m - DISA

Response 2
A few years ago BOM beat-forgotten group put out a
hunp«r sticker baring the slogan 'Peaceful change
no*l ' Our response to 'Organising Soman?' (flIP 21)
MB auch thai aajaa aa our raaponaa to that sticker,
ayepathy alth the atrong faallnga of tha authora,
but disquiet at their logic
Tha conclusion to 'Organising eoeanT* -
It to only through tha equal and active
participation of somen in all organisations,
not, that aowen'e baaic demands will ba met in
a future daaocratio South Africa
- fllaa in tha faca of tha authora* oan data and of
tha politic*! raalltiaa of t*la country.
Shila appreciating tha 18 montha' raaaarch dona
by tha voaan's etudy group Into tha form of
oppraaaion paouliar to black working; class aoaan and
raoognlalng, aa thay do, tha need for a radical changa
In sexual ettltudee, ee ballava that thara ara aoaa
aarloua flan in their erguaante.
Firstly, aftar stating aaphatically that
'tha aajortty of aoaan* ara not raady to partlclpata
In mass politics (an aaaartlon aa would diaputa In
Ita present form), thay than demand *ao|jal and actlua
participation in all organisations'. Given that tha
majority of aoaan are not raady {to quota tha
authora) to partlclpata in aaia politics, ara thay
suggesting that x number of aueh 'unready* aoaan
gat dragged In off tha atraata to fill thalr SOT*
quota In tha ranka of thaaa 'organiaationa 1 ?
Or ara tha authora perhaps looking a littlo
cloaar to hoaa? Ara thay aodaatly auggaatlng that
thay aVe raady to ahouldar thia haavy burden
thaeaelvee - being, presumedly, liberated, and thus
unancuabarad with -eubeervlence, paaalvlty and lack
of aalf-confidanca*?
Coaa now, lac's ba raallatic. aomen ara
oppraaaad becaueo that oppraaaion aarvaa carta in
interests, not bacauaa thalr male counterparts
don't lika mixed atoluala.
•
No-ona aould augpeet that undar tha praaant
regime tha working clmi could eoaehow gain control
of tha means of production. Why than do tha
authora expect anything dlffarant In tha realms
of sexual polltlca?
Aftar pagaa of axaaplaa demonstrating ahy aoaan
do not partlclpata aojually in 'all organiaationa'
(ahatavar that aay mean), tha authora blandly demand,
In thalr laat aantancat that thay ahould.
Surely thay cannot ba auggaatlng that tha
structural and Ideological conatralnta of South
African aociaty ara accidental, and that Barely t»y
aanting to, thaaa 'organiaationa 1 oan eoaehoe steal a
march on mocaablqua and implement aaxual liberation
before economic and political liberation?
In addition, the authora aeea to ballava that
the nature of faaala participation in lnduetrlal or
coaaunlty action la aoeehoe different froa that of
male participation. The faaala rent protaatora In
Soaeto aantloned by tha authora did not necessarily
participate in thet action aa aoaan; nor did thoae
involved* in the Sea Harveet or Freaatex strikes* involve
thaaaelvaa bacauaa thay eere aoaan. ThU aould onty
ba tha case if It could ba ehoen that aoaan only act
aa aoaan, and never aa part of a broader, non-
aaxuelly defined coaatunlty.
Poaan auffar aa auch aa aan froa non-aexuel
foraa of oppraaaion and exploitation. Ihy than do
the authora appear to aaa the above aotiona by aoaan
aa aoaa sort of victory for faalnlat conaclouanaea?
Thoae aoaan aere reacting aa people affected by
particular circumstances. For aoman to partlclpata
in political or Industrial action la nothing new.
atwmrever people - aula or faaala - have the naceeeery
opportunltiaa to act against oppraaaion, thay do.
True, there era ailliona of aoaajn aho do not
participate in 'mess polities'* There ara also
ailliona of aan. The point of aeee political
activity aould appear to be to ajoblllae ae many
people ae possible over laeuee that affect thaa
Jointly, not to do a heed-count of tha aexee.
The structure of our aociaty diotataa a larger
eada partlclpatipn, and until thet structure la
s 1 tared, that diaproport Ion will remain, no aatter
how undesirable*
Tha article also makes auch of 'organleatione...
already serving to connect working clasa aoaan*. It
ahould ba pointed out that not all structures serving
to connect working class aoaan are, of themselves,
e Good Thing. Neither, for that Batter, are thoae
serving to connect working clasa aan, or mash are of
tha working class generally. One only has to
consider Inkathe, ahoea strength among working
claaa aan and aoaan in Natal la indisputable.
And to take a atructura apparently favoured by
tha authora! tha Catholic Church aoaan*a groups.
One aould have to search long and hard to find a
sexually progreesive coaponent In an organisation
!*«• 18
ahlch coidaana absolutely contraception and abortion m
two major factora In tha liberation of eorklng claaa
aoaan from a purely domeetlc role - and haa as lta
ideological basis the inherent euperlorlty of melee.
To aay nothing of tha sawing clrclea and houeaaivae'
leagues ahlch appear to find auch favour aa eltaa of
struggle.
Yet for aoaa raeeon tha authora aaa auch groups
aa having progreaeive potential, ehile rejecting
the National Union of Clothing Wort ere. How does an
organisation dedicated to the ralnforcaaant of
aoaan's domes tic role have progreaeive potential,
ahlla an organlaatlon alth a aambarehip of 20 000-
plus Indisputably eorting claaa aoaan doaa not?
Merely because of Us Bwbalo'a-laadarehip?
It should be pointed out that while tha
housewives 1 leagues and sawing circles twiddled , *
thalr thumbs during tha 1976 atay eeaya, in at laaat
one, ?« of Ms aVubelo'a maatoarahlp answered the
students* call to etey at hoaa, ..
And than there U the laaue of asperate eeaan'm
organiaationa. Or rather, than thara lan*t. Surely
thia la one of the fundaaantal leauea ahlch needa to •
ba examined. Yet the authors of 'Qrffanlalng soman?-
skip over tha laaue aa If all the arguaanta are i
coaa on knowledge, and only the conclusion (that thay
are e Good Thing To Have - In moderation), le worth
putting on paper.
Finally, ae aould lika to take laaue with tha