| |
Conference « Feminists for a secular Europe » Casa Internazionale delle donne Roma 31/5 - 1/6 2008.
|
| |
European Feminist Initiative organised its conference « Feminists for a secular Europe” in Rome, on May31st - June 1st in spite of persistent political obstacles and financial difficulties. This meeting gathered, in the immediate proximity of the Vatican, more than one hundred feminist activists for secularism and women’s rights, coming from 20 European and Middle East countries. This is in itself a great success against obscurantism, a powerful challenge to all fundamentalisms, an achievement of the solidarity of feminist movements and a proof of their vitality and determination. Through speeches of high quality , the convergence of the analyses and the conviction of the participants, in a warm climate of sisterhood and mutual respect, the conference showed brilliantly that the feminist movement is a necessary force in the common effort to counter the neo liberal orientation of Europe and to build a truly democratic Europe.
For five years now EFI has been working for the gathering and strengthening of the cooperation between women from East and West, North and South of Europe, Middle East and Maghreb. EFI managed to create a political feminist space for talks, reflection and action supported by studies, analyses and feminist expertise. In the present context of general regression of rights and freedoms this space has been structured by the women’s demands, sufferings and experiences always around the dynamic interaction between theoretical approach and grassroots initiative, between studies and action.
The importance of the Roma meeting, of its success and the following-ups are directly linked to the dramatic deteriorating of the situation of millions of women under the pretext of respecting religious precepts.
All the testimonies during the first session of the conference- from Spain to Sweden, from Poland to Jordan- showed the universality of the patriarchal system built on domination and control of the “other”. They showed how nowadays this system amplifies and perpetuates world-wide the globalized capitalist power and how it has been nourished by it. They showed and illustrated the strong connexion between patriarchy, ultra liberalism and religious fundamentalisms and the subtle or open militarization of the societies.
The Rome conference helped all of us to think about which policies are needed to be designed and implemented, according to our different contexts, in order to gather more feminists, to raise awareness of more women with our analyses and to more effectively influence the gender balance of power in Europe.
Our freedom is at stake. Secularism, as one of the pillars of the emancipation project for a real equality between women and men, is one of our necessary tools to fight domination. In the frame of a global suppression of all the faces of exploitation secularism means the recognition of the “other”. We want to preserve it. It belongs to all of us.
The three monotheist religions are interwoven in the roots of our cultures. They are at the worse promoting, at the best excusing, the idea of the inferiority of women. We have then to uncover and to face very deeply anchored stereotypes that women themselves interiorize. Today these religions are still fighting women’s fundamental rights such as birth control via the free access to contraception and abortion and the sexual fulfilling out of wedding. Secularism is now the arena of a wrestling match in which women have a lot to lose, but also to win.
Let us talk about secularism. For us, there is no “open “, “positive” or “tolerant “ secularism, since secularism is a universal value which does not « tolerate » differences, but on the contrary recognises and valorises them and implies the respect of all beliefs. During the two years prior the conference, European Feminist Initiative worked to favour the convergences and to elaborate, through the results of the answers to its European questionnaire, a common definition of secularism and of the ways to promote it concretely in the different contexts. The Rome meeting opened a new step, coming from the diversity of the contributions and approaches, the diversity of generations and cultures. Through this diversity a leading thread was linking all of us: the involvement without concessions in the vital fight for the women’s role and the women’s freedom of movement and action in the public space. To day the “gender mixing” in this space is threatened. There is an urgent need to prepare the girls to appropriate it by playing an active role in all the spheres of society.
The conference demonstrated vividly the refusal of women’s imprisonment under their veils or behind the walls of their houses; the refusal of women’s persecution and criminalising when they ask nothing but the free disposal of their own body; the refusal of a single attack on women’s fundamental rights under the pretext of “the respect of cultural diversity “.
The conference concluded that there is an emergency to act together and to widen together the front of resistance. It launched an appeal to a joint campaign for a secular and feminist Europe on the basis of propositions which will be finalized within a European working group .
Contact : ife@efi-europa.org
|
| |
