As the Algerian womens' movement has put it "the dignity of women is inseparable from that of the peoples" (see interview p. 5), and indeed it is the dignity of the Iraqi people, and that of the Arab masses, which imperialism has sought to break in this war. The Algerian Islamic fundamentalists have moreover well understood the logic which makes of every man, or woman, of every humiliated person, a potential enragé, and have used this logic for their own ends.The rise of fundamentalism is nourished by the war.
For women, "new order" resembles the old, but worse. Rarely have the means employed contradicted so flagrantly the declared good intentions. This imperialist war has corrupted the very sense of law in whose interests it is supposedly waged; the women of the Middle East and of the Maghreb will be without doubt the silent victims of it, at least unless, as in Algeria, they rise up in defence of their interests.
In 1988, fifty Tel Aviv feminists, revolted by the conditions of detention of Palestinians accused of involvement with the intifada, created the "Womens' Organization for Political Prisoners" (WOFPP). Subject to family and social pressures -some had to leave their work opposed the policy of the government, the values of Israeli society, and the repression suffered by the Palestinian people in
In the Israeli peace movement and inside the moderate Zionist left, it was the first example of solidarity between Palesintifada have provoked some fissures in the Israeli "sacred union". Tomorrow, after the war, what will remain of this solidarity? The return of nearly all progressive forces, and above all the moderate Zionist left, to the camp of "national unity", from the first hours of the conflict, has provoked without doubt irremediable fractures inside the Israeli pacifist movement. The "peace" will not bring things back as they were before. The war in the Gulf has contaminated and destroyed for he moment this fragile solidarity.
Yet, more than ever, this solidarity is necessary and the womens' all have need of it. In developing such links against the "new world order" we can give a bitter taste to the imperialist victory.
Like the Japanese feminists who carried placards at Haneda airport, against "sex tourism" in solidarity with South Korean women (see article p. 10), we must denounce the injustice, the exploitation and oppression of women, put a check on the will of the strong to crush the weak, and demand all the rights which are still refused to women. *
WOMEN AGAINST WAR FRANCE EXTRACTS from the first appeal of Women and Feminists against the war: "WE oppose any order founded on injustice, power, violence and exploitation. Whether this is in the family, at work, in the state or in international relations. Whether in daily life or in political life. In this war, we refuse to be the "comfort of the warrior", to give birth to cannon fodder, shore up the morale of the troops or take part in the killing. We refuse to be enlisted for causes that do nothing for the emancipation either of peoples or of wom-
"War nourishes fundamentalists of all stripes. War is violence and injustice, legitimized, institutionalized and generalized:
• In this country, attacks on freedom of speech, the rise of racism and economic measures that aggravate inequalities and exclusions;
• There, destruction and inumerable victims; children, women and men; civilians and military personnel; people of all nationalities and origins along with the systematic rape of women in the "conquered" territories.
"We call on all women to get informed, to get organized to act and to speak out against this war in all its forms.
"We, who did not decide on this war, refuse to collaborate with it." * SPAIN EXTRACTS from the platform of Women Against War in the Spanish State: "THE famous Gulf War has passed on from blockade to massacre. Is this really the only solution to the conflict? The truth is that we are seeing demagogy and rhetoric to get people ready to make this war, whose consequences for humanity cannot
"their own". According to its strategists, this war is to be short, but dev-
"We, as women, want to associate ourselves in the denunciation of this war; in the Gulf conflict, contrary to what is being said, the United States and its allies are only defending the interests of the big oil multinationals and the arms industry who have found a new market.
"The fleets have not set sail in order to defend democratic ideals, but for the hegemony of the powerful — today for control over oil and tomorrow for any other of their interests that are threatened. The dominant countries do not only want a monopoly on riches, to be the arbiters of peace and war, but they also claim to be the sole source of culture and democracy. But we, as women, know and suffer from the values of this dominant culture." * BRITAIN WOMEN against War in the Gulf was founded in October. According to an article by Terry Conway in the British revolu
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WOMEN AGAINST WAR tionary Marxist monthly, Socialist Out-
"Socialist feminists recognized on the importance of the gender division within society over the question of war. Quite obviously it was correct to try and orientate the antiwar movement
"Back in October there was a great deal of sectarianism between various different elements of the existing antiwar movement. We saw doing work on the ground as more important at this stage than allow-
"In wartime, the burdens on working dramatically. WAWG is in the process of establishing links with support groups - like the Gulf Mums Support Group....
