Women's liberation movement in Europe
Inspired by developments in North America and triggered by the growing presence of women in the labour market, the movement soon gained momentum in Britain and the Scandinavian countries.
In addition to improvements in working conditions and equal pay, liberationists fought for complete autonomy for women's bodies including their right to make their own decisions regarding contraception and abortion, and more independence in sexuality.
[4] In December 1972 the AUF joined with women from the Communist Party of Austria (German: Kommunistische Partei Österreichs, KPÖ) and the SPÖ calling for the abolition of section 144 of the criminal code which prohibited abortion.
[20][21] Typically women who joined the MLF were leftist-leaning politically, had little trust in centralized-hierarchical organization, supported provocation of authority, and believed in revolutionary change for society.
[26] Activists aligned with the movement began to meet every two weeks at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts and by December 1970, had begun publishing the newspaper Le torchon brûle [fr] (Waging the Battle).
[27][28] In April 1971, at one of the meetings at the Beaux-Arts, under the guidance of Simone de Beauvoir, the Manifesto of the 343 calling for free access to contraception and abortion was signed by 343 prominent women, which would become one of the main rallying points of the movement.
[32] Soon thereafter, on 13 September 1968, at the SDS Federal Congress in Frankfurt, Helke Sander gave a speech articulating the reasons for the founding of Aktionsrat and the need to politicize the issues of women, which were still considered private matters.
Her speech was not taken seriously by the men in attendance and angered at their arrogance, Sigrid Rüger [de] threw three tomatoes at the podium, hitting Hans-Jürgen Krahl, one of the leaders of the SDS, in the face.
[43][44] Bringing domestic violence to the forefront for the first time in Germany, the trial brought recognition of the magnitude of the problem and led to the establishment of the Berlin women's shelter in 1976 and a rape crisis hotline the following year.
They established a newspaper Gia tin Apeleftherosi ton Gynaikon (For the Liberation of Women) to disseminate their ideas,[46] publishing articles about child care, employment, ideology and sexuality.
[50] Soon after forming, the group published a pamphlet, Chains or Change, outlining their goals, which included equal education, pay and legal rights; removal of the ban against work for married women; fair treatment of deserted wives, unwed mothers and widows; and access to family services such as child care, playgrounds and contraception.
[54] They hosted consciousness-raising sessions and sought removal of legal barriers and bureaucratic obstacles to an egalitarian society including, divorce equal education and pay, free contraception, and self-determined sexuality.
The following year at the national convention of the party in Rome, the discussion broadened to include sexual repression and social oppression, and a motion was approved to focus on these issues.
In 1969, the regional congress in Milan adopted similar themes, which led to the creation in the winter of 1969–1970 of the group Movimento di Liberazione della Donna (MLD) (Women's Liberation Movement).
Led by Maria Clara Rogozinski and Maria-Teresa Fenoglio, the collective attracted hundreds of members and in 1971 renamed the group, which had become a commune, Colletivo di Via Petrarca, after the street on which it was located.
[58][61] In Naples, the collective Le Nemesiache, founded by Lina Mangiacapre in 1970, held reenactments of fables and myths as all-women productions, to assist in consciousness-raising, using the arts as a form of protest.
Many came away from the meeting with mixed feelings, understanding that through the collectives they had gained support from other women who understood their issues, but by having isolated themselves to find their voice, they had in fact marginalized themselves from the greater society.
[73] After 1972, most of the Minas protests were focused on the issue of legalized abortion and their most successful campaign was called Baas in eigen Buik (Boss of your Belly), which argued for women's right to govern their own decisions regarding their bodies.
Renewed interest in gender and equality emerged in the 1960s as individuals such as Elsa Gress, Åse Gruda Skard and Alva Myrdal promoted debate and commissions on the status of women were formed.
[105] The first three to four years of the liberationist movement saw many new issues raised for public debate, including matters previously considered private family concerns like abortion, child care, distribution of domestic chores, incest, and sexual violence, among others.
[112] Inspired by activities in Denmark and Britain, the New Feminists (Nyfeministene) emerged that same year with action groups in Oslo, Bergen and other large cities,[113] as women began to search for an identity outside their homes and sought personal development.
[111] In the quest to identify for themselves who or what they wanted to be, women in the liberationist movement rejected the notion that equality could be attained in a society in which they were dependent upon men and challenged societal gender roles.
In 1975, when the Norwegian parliament was debating the issue, New Feminists, hiding slogan placards under their coats, asked for a tour, entered the chamber, and protested, demanding unrestricted access to abortion as well as no coercion on the subject.
Removal by the police did not prevent further action, such as when the following year liberationists ringed the exterior of the Storting building singing songs and carrying banners in peaceful protest.
[100] Simultaneously, a group of members left the Stockholm branch of Grupp 8 and formed Arbetets kvinnor (Women Workers), accusing their chapter of being too feminist and not focusing enough on class struggle.
[144] The day after Franco's death, Tremosa, along with Mireia Bofil, Amparo Moreno [es], and Núria Pompeia, among others founded on 21 November 1975 the Asociación de Comunicación Humana y Ecología (Association for Human Communication and Ecology, ANCHE).
Their first public action was a protest against objectification, but they also demonstrated for equal pay, revision of the marriage laws, retraining of housewives to enter the work force, and improved social benefits for women.
[160] Student activists in France and the UK were involved in protests over Apartheid and the Vietnam War, radicalizing them, but many women who joined leftist movement felt relegated to the sidelines.
The Scottish Women's Liberation Journal began publication in 1977, changing its name to MsPrint the following year originated in Dundee and was printed by Aberdeen People's Press.
[199] Though the movement was fluid and aimed to incorporate all women, these types of differences often led to group fractures and by the late 1970s, separate conferences were held for socialist feminists and liberationists.
