« Feminism is a global political movement to challenge and change women’s subordination to men. But time and again we hear people say that feminism is just about women making their own choices, regardless of what those choices are, or what bumpy, un-level playing field they make those decisions in. We are told that practically every woman who wakes up in the morning and makes a decision is a feminist, or those who have jobs, or money. While indeed it is true that any woman can be a feminist, feminism has to mean something, otherwise it risks meaning nothing.

We must remind people that ours is a political movement, it is serious. It is not about a trip to the health spa, a flattering trouser suit or a pole-dancing class. Our politics are literally about life and death. Two women every week in our country are murdered by a violent male partner, who on average will serve around four years in prison. One in four women are victim to rape in their lifetime, while only one out of every twenty reported rapes result in a conviction. Because we are feminists we do not believe that nineteen out of every twenty women who report rape are lying. Because we are feminists we do not believe that the rape crisis in our country is the amount of false reports, because we are feminists we believe women and we join together in our movement to demand justice. »

Finn Mackay, 23 October 2010

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Speeches :

• Chitra Nagarajan
• Virginia Heath
• Rahila Gupta
• Lindsey Hills
• Ann Rossiter
• Jill Radford
• Vera Baird
• Hilary McCollum
• Cynthia Cockburn
• Leila Alikarami
• Katherine Ronderos
• Anna Fisher
• Finn Mackay

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Reclaim The Night, 2009

Finn MacKay, Reclaim the Night 2009

Congratulations RTN 2009. You have taken back the night in solidarity with women who have also marched tonight in Grenoble in France, in Rome in Italy and in Newquay in Cornwall. And they have sent their greetings to our march here in London.

Thanks are due to all the women who worked to organise the march this year. In particular to Jess, Chitra, Jennifer, Gemma, Julia, Katie and Becca. Thanks to our signer Kate. To the fantastic drummers, all the way from Glasgow, Sheboom. To all the women who stewarded this year. To the men who helped by setting up this venue and in particular to Adrian. Thank you to our Trade Union sponsors the NASUWT and Unison, to the NUS, BECTU, NUT and all our TU comrades.

And thank you to all of you, over 2000 marchers from all over the UK closing down London to say no to violence against women in a great show of strength for our UK Women’s Liberation Movement. There is a resurgence of feminism in our country and beyond. Towns and cities everywhere are setting up their own Feminist Networks and organising their own RTN’s. Change is afoot in our country. The women’s movement is on the march once again!

Why is this happening now? Because we are stirring up a backlash against the backlash. And what is that term, the backlash is a pre-emptive strike against women’s success before it was won, a reaction from patriarchy to the wins of feminism, a kickback against the threat to the status quo that our movement continues to pose.

In this environment there are many lies told about our movement, many myths about what it stands for, and what it was when last at its height in our country in the 1970’s and 80’s. And those who have only heard these lies, can be resistant to even the word ‘Feminism’. They will say we should think of a new one to replace it because it puts people off. But those who understand the potential offered by Feminism at that time, who recognise the achievements of the 70’s and what it means for us now – say in return, that yes we are Feminists and we are proud to be so. That there was nothing wrong with it then, there’s nothing wrong with it now and all we have to do is finish the job.

And in this great movement that we have inherited we continue to move forward and like our sisters who went before us we continue to make wins of our own. And for many years to come women will look back on what we achieved this year with our historic win on clause 13 in the Policing & Crime Bill. For the first time the eyes of the law will be turned on those who fuel the demand for women and children in prostitution. This shows that laws can be changed, that history can be made, that the future can be re-written for the better.

Not surprisingly, this has not been the story in our media, as they are more obsessed with the recent outing of ‘Belle Du Jour’.

So – Dr. Brooke Magnanti, aka ‘Belle Du Jour’ we are sorry you had to fund your education through prostitution. We are sorry that it is prostitution that has made you famous, rather than your studies in science and medicine. And we invite you to join us – in campaigns for the return of the student grant, for free education and for a world where all women are worth more than what some man is willing to pay for them.

