Women march #FeesMustFall, South Africa. Photo: zelamartin.com
Take ten! Every time I have confronted an empty page on my computer in my struggle to write this article, it is due to a battle with the recurrent thought that there is nothing new to be said about the challenges confronting feminist movements today. Whether in Africa, Asia or Europe, if asked what are the three challenges feminists face in their contexts, they would without a doubt raise: the shrinking financial base for feminist organizing; the increasing closure of space for social justice mobilization accompanied by enhanced state surveillance; the resurgence of right wing groups and religious fundamentalisms - whether they are Muslim extremists, occupation forces, or prosperity churches flourishing across many African countries. Granted, specific issues such as violence, access to basic services such as water, food, electricity and reproductive health care, plus adequate infrastructure, access to efficient and effective justice systems and jobs would also emerge. However, the linkages between the absence of these basic freedoms to what are deemed the main challenges are clear.
In addition, a long-term historical view also leads to the conclusion that what we see today are manifestations of “old” problems. The tactics may have changed in a new and evolving global environment, which means that the tools available to patriarchy have become more sophisticated even if the message has remained basic at its root - maintain male supremacy and the structures that allow that. The paper would be done. It would also be corroborated by existing reviews on Beijing Plus 20 and the ubiquitous Sustainable Development Goals conducted by frontline women’s rights organisations that tirelessly lobby their governments for shifts on women’s rights in Addis Ababa (African Union), New York (United Nations) and their various capitals. Whilst recognising the specificity of contexts and historical dynamics that shape feminist organizing, at the root of my analysis is that the challenges feminist movements, organisations and activists face in their respective countries, cannot be disconnected from global discourses.
