How can we organise to end women's oppression?
DO WORKING CLASS MEN BENEFIT FROM WOMEN'S OPPRESSION?
Working class men do receive some short-term benefits from
oppressing women. Working class men are frustrated and humiliated in
their racist and authoritarian work environments. They may also feel
inadequate if they are unemployed.
Many working class men feel better if they believe that they are
superior to women. They feel that at least they can demand dignity
and respect from women. Men may also benefit if their wives do all
the housework. This ensures that men workers have more free time for
themselves.
But at the same time women's oppression has devastating
consequences for working class men.
* By threatening to replace better paid
men workers with women workers wages are lower for all workers.
* The bosses are able to use women's oppression to divide and rule
over all workers. This makes it difficult for workers to unite and
fight for better wages and conditions.
* If women are paid less they are unable to contribute to the
family income. Thus the whole family suffers.
* Conflict over money leads to misery for both men and women.
The attitudes of working class men may contribute to women's
oppression, but working class men have a lot to loose through women's
oppression. Therefore they should unite with their female comrades
and fight women's oppression.
MUST ALL WOMEN UNITE?
Ruling class women (bosses and high-ranking politicians) do not
want to do away with capitalism or the exploitation of workers. They
want the same benefits as male bosses and politicians.
In fact, ruling class women have no problem exploiting working
class women. Just like male bosses and rulers they will pay women low
wages and deny them maternity rights to ensure high profits.
Ruling class women also have more resources than working class
women do. They can bye themselves out of their oppression. If they
work they can hire a maid to do the housework. They can afford good
childcare facilities and schools.
Rich women and working class women do not have the same
interests. The only way in which working class women can be free is
if they challenge the capitalist system, which caused their
oppression in the first place.
WOMEN'S LIBERATION AND WORKERS STRUGGLE
We fight against women's oppression. We fight for workers unity.
An injury to one is an injury to all. Only through libertarian
socialism (anarcho-syndicalism) can women be truly freed, as the
causes of women's oppression will be removed.
In order to work towards this final victory, we must build
tomorrow today. We must fight for equal pay for equal work, for
women's access to jobs that are traditionally denied to them, for job
security for women, for free 24 childcare funded by the bosses and
the State, for paid maternity leave and guaranteed re-employment, and
an end to all violence against women. Men must do a fair share of the
housework.
Women must have an equal right to all positions of "leadership" in
mass organisations. Women must be given access to free safe abortion
on demand, and to free healthcare.
We must build these struggles in the factories and the townships.
Progressive working class men must support these struggles. WORKERS
UNITE FOR WOMEN'S FREEDOM!
This page hosted by 
Get your own
Free Home Page
Go to the
CapitolHill GeoPage