Tonight you have marched for all women. For the right to live free from fear. You have marched to demand justice for all those that have survived the crimes of rape, of sexual abuse and assault, of forced marriage, of domestic violence. And you have marched for the many, who did not survive. And so for all those women who didn’t make it, we cannot lose heart. For all those women who lost hope long ago, we must carry it for them.

We must ensure that every woman knows of the existence of our movement, knows that it grows bigger every day. Regardless of her views or opinions on feminism. Because of all the many great things that feminism is, at its most fundamental, at its most relevant to all those women who have survived the crimes of male violence or been touched by them, at even its very least, feminism still stands as a worldwide movement of billions of women that says we believe you. It is not your fault. No woman is ever to blame for men’s violence.

And in many ways we are all survivors. We are all of us survivors of a system that has beaten us down with words, that has assaulted us with images, that has failed us with lack of expectation, with poorer schooling, with lower pay. We call it patriarchy.

And because of it there are all too many women out there who do not believe in them selves, let alone in a movement of women. And it is our job to change their minds.

We don’t need to know how to look good naked. We need the right to be equal with our clothes on. We need to build a society that values us as more than just our bodies.

The New Year will of course bring many new challenges. Here we are on the brink of an election, with the fascist BNP canvassing for your vote. Our world leaders about to agree to indecision in Copenhagen, while climate change and the destruction of our environment continues unabated. And as feminists these are our issues because there can be no freedom while our sisters continue to pay the price for the profits of patriarchy. Around the world it is women and children who are the first to die in wars, the greatest number of refugees, the most who starve in need of clean water and food while governments, including ours, invest in killing and tools of killing. We must educate ourselves on these issues and work in solidarity with those active on them. Because Feminism is for everyone. Ours is a revolutionary movement, self critical, self reflective and progressive. We have made the links between racism and sexism, between militarism and masculinity, between homophobia and misogyny and we are all the better for it. And together we must continue to learn and grow because this is the strength of our movement. This is why we will win.

Do not flinch in your idealism. Never give up. Know that you are part of a proud movement with a great history and an even greater future.

Why Feminism? Because you’re worth it!

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 Finn MacKay, 2008.

Five  years of taking back the  night! Five years of marching together to  shout a loud NO to rape and  male violence. Thank you for putting your  feet on the streets for women,  for closing down London, for our issues,  for once!

Thank  you very much for coming  tonight from all over the country. Coaches,  from Birmingham. Groups from  Liverpool, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester.  Thank you for marking the  International Day to End Violence Against  Women with us here in the  capital on our fifth revived national Reclaim  The Night march.

Big  thanks are due this year to  our Trade Union sponsors and supporters –  to the NASUWT for sponsoring  this venue. NUT and Unison for their  continued support and to all our  Trade Union comrades. Thanks are due  also to all the individual women  and groups around the country who have  given out flyers, organised  transport, forwarded emails, stuck up  stickers, spread the word, brought  friends and made this event the  great success it has been.

Thanks  to the women on the  organising committee who have put a year’s worth  of work into making  tonight happen – Jennifer, Ashley, Julia, Kate,  Becky, Caroline,  Sandrine, Laurie and in particular Becca, for putting  100% into this  event every year. Thanks also to our signer Kate, to the  men’s group who  held their vigil in support of our march and to the  men who have  organised this rally venue tonight, and in particular to  Adrian.

We  have marched tonight because we  still have to. We have marched  together tonight as women because we  have a struggle to win and each of  you knows it. We live in a society  where all of us, in all our  diversity, know what it is to live with the  fear, threat and reality of  male violence. Some of us live with this  when we walk home at night.  Some of us live with this in our workplaces.  Some of us live with this  in our homes and families. It is a shame on  our society that there an  estimated 80,000 rapes every year, over  300,000 sexual assaults – and  meanwhile, a rape conviction rate that  stands at the lowest it has ever  been, one of the lowest in Europe at  only 5.3%.

