A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #345 - Antipatriarchy, November 25, 2023 in Paris: The Palestinian question impacts feminism (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On November 25, demonstrations were held throughout France against 
violence against women, sometimes in a united manner, and sometimes in a 
climate of divisions. In Paris, the demonstration was representative of 
these divisions which sometimes mark the feminist movement, to which 
were added, this year, differences in apprehension of violence against 
women in Palestine and Israel. ---- The Paris demonstration on November 
25 this year was marked by the particular attention paid to the 
suffering suffered by Palestinian women, but also by dissensions of 
several kinds.
The procession, massive and bringing together nearly 50,000 
demonstrators, had 3 poles: the first, feminist organizations and 
collectives, was the largest and focused in particular on the violence 
suffered by trans children and adolescents, the second was in support of 
Palestine, came at the call of Emergency Palestine, and the third 
brought together unions and political organizations.

The majority of the feminist demonstration refused to pit Israeli women 
against Palestinian women
Red Photo Library - Martin Noda / Hans Lucas
Although all present within the same event, the different organizations 
struggled to work together upstream. Indeed, divisions between 
NousToutes, unions and other associations were to be deplored, and led 
to separate calls between NousToutes and the union movement. This lack 
of unification of the procession also shows that the work of linking 
feminism, anti-imperialism and support for the Palestinian cause remains 
to be done to achieve a united and vigorous movement. These dissensions, 
although present in several cities, fortunately do not represent the 
whole reality, since, in several cities, long-term unitary work has been 
able to succeed.

"Feminists in Hamas"
Furthermore, from the start of the demonstration, rumors, which turned 
out to be false, announced the arrival of the femonationalist group 
Némésis. Finally, 150 people, at the initiative of the conservative 
collective We will live, came to disrupt the demonstration with slogans 
such as "mass feminicide, feminists in Hamas" (on the subject of the 
October 7 attack) and "complicit feminists". This collective defines 
itself as a citizen collective of action against anti-Semitism, it is 
probably former activists of the UEJF (Union of Jewish Students of 
France) and SOS Racisme.

Although no clashes were to be deplored, this moment must be analyzed in 
the current context of a general extreme right-wing of speeches. 
Although the people who took part do not appear to be far-right, they 
nevertheless attempted to create an opposition between Israeli and 
Palestinian women. By exploiting the violence suffered by Israeli women, 
they affirmed that supporting Palestinian women would play into the 
hands of Hamas, thus preventing the convergence between feminist 
struggle, anti-colonial struggle and support for the Palestinian people.

This action, which was widely distributed in the bourgeois press, 
justified an outbreak of sexist violence against feminist activists 
(cyberharassment, threats, etc.). To conclude, this march was a success 
due to the number of people present, the attempt to intersect with the 
Palestinian movement and the relevance of the slogans. But we also know 
that the anti-patriarchal, anti-racist, anti-imperialist and 
anti-fascist struggles are linked and we believe that these struggles 
can only be victorious through the existence of broad and solid unitary 
frameworks.

Members of UCL Paris Nord-Est

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?25-novembre-2023-a-Paris-La-question-palestinienne-percute-le-feminisme
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en