"Also important is work against conscription...Conscription papers already been printed — they will be mainly served to young working class men....
"Another important aspect of WAWG's racism... WAWG is asking for this year's International Women's Day to be for peace and • for international sisterTUNISIA A HUNDRED Tunisian women have launched an appeal to the West: "AT the end of a century which has seen humanity change its destiny through the conquest of nature, the growth of knowledge and great aspirations for liberty, was this war needed, with its vast panoply of murderous tools, to reawaken the sense of the fragility of this edifice and of the legal and moral rules we have developed to 4 barism? safeguard our existence and ward off barInternational Viewpoint #202 • March 18, 1991
"It is because we remain profoundly attached to peace, justice and the use of dialogue as the sole means of resolving conflicts that we are against this war. It is because we believe that paths of peace are the only ones worth following, that we are for an immediate end to the fighting. For us, Arab women, who have chosen the construction of democracy, who are engaged in the struggle for our place as citizens, for human rights and the equality of the sexes, this war is a heavy threat and weighs heavily on our future. It sharpens hatred and feeds misunderstanding. It strengthens the voices of exclusion and racism.
"It is because we know that the sense of human solidarity exists with us, as it does with you, that we are appealing to you in the hope that together we can halt this war. It is because we believe that, like us, you think that it cannot be admitted that in the name of a routinely violated "international law" and at the behest of a body which is too often powerless, one can allow the bombing of innocent their sociopeople, destroy infrastructure economic and destroy the richest expressions of an ancient civilization.
"We continue to think that the only struggle worth leading is that which leads to the consolidation of human and national rights, to develdialogue and exchange, the op attachment to justice and respect for the other in their irreducible humanity. These values, which we want to defend and these human lives that we want to spare can only lead you to join us in calling for peace." *
ARGENTINA
ON September 18,1990, the Mothers of the Plazo de Mayo issued an appeal against the involvement of the Argentine government in the
"WE, the Mothers, condemn every act of occupation of the territory of another country. Our struggle is based on the free determination of the peoples. We can only condemn the interference of countries which conceal their economic and political trickeries under pretext of defending peace.
"In consequence, we do not accept the sending of Argentine forces to the Persian
1. Because this is an issue that should be dealt with by the Arab countries, without foreign intervention, as was the case with the US and NATO during the Malvinas
2. Because the only place in history reserved for the Argentine armed forces is in prison. They are not suitable as defenders of anything, because they are responsible for mass murder in Argentina;
3. Because there is hunger in our country, due to the dealings of these same colluded wish them. politicians who have
"The dignity of
ALGERIA tance from Saudi Arabia. It claims that it has never received aid from that country and has even called for the Saudi regime to be overthrown, and replaced by a real Islamic government. It wants to turn the women is inseparable war into a religious war, but for the time being this is only being partly successful.
The fact is that on both sides there are flags bearing Islamic inscriptions.
The FIS' main aim is to mark itself off from the other traditional parties and gain ground against the Algerian government, with an eye to the forthcoming legislative elections. They have very violently attacked the government for not siding openly with Iraq and have demanded the opening of training camps for the sending of popular militia to the Gulf. They hope
Interview with Algerian feminists by this latter proposal to latch onto the anger of the youth. We are not opposed to this idea in principle, but we are against the arming of partisan militias under the
ON JUNE 12, 1990, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) won a big victory in the local elections, the first pluralist elections in
Algeria (see /V 189, July 16, 1990). At the start of the Gulf war the fundamentalists were caught off balance owing to their ties to Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, however, they have been trying to take advantage of the new opportunities created by the conflict.
Faced with this menace, Algerian women have not ceased to struggle for their rights; today, at the same time, they have been speaking out in defence of the rights of the Arab people and against the aggression against the Iraqi people, saying:
"the dignity of women is inseparable from that of peoples."
We spoke to Samira Fellah and Nawal Zien, members of the
Algerian Socialist Workers Party (PST) and militants of the
Algerian women's movement.
H
OW has the population reacted to the war?
Samira Fellah: The war has society. In shocked Algerian the days just before the ultimatum, noone could sleep. People listened to the news until four or five in the morning.