We  are living in a society in  backlash. By that I mean a backlash against  the successes that women  have made. Successes that were gained by our  sisters who have gone  before us. Indeed, nothing that we take for  granted now, was ever given  to us, nor was it easily won. The fact that  we can vote, that we can get  a formal education, that we can work,  that we have access to safe and  legal abortion, that we have laws  against domestic violence, FGM, rape  in marriage. All the gains we have  made have been secured against all  the odds. And the climate we are in  now is no easier, nor will our  successes be any easier gained. For we  still have much to win. And  increasingly, what we are fighting for are  our most basic of freedoms,  and the battlegrounds are being drawn  across our very bodies.

Everywhere  we go, we see ourselves  demeaned and objectified in magazines, on  billboards, in our media. We  see ourselves for sale on our high streets  and in the small ads of local  papers. We see our young people  increasingly sexualised. We see the  so-called “sex industry” normalised  as a career choice for our  daughters. Is this the price we are  expected to pay for making  relatively tiny advances in formal  employment, for closing the pay gap  by fractions, for clinging on to  the very basic and restricted rights we  have to abortion when we need  it, for being seen in positions of power,  for daring to take up public  space? Well we never agreed to this  trade-off. And we will not  sacrifice our basic rights, nor our dignity  and humanity to any  backlash.

For we are involved in a liberation struggle and that means we don’t stop until we get there.

We  know it won’t be easy.  Everywhere we look we see signs of that. This  year alone women will have  spent over £1 billion pounds on plastic  surgery. According to some  surveys up to 63% of girls would rather be  glamour models than doctors  or teachers. Pole-dancing is considered a  good way to get girls into PE.  There are more licensed lap dancing  clubs in our country than Rape  Crisis Centres. Less than 1 in 10 Local  Authorities have support  services for women involved in prostitution.  One in 3 Local Authorities  have no women’s refuge at all, for those  fleeing domestic violence. And  whether we like it or not, this has  happened on our watch. But it sure  as hell doesn’t have to happen in  our names.

And  you have made that clear  tonight. You have withdrawn your consent. By  marching together as women,  for all those who have paved the way and  for those that can’t be here.  You have marched for the 2 women every  week murdered by a violent male  partner. For the 1 in 4 women who are  raped, for the 5000 young people  prostituted on our streets tonight as  every night. For our sisters  around the world who represent the poorest  of the poor, those most  displaced by wars, those without education,  those most affected by  environmental destruction. You have marched not  to speak for these women  but to speak out for them. And in so doing you  have sent a message to  those who would silence us, to those who would  keep us in the home where  we are actually most at risk. You have said,  we know. We know that it  is always safer to resist.

A  few years ago the End Violence  Against Women Coalition held a  reception for the survivors of male  violence and the families of those  who have lost their lives to male  violence. At this reception many of  the guests expressed surprise that  there was such a movement around the  issue of men’s violence against  women. They had no idea that so many  women, so many groups and  organisations were working tirelessly to make  sure no other family, no  other woman went through what they had. Now,  we may not be able to stop  male violence against women overnight, but  we can change this. Right  now.

We  can make sure that every woman  knows that there is a place for her,  that there is a movement for her  that needs her to be part of it. We  need Feminist Networks in all towns  and cities, we need to link with  our sisters and brothers  internationally who are involved in similar  struggles.

We  need to build on our proud  movement, on our history, so that in  another 5 years we will be able to  say: look where we are now. Look how  far we have come. Look what we have  done for women.

And  so to those who think that the  women’s liberation movement in this  country has been and gone, I would  say think again. For we have merely  been re-grouping. And new women have  been finding us, and finding their  voice.

