m - DISA

I suthors' contention thmt it il oxpadiant to organism
rw&mI only to drm« the* in to thm main stream of
political organisation. Why also? Bacauaa thay art
nicer paapla than man?
•Wan naad to be organlaad bacauaa thay hava not
. aa yat ihoultfarad thalr Full share of tha burden of
struggle against a system ahlch tha authora thamsalvma
* recognise oppraaa tham mora harahly than It doaa tha
i
othar half of tha *oppraaaad masses'.
Sorely tha quaation which tha aomsii's study
* oroop ahould hava aslcad ems: any bo •BUM not
participate 'equally and actively', and ho* to gat
thaa to do ao. Omawnding that thay do - ehmthar tha
• daamnd la mmda to man or aoman * la a llttla baalda
•
tha point until that quaation haa baan mnaamrad.
Urtfortunataly, 'Organising Wornon?' did not
anmemr it. It merely confuaad tha quaation.
Response 3
THE artlcla 'Organising toman?' («P 21) la walcoma
bacauaa thara la a good daal about aoman'a oppraaalon,
daaa division and organlsablllty In South Africa that
naada to ba dabatad froa both practical and
thaoratlcal viewpoints. Tha artlcla providaa a vivid
plctura of soma aortclng claaa aoman'a axparianca, and
haa triad to ba raadabla and colloquial*
Ita central aaafcnass ft earns to aa tO ba tha
inadaquata dlatinction betaaen oppraaalon and mconomic
p axploitatlon. • Thla raaulta In tha vagua generalities
of tha conclusion; no claar anaaar la givan to tha
quaatlona poaad at tha beginning of tha artlcla.
Time and again, oppraaalon la rafarrad to aa
tha apaciflc and concrete axparianca of exploitation*
By opprmaalon aa ara talking about tha way In
f ahlch aorfcing people axparianca tha affaota of
thla amploitmtion In thalr daily llvaa. For
axampla, loaar amgaa aaan inadaquata food,
poor housing and Inadaquata education.
Tha authora aaaa to mean that non-oanarahlp of
tha mamna of production laada to olaaa exploitation;
ahlch in turn causas loa aaqaa; ahlch in turn
raaulta in auffaring and deprivation, ahlch la tha
aa**) thing aa oppraaalon. Woman auffar daprivatlona
ovar and abova thoaa of tha morfclng claaa, ahila
aharlng thoaa aa mall.
Aa far aa I oan aam, economic claaa mxploitation
arialng from tha moda of pro-party oanarahlp undar
capitalism ia ragardad by tha authora aa tha aola
basis of all forma of oppraaalon in aociaty; and
individual or group axparianca of that axploitatlon
la ahat tha authora undaratand by oppraaalon.
anile tha authora glva mn explanation for claaa
axploitatlon (non-oanarahlp of tha mamna of production)
thay noahara glva a raaaon for tha apaciflc and axtra
penalties auffarad by aoman. Thay daacrlba thasa
lntaraatlngly and movingly, but aithout any axplanatlon
aa to any woman aa an Idantlflable group ahould auffar
tha axtra penalties of oppraaalon. Thay seem ovar*
anxious not to dapict aoman'a oppraaalon aa arialng
froa a contradiction aaparata or avan dlatingulahabla
from claaa oppraaalon; thay avoid any mention of
patriarchy and tha dabataa around it, or discussion
of auch iaauaa aa tha technical diviaion of labour.
Aa a raaulta tha authora ara unabla to conaldar
any forma of famala oppraaalon othar than aorfclng
class oppraaalon - in fact* according to thalr
conceptualisation t only working class eommn oan
auffar oppraaalon. Thla daaplta tha fact that a
numbar of tha axamplaa thay put foraard for aorklng
claaa aoman*a oppraaalon * tha doubla day, aaxual
abuaa lnalda and outalda aarriaga, being cut off
from aldar social activity by family atructuraa and
raatrictiona - ara axparlancad by woman in othar
clessee.
Thara is noahara any augpaatlon that tha ability
to oppraaa ia a function of political poamr, and
convaraaly that oppraaalon la a consequence of
political poaarlaasnaaa. Oppraaalon derives from
political poamr, political poaar doaa not alamys derive
from aconcaiic poaar. (If political poamr alaaya
dartvad from aconomlc poamr, state poaar could nmvilr B
changa handa onca hald by mn economically dominant
claaa. Burmly any thought about tha split bataman
political poaar and aconomlc control in tha third
aorld aould ahom that tha kind of raductlonlam
that la unabla to aam poamr aourcaa aaparata from
economic/property ownership la going to go vary far
aatray).
Polltloal poamr can ba understood in tha
brondost sense aa tha ability, by sanction or
coercion, to protect or advance ona's interests
aa mn Individual, a group or a claaa. Economic
and/or atata poaar arm not tha only aourcaa of
poaar and potantially of oppraaalon in a aociaty i
aithln many - If not all - social organisations and
atructuraa thara ia a potential for sanction and
coarclon aithln tha organiaation, and in ralation to
othara, according to tha organisation's scope.
Aa tha authora damonstrata, avan aithln tha working
claaa thara la dlffarmntlal mccmaa to organisational,
community, family and othar atructural baaaa of
authority mnd poaar.
Tha artlcla describes tha authority of aorfclrvj
claaa mmn within tha family, and thalr ability to
oppraaa on that level. Gonamojuancas of thla arm
fait in community and trada union organisation aa a
raault of axtrm difficulties axpmrlancmd by aoman
In participating- in thmm at all, nmvar mind on
equal terns.
•omen's oppraaalon * tha doubla day; axtra
aaarlnmaa and no tlma for activity outalda eor+c and
tha family; aaxual abuaa; unahmrmd rmaponalbllity
for children; marginaliaatlon in tha labour force -
muat spring from aoman'a poamrlmaanmaa In social
atructuraa, baginnlng alth tha fmally. It
reproduces itself in othar social aranas, including
tha labour market, ahlch la many woman's hopm of aoma
material baaia for ultimata lndapandmnca of family
authority.
All thla la obvloualy not a almpla apln-off of
thalr aconomlc position aa aorfcara: famala * super
axploitatlon* la mmda possible by thm structures of
specifically aommn'a oppraaalon. In an exploited
claaa, thla alll ba mora acuta, bacauaa powarlaasnaaa
aa woman ia not altlgatad by claaa privilaga and
thm increased options it brings.
By oaalng working; clasa aoman aa simply a type