It’s also about social class and race

In much of the western world the formal campaign for women’s liberation has been ongoing in fits and starts since the 19th century. The circumstances and ideologies that related women to domesticity at a time when society was undergoing political, social and economic change gave rise to the women’s movement.

Although the barriers to further advancement of women have not all been removed, the feminist movement has been instrumental in registering substantial gains. It has made inroads by generating a debate about the role of women in the labour market and the political economy. It has created an official door to policies on the household and its organisation.

In concrete terms, the intended or unintended consequences of this emancipation process of women have translated into an increasing number of women in gainful employment, a change in the form and structure of the family and an expansion of education, which provided more opportunities for women to pursue their career. By challenging the status quo and making society change its socially constructed view of reality, the movement enabled women to make a break with the past and, at same time, legitimise for them the new behaviours as much as the new lifestyles.

Does this mean the movement has achieved most of its aims and that is why, when compared to its vociferous protests in the past, it is not seen as a radical force in today’s society? Of course, I am by no means implying it should resort to the policy adopted by the suffragettes in the early 20th century who, scorning all methods of quiet propaganda, resorted to lawless behaviour such as burning the contents of pillar boxes. The thrust of my argument is rather that, once a social movement manages to raise the level of social and public consciousness, it tends to become more mainstream in its actions and, in the process, loses some of its former efficacy in addressing the issues that tend to persist as sources of oppression.

These forces of oppression in today’s western society do not affect all women in equal proportion so that some women’s voices are less likely to be heard than others.

There are a number of women who, because of their race and social class, are more vulnerable than others. Generally, these women have to suffer in silence and invisibility. To quote one example, the voices of many black women are generally much less heard than those of white women. The most vocal voices in the women’s movement have been white, middle class, Christian women. And I do have a nagging feeling even the Maltese women’s movement tends to be middle class in its composition and outlook.

The message I would like to convey on Women’s Day is for the movement to revitalise its actions by shifting its focus on issues related not just to gender but also to race and class. This does not call for an expansion of its branches but drifting laterally in order to reinforce its roots. After all, the rationale of the movement has been the eradication of the forces of oppression that silence the voices of the vulnerable.

During the public protests held on February 13 by Italian women in several Italian cities to express their indignation at the devaluation of women’s dignity created by the sex scandals alleged to have been committed by public figures, the appeal that won most plaudits was that made by Sister Eugenia Bonetti.

This nun, who had spent 24 years in missionary work in Africa said: “I want to give a voice to those who do not have it – to the new slaves who come to our country hoping to find a better future. And it is for them and for us that I appeal that the dignity of women be respected. We are all sisters and mothers of these slaves and we should therefore say ‘enough’ to this disrespectful world market of women and to the denial of fundamental human right” (my translation from La Repubblica).

Complementing this thought-provoking statement made by this nun one of the protesters raised a pertinent question: “Did it have to be Ruby to make us open our eyes?”

These statements are not an indictment of the Women’s Movement. They could however serve as a reality check by reminding it, and us all, there are still a number of women, including undocumented migrants in Malta, who continue being treated in a demeaning way. Perhaps they are being denied the benefits society bestows on others.