And  tonight you have raised your  voices. You have stopped traffic, just as  we will stop violence against  women. You have closed down the streets  of the capital, just as we will  close down those institutions that try  to repress us. You have taken  back the streets, just as we will take  back our movement from those who  would package it up and sell it to us.  As if it can be found in ‘Miss  Naked Beauty 2008’. As if it can be  found in a new magazine, a new diet  or a cosmetics company. NO!

No,  our liberation will not be  found there and we will not be fooled. It  is up to those of you who know  this truth to shout it louder than ever  before, so that all women can  hear it. Join us. And ask yourselves  this: Are you the generation that  will finish what our sisters started  over 30 years ago? Are you ready to  win our longest revolution?

You  have taken back your night and  you have won the day. Now reclaim your  right, to a movement of our own.  Thank you very much for coming, see  you on the front line.

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Speech Finn McKay, Feminism in London, 2009

What a great day! It is very difficult to close such a gathering, to follow all the amazing speakers and workshops that we have benefited from.

The first thing I have to do is to thank all the amazing women who have organised this event. They have spent a year working on this and done a great job. So please stand up and be recognised by your sisters for what you have achieved: Amtojh, Laurie, Chitra, Sally, Esther, Alice, Jennifer, Yasmin. And the group wanted me to say special thanks to Anna Fisher, for the 110% she put in this year, to making sure this event was a success.

We also need to thank all the volunteer stewards and of course Kate for keeping the day together and on schedule.

Give them all a round of applause.

We are gathered here today of course in very turbulent times. Our planet is in crisis, global capitalism has imploded. And as usual, it is the poorest people who pay the biggest price; and are doing so again, here in our country as we deal with yet another inevitable recession. Many of our sisters and brothers have lost their jobs, their homes. And in such uncertain times it is often the rights of those most oppressed that are first to go. Our rights as women have come into question. Is this the proper time for equal pay? Can we afford rape crisis centres? What does it say about our society when our basic rights are considered a luxury? When our equality is seen as a privilege for the good times only?

What an insult; to all those women: mothers, partners, carers, who hold up families, communities, our society. To the women: who always work hardest in the bad times. Taking two or three or more jobs, providing for their families and dependants. Or leaving University with qualifications as good as ‘the next man’ yet having to compete for scarce jobs that now more than ever will be saved for ‘the best man for the job’.

It is true that equality is not cheap, and neither are we. Our rights are not cheap, our citizenship is not cheap, our humanity does indeed come at a price. And we are here to claim nothing less than those rights, whatever the cost. Because for too long we have paid a heavy price, while our oppressors have profited from our labour, our minds, our bodies; and have built their empires literally on our backs, have raised themselves up, by beating us down. Patriarchy shapes us and leaves its mark on all of us, and we are all survivors of it. The inequalities of this system manifest in women’s bodies. They are made real in blood and bruises and tears while we count the numbers – the 1 in 4 women in our country living with domestic abuse, the at least 40,000 women who are raped every year; most of whom will never see justice. Or the women in our prisons – over half of whom are survivors of domestic abuse, a third survivors of sexual abuse and over 60% of them, mothers of young children. And of course the most final statistic is the body count, of the 2 women every week in our country, who are murdered by a violent male partner.

Now more than ever we need our women’s movement and the women’s movement needs you. Not least, because history shows us that in recession, nations turn to the right; looking for scapegoats, looking for anyone to blame but those whose pursuit and mishandling of power created the situation in the first place. And such times are dangerous times for women, for all women, and especially so, for women of colour, for women seeking asylum in our country, for women raising children on their own, for poor women. And in these times we need a women’s movement to stand up for us, to fight for our rights. And we also need this movement to lead the way, to speak out for all those oppressed by these systems that we did not create. For our sisters and brothers of all backgrounds, for our environment that we all share, for the living creatures that we share it with. We must make sure that our movement marches on the bridges we build between each other, between different groups, between our allies in different countries and across the world.

