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The feminist movement is experiencing a diversification that is not dividing us but uniting us in our diversity. This said Betania Avila of Brazil on February 9 at the Inter-Movement Feminist Dialogs at the WSF 2011 in Dakar, Senegal.
The speakers at the FD were from Brazil, Italy, Panama and India. More women were expected, also feminists from Africa but because of huge logistical difficulties they were not able to attend. And also the group of participants at the Feminist Dialogs was very small For sure many more wanted to come but did not find the venue.

These difficulties that the FD encounter are not at all an isolated case here at the 11th WSF in Dakar.
Unfortunately the programme came out very late and there are not enough copies for the 7500 participants. Further most rooms alocated to events of the WSF are occupied by students who have classes in there. And it seems that the management of the university did not inform the heads of the faculties that there will be workshops taking place in their classrooms.

This is what happened to the FD on Feb. 9:
When the organisers wanted to prepare the small amphitheater that was asigned to them in the programm. They found a room full of students in the middle of a lecture.
About 30 women met in the hallway of the faculty of social sciences at the banner of the feminist dialogs. We were desperatly trying to find an alternative venue to hold the FD. One tent was far to hot the other had nothing to sit on. Finally an Italian organisation offered us to use their tent which had chairs. About 1 ½ hours later the we could finally start with the Inter-movement Feminist Dialogs.

The self-organised activities at this WSF are indeed self-organised in the true sense of the word. the organisers have to take care of everything including searching a venue and informing possible participants where their activity is taking place, which is almost impossible in this big University compound with tousends of students who have to take their classes. This results in everyone searching for the activity they would like to attend, getting lost and frustrated and unfortunately we are missing a lot of opportunities to attend interesting discussions and participate in exchanges and debates.

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Back to the Feminist Dialogs. It was definitely worth the effort ,as the different presentations were very interesting. Following summaries of the three main speakers from Italy, Brazil and Panama and one deliberation from an Indian women during the discussion.


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Alessandra Mecozzi form Italy talked about the impacts that the economic and cultural social crises have on women and how women respond to them, especially women from the working class in Italy.
Labor experiences a degradation and aggravation. At same time in Europe we see the privatization of public services which has an impact on the daily live of people. Together with religion that has a huge influence in Italy not only on the society but also on the government this leads to the social and cultural crises. We experience a backlash in terms  of women's control over their bodies. Young women are made believe by the media, if they have a beautiful body, They can make easy money, without having to work hard.
The commercialization of women's bodies has been reinforced.

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Betania Avila from Brazil explained the strengthening and diversification of the social movements in Latin America, in particular the feminist movement.
We are experiencing new political practices in the social movements in Latin America and the feminist movements are important subjects in these processes. We also see a democratization of social life and daily realities in our continent. The movements of the indigenous women, black women and sexual minorities such as the lesbians have become very strong and take a strategic role in the democratization of the feminist movement.
They contribute to the diversification of the feminist movement. This diversification is not dividing us into fractions but much more uniting us in our diversity.
And the feminist movement started to question the political practices within its ranks. Realizing that we need to confront much more the structural discrimination and exploitation, that exists also within the feminist movement. Especially when it comes to productive and reproductive work.
Majority of the workers in the informal sector are women. They are working under very poor working conditions and with no labor rights. At the same time they are responsible for the domestic, reproductive work. In Latin America jobs in the domestic field are controlled by women and at the same time divide them into classes. While the lower classes work as domestic helpers. The exploitation of these women is a strategy for middle class women to take up better paid jobs on the labor market.
This chain among women that liberates some and oppresses and pushes others into the informal sector, majority of them indigenous and black women has a very strong racial dimension and reinforces the inequality among women according to class and race.
In Latin America hardly any state provides social services for their people. The lack of social services is being assumed by poor black and indigenous women. If we seriously want to end women's oppression we need to address the question of domestic work.
Further the influence of the religion in our countries have become much stronger again, especially of the catholic church, which has a negative impact o women's sexuality, reproductive health and the right to contraceptives and abortion. We live in a macho society and men impose a sexuality to us in which they dominate women. We need to reinforce that our bodies belong to us and regain control over our them.

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Cecilia Moreno from Panama claimed that Feminism needs to be reformed and is in the process of reformation in Latin America to make the reality of black women or women of African decent visible.
Black women are a part of society, who so far has been outside the feminist movement, this became very obvious at the last WSF in Belem, Brazil.
Another very important question for the liberation of women of African decent is access to information. Majority of us in Latin America do not have access to communication. We live in multiple exploitation, as women and as women of African decent. The same is true for indigenous women. We are more vulnerable because of poverty, racism and lack of information. For the empowerment of women of African decent and indigenous women the feminist movement needs to address ethno-racial discrimination.
Women of African decent have also been deprived of our history and our roots. We need to fight for our identity as women of African heritage also within the feminist movement. How can we reach our autonomy as black women in Latin America?
As of now we do not have self-determination over our bodies. We need to learn what are our rights and take control over our bodies.
The feminist movement needs to incorporate the struggles of black women in Latin America. At the same time black women need to collaborate with other organization of people of African decent. This year there will be the first ever congress of people of African decent in Latin America. It will take place in the forest of Honduras in August and you are all welcome to attend.

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During the discussions after the presentations, Corinne Kumar from India commented that Within the feminist movement we replicate dominant power relations. Corinne Kumar talked about the need to find new paradigms that brake away with the dominant capitalist cosmos.
Where do we find a new discourse that will be in conversation with the indigenous women with the people who have been silenced and subjugated and therefore look towards rebellion and insurrection?

The next Feminist Dialogs activities is supposed to take place on February 10. So watch out and tune in to the reports on the Feminist Dialogs at the WSF 2011 by the Women's International Network of AMARC.

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