The whole country was on edge. After the war began, there were spontaneous demonstrations, especially of young people - the unemployed and school students. In
Constantine for example it was school students who started the first mobilization, which was joined by unemployed youth who went to the city's French consulate and cultural centre. Subsequently, rather more organized demonstrations took place.
But almost every day marches would form spontaneously - for example at the end of the school day - in support of the
Iraqi people. The youth carried portraits of Saddam Hussein as a symbol of Arab resistance to the United States.
At the start the feeling on these demonstrations was strongly anti-American and anti-Western. But the movement slowly became politicized and more obviously anti-imperialist positions came out. The issue of oil as the instrument of Western domination in the region recurred in every conversation.
From the very first the antiwar movement was divided into two camps: that of the democratic parties on the one hand and that of the fundamentalists on the other. The former called for demonstrations early on the morning of Friday, January 18, immediately after the outbreak of the war. The fundamentalists, for their part, called a protest for that afternoon, after Friday prayers.
Until the war began, they had been very vague about Iraq, and avoided taking any position either on Saddam Hussein or on Saudi Arabia. There was a good reason - the Saudis are their main source of funds. The participation of that country in the Western camp was a big problem for them at that stage, and it was the pressure of popular feeling, above all from the youth, that compelled them to take clear positions.
Today, the FIS is publicly taking its discontrol of the FIS, which will be used against democrats and us, rather than against George Bush.
The democratic parties have, unfortunately, been pretty feeble. They announced that they would suspend all their political activities because of the war, thus effectively joining the camp of the goverment.
The war has thus offered the government an unexpected opportunity to create a quasi-consensus (excluding the FIS) around its economic reforms. This is in a situation of growing economic crisis, including galloping inflation. The democratic parties are totally discrediting themselves in the eyes of the population by this attitude. The fundamentalists reap the reward, appearing as the most radical opponents of the government. • Has the women's movement adopted any position?
Nawal Zien: Some women have been on the big demonstrations - but they have been in the minority. At Setif, however, there was about equal participation by women on a demonstration of high school students. There are also women in the Committees in Support of the Iraqi People. This is true in Algiers. Within the women's movement we uphold the position that women must take part in all political struggles.
SF: We believe that women who are fighting for their rights as citizens in Algeria are strongly implicated in a political problem of this size. We say that the dignity of women is connected to the dignity of peoples, in this case the Iraqi people. We know what happens to women in wars, what their living conditions are and what they have to do. Iraqi women today need our support as women.
But some of the movement's militants, above all the intellectuals, were very reticent at the start, owing to the situation of women in Iraq. In particular there is the permid pad then to ki a come a cused 5 permits any man to kill a women accused
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from the dignity of peoples"
ALGERIA of adultery. This issue created a backlash in the movement in support of the Iraqi
NZ: In the Association for Woman's Emancipation, there was a debate around slogans. Some women wanted only to call for peace. But for us and for others that was insufficient. It was necessary to address the issue of what kind of peace and to whose profit? we finally reached a consensus in favour of denouncing the imperialist aggression against Iraq.
In Algiers, the Mujahidates (former women fighters in the national liberation struggle) took the initiative in calling a women's march. Other women's groups supported their appeal. This demonstration, on January 24, brought out some
This was an important event, given that a few days before, the fundamentalist women only brought out a
The January 24 was the first by women that won the sympathy of the youth. On previous occasions, such as March 8, we had been aware of considerable hostility towards us. However, this time there was a certain complicity. • Has the antiwar mobilization led to the formation of a coordination of women's associations for common actions? What is planned for March 8 this year?
NZ: There is already a national coordination. It is this that made the preparations for January 24. This year on March 8 a national women's meeting is planned for the morning, a march in the afternoon and a meeting no doubt in the evening. This will be a very important day, since the fundamentalists have changing the date of international women's day, and they will without doubt try to prevent our demonstrations. We are still discussing the main theme. Very probably it will be the slogan of solidarity between all Arab women against the war. • Have you any information on the situation of women in other countries involved in the war - Saudi Arabia for example?
SF: The only information that we have is the demonstration by Saudi women against the ban on them driving. It seems that it was the arrival of women refugees from Kuwait that provoked this reaction. These two countries are both under the sharia - Islamic law - and Saudi women were able for the first time to discover that this law is not everywhere the same. In Kuwait women can drive, but not in