And that is why you will see a variety of groups represented here today who are working on all of these issues and many more. Groups campaigning against militarism and for peace, for equal pay, for refugees and asylum seekers, against racism, for the environment and animals, for children. Everywhere you will have looked around our conference today you will have seen women leading the way for social justice, for peace, for a different and better world, not just for ourselves and our own issues, but for the benefit of the whole of society.

And so I hope that today you have learned about new groups and that you will become involved with some of the organisations you have met here. Become change makers in your own families, communities, in the world. Spread the message that Feminism is back!

For how is it that we have allowed our movement to be so denigrated for so long? That we have allowed the proud name of our Women’s Liberation Movement to become a joke, for the title of our politics to become an insult – where Feminism is a dirty word? We are portrayed as humourless, as prudish, as backward – in a world that reduces us to objects, that finds entertainment in our rape and abuse, that tells us we have it all, while trying to reduce us to so little. What our great postmodern society is trying to hide is that there is, in fact, nothing new about the oppression of women. There is nothing new about the objectification of women or the selling of women’s bodies. Unfortunately, this has been the status-quo for centuries. And so in fact, it is us who are radical, it is our movement that is pushing the boundaries, challenging the norms. It is up to us to tell these truths, and while our movement is so misrepresented it is up to us to represent it; against all the lies.

Lies, like those told to us, the ones that we have all survived. That we were lesser, that we were nothing, that what we look like is more important than what we think, what we know, what we do.

Lies like those told about all the teenage women here, all the women in their 20’s. You are the main target of much of our misogynist media and advertising and you are also represented in our media and culture in ways that are usually not positive for you, that are far from inspirational, that do not even begin to describe who you are and who you can be. And then, to add insult to injury you are often blamed for this very situation, as if you yourselves designed ‘Playboy’ merchandise, as if you yourselves are making money from sales of ‘novelty’ pole dancing kits.

And perhaps the greatest lie: that you are the generation that has sold out Feminism. How wrong, to use the term sold out, when the backlash has been sold to you; when all you are given to sell is yourselves. It is not you who have sold out, for we have nothing to gain, and have gained nothing, from the backlash against us. Which takes our movement, takes the language of our liberation, turns it on its head, and sells it back to us. That is not our liberation. Liberation does not look like ‘Playboy’, it does not look like ‘Spearmint Rhino’, it does not look like ‘size Zero’, it does not look like Gok Wan.

Yes, it is a lie that you are the generation that has betrayed Feminism, when all around me and all over the world I see young women resisting, against all the odds, women succeeding, women winning.

That is what liberation looks like!

And just as the last decades have proved what Feminism can do, so will you, and I for one can’t wait to see what you are going to do with the next 30yrs.

And although the backlash against our movement is fierce, we must take this as a compliment. You have to push hard against this system before you are noticed, it is only when power is threatened that those who hold it will bother kicking back. And so, you know what they say, if it aint hurting it aint working! Once, we posed a real and present threat to the status quo, and we will do so again.

This is a great time to be a Feminist!

On behalf of the London Feminist Network I’d like to thank you all for coming and for being part of today, and we hope to see you all again on Saturday 21st November in central London to Reclaim The Night against rape and all forms of male violence against women. This year our march will be led by Europe’s largest women only drumming band, ‘SheBoom’, 50 drummers all the way from Glasgow – so you won’t miss us! We need your help to make sure our voices are heard over the drums!

Lets close down the streets for women. Lets send a message to all those rapists and abusers who unfortunately may never see justice served, let them know, in the strength and visibility of our movement; that they have not broken us, that they can never stop us. Lets send a message to all our silent sisters, carrying their abuse and their history like shame; let them know, in the strength and visibility of our movement, that they are never to blame for men’s violence and that we always believed them.

March for your sisters, your friends, your daughters, march for yourselves. March for our movement.

Thanks very much, see you at Reclaim The Night on Saturday 21 November 2009.

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Speech of Rebecca Mott, Feminism in London, 2009