows again. Indeed many now travel elsewhere in the EU to receive this care. It’s estimated that 1,470 travelled to the Netherlands between 2005 and 2009. Also, with internet access and online shopping being so widely accessible, many people will illegally get abortion pills delivered to their front door (so long as Irish customs don’t seize the package).

Next Sunday (15th April) Brighton Solidarity Federation will be supporting the Carnival for Choice! in Worthing.

Carnival for Choice! is part of Brighton Pro Choice’s ongoing campaign against the anti-choice group Abort67. The group, based around a right-wing Christian church in Worthing, often protest outside the Brighton BPAS clinic. They are known for using US-style anti-choice tactics including photographing people entering the clinic and banners featuring graphic images of aborted foetuses to try and dissuade women from exercising their right to choose. Their aim is to have abortion outlawed, no matter the circumstances.

On Sunday 25th March members of the South London Solfed Gender working group, Femcells and others went to church. In response to 40daysforlife harassing women outside abortion clinics, we decided to harass one of their main proponents, Bishop Alan Hopes of Westminster cathedral. The basic message, in chant form, was “Bishop Hopes shame on you, come to us we’ll come to you!”. We won’t let the pro-lifers get away with harassment and intimidation.
 

Read a full report here

International Women’s Day (IWD) is marked each year on the 8th of March, to signify the economic, cultural and political achievements of women and more importantly, all that still has to be achieved in the struggle for women's liberation. 2012 is the 101st anniversary of the day.

International Women’s Day first emerged from the women’s labour movement at the turn of the twentieth century, in North America and Europe. In 1908, in the United States of America, a three month strike of almost 30,000 garment workers, composing mainly of migrant women, almost shut down the garment industry and won most of the workers’ demands, including the right to organise, to bargain collectively, and improved wages and working conditions.

Dear Comrades,

We are feminists who have come together from a number of groups to organise an event on Saturday 14 February 2009. We are excited and energised by the current resurgence in feminist activism in the UK, but we think that the kind of feminist movement we build and the kind of politics it has, matter.

We are committed to an anti-capitalist feminism which sees the interconnections between all struggles against oppressions and against capitalism, and we want to build an event that creates an open space to discuss this and develop our ideas. But we don’t want to just talk about our politics – we want to fight to actually change the material conditions of women’s lives, to fight misogyny and our own exploitation, and to involve as many women and men as possible in the campaigns that will be at the centre of this event.