A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO WORK omen struggling at all levels against eir oppression. We must learn the ssons of the past and argue for such movement to grow alongside the labour movement self. Working women bour movement must be the core of is fight.
The a demo the core ad by against the ortion bill in 1980 and the Labour arty festival for women's rights on 5 ne point the way forward because cy offer the opportunity for women push for and organise around our mands for a woman's right to work da women's right to choose within e labour movement as a whole. It is testimony to the struggles of • asters m ne past and in ine pre at that the labour bureaucracy has en forced to listen to our demands d organise around them. the ruling class. leadership Photo: G Cookson Sylvia The root of her differences was on the social base of the struggle. 'rouse London'.
rally and went women of the East End to win support for it. Later her mother and sister tried to put a stop to the rally. didn't believe Conway Hall could be filled.
Hall was filled to overflowing. ingly turned to tactics of individual terrorism and militancy Sylvia conminued to organise mass actions baced on large assemblies of working class women and men.
This orientation to the mass women Sylvia's attitude to the suffragettes. Despite raising the slogan votes for Socialist Challenge 13 May 1982
Challenge Scotland ABERDEEN: SC available at Boom town books. King St. For spore into CASTLE: SC Prale MARTH HURAN
further towards equality . But the fightback hasn't ys we're beginning to get id the Labour Party behind to support the demonstraright to work and the al on women's rights on ming from all the major ose in Scotland, with a ster, eight coaches from 1 Leeds. arty hasn't organised make sure they do it soon. nsport organised from a coach is coming down anchester and women in the Famous Names n Bristol are hoping to on. portunity - not just to to protest at the policies ment which takes us back d to show that we're gofight for our rights.
IN ry for all women women tor votes lessons for socialists Most of summed up standing developments trast to Tragette drew out the real the struggle for the becoming a communist.
to two facts:
highest points liberation.
main stream.
Christabel ing her favourite slogan)
Despite this, Christabel in another? time.
Europe.
government.
THE MASS MOVEMENT of is rich in today. these lessons are in the and political of Sylvia Pankhurst who was born 100 years ago last week. In conthe rest of the sufleadership Syivia lessons of vote by That Sylvia is one of the few revolutionary leaders to emerge out of the British class struggle is testimony first, the fight women's votes represented one of the in the political mass struggle in Britain; and second, it illustrates concretely the revolutionary dynamic of the struggle for women's development towards revolutionary Marxism was in direct contrast to the line of march of the rest of the suffragette leadership. Her own sister Christabel represents the ended up adopting both the Tory party and an extreme form of radical feminism (votes for women and "chastity for men' becomChristabel dropped banner. the struggle for the vote to take up jingoism as soon as the first world war began. How did the same mass movement take Sylvia in one direction and Sylvia's development was no accident. Rather, she represents the real historical potential of the mass struggle of women for the vote — a massive potential that was squandered and betrayed by the marrow mindedness of the British labour leaders of the The movement of women for the vote preached a depth of mobilisation in Britain unequalled elsewhere in For example in 1908 three quarters of a million women and men marched through London for women's votes. It became an issue in who formed the The "woman question' was driving a wedge into the hearth and home of But the suffragette wiln svivia the excer did not want to break from the British ruling class. They looked to the Tories to grant women the vote, not to the newly formed Labour ParPankhurst was virtually alone in drawing the correct lessons.
with the rest of the WSPU (the suffragettes)
In 1906 Sylvia was sent south to immediately booked Conway Hall for a massive to the downtrodden They But the East End women marched central London and Conway As the SPU leadership increasof eventuany renicored in Sylvia. hurst women' the WSPU did not fight for full womanhood suffrage. that they looked for was to extend the existing franchise to women -measure that would have enfranchised rather less than half of all adult women.
This demand fitted in with the approach of the SPU which saw the vote as being implemented by a Tory government. The more limited the demana, the more likelihood it had of being carried.
Unfortunately, Sylvia, alongside Keir Hardie, fought for this position at countless Labour Party conferences, always meeting the same opposition. The right wing argued that this was a "bourgeois' and that Labour Party should fight for full adult suffrage. All those forces who opposed women's suffrage gathered behind this In 1906, Margaret MacDonald (wife of Ramsay) took the first step to organise women in the Labour Party in the Women's Labour League. This organisation was explicitly counterEast end garment workers in 19th century Supporter of the East London Suffragettes in 1919 posed to the activities of the WSPU In turning away from the mass of women and looking to the Tories the WSPU abdicated the leadership of women in the Labour Party to those who opposed women's votes Only after years struggle was Sylvia able to decide: that a grave mistake was made in leaving the field of adult suffrage — the true field of the labour movement to those who were either hostile or indifferent to women.
She the end there were no separate stages, womanhood suffrage alongside full male suffrage in the same legislation I the WSPU had fought for votes for women as the leading edge in the fight for full adult suffrage then the labour leaders have jumped off the hook.
As it was, became more economism. In a classic example of wicked narrow Labour group of MPs in 1906 decided to advance a bill protesting the carnings of steel smelters in preference to a women's suffrage bill That was the end for the Labour Party as far as the WSPU leadership As Sylvia concluded: Had other counsels prevailed then, the Labour Party might have given a great lead for a manhood and womanhood suffrage reform bill.
Further than this the Labour Party failed in its first great political test. Sylvia, rather than Press.
role of suffragette Party.
inclusion of pointed out ironically that in granted wowe not so casin Sylvia entrenched nationally, mindedness like Kollontai.
break with the segregation rand inequality ar WOTA Just out - completely rewritten 6Op plus pop. Orders over 20, Bookshop London NI Virago Press.
exhibition of Sylvia Pankhurst's work is on at The Museum of Labour History, Limehouse Town Hall, Commercial Road, London E14.
5 May-5 July.
labour movement ended up breaking with the Labour Party. Her Workers Socialist Federation played a central Preparing for the launch of the British Communist Party However, the betrayals of Labour led Sylvia to adopt extreme "leftwing positions - that communists should boycott parliament and the Labour Leftwing Communism — an Infantile Disorder con weighty polemic explicitl against Sylvia Pankhurst's position In the end Sylvia herself was a vic tim of the political backwardness of the British working class. Without the aid of Marxisty theory which she was never trained in, her views could only develop as a response to her own experience of the class struggle. Such lessons are only ever partially correct. No British Marxist party existed then that could teach her anymore.
also suffered from the isolation of the British socialists inter She was not linked into the Second International, nor part of its massive debates on feminism being like cara precise period by women Zetkin and Alexandra The conclusion formed in this debate would have been of infinite aid to Sylvia. Armed with these understandings and international links the suffragette struggle might have pro duced in Sylvia Pankhurst a leader of truly international stature. It would have been a real step on the road to the formation of a new revolutionary Icadership for the British WOTKIE second edition 40p each. Cheques to The Other Order now from The Orher Bookshop, 328 Upper Street,
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A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO WORK: POSITIVE ACTION How we can fight to end job
A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO WORK THE CASE FOR POSITIVE ACTION
Additional reading on the suffragettes: The Suffragette Movement — Sylvia Pankhurst Published by Virago One Hand tied behind us J. Liddington and J. Norris Published by