Introduction

Writing about this meeting partly means writing about the history of Latin American and Caribbean feminism, since the event reflected what is happening in the feminist movement in this continent. The history of the meeting is the history of various groups' development, of individual women's development, of the countries and their contradictions, as well as the things we have in common in being feminists.

The idea of the meeting came from an implicit and explicit desire of many feminists in Latin America and the Caribbean. The group "La Conjura" from Venezuela undertook to organise this initially, but circumstances made it impossible to hold the meeting in that country. The idea began to spread to different feminist groups and finally Colombia took on the responsibility of organising and hosting the meeting.

This task was no easy one: political, economic and ideological problems rapidly came to the surface. It took a year and a half of discussions, postponments, meetings, contradictions, individual and collective growth and a hard battle for autonomous feminism to maintain its autonomy.

After this difficult process, the First Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Meeting finally took place from 18-21 July 1981 in Bogota.

Who was there?

Women from different countries in Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Curazao, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela; and women from elsewhere: Italy, France, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Canada and the USA. All of them made possible the realization of a dream so long put off: a meeting where each woman could express herself creatively, theoretically and emotionally. Everything was discussed, from the "very simple" to the area traditionally reserved for men - "politics".

The meeting provided the possibility for Latin American and Caribbean women to be together for the first time, to talk about what is happening in their lives and countries, to get to know each other and reaffirm the great struggle they are undertaking: the search for identity, not only as women but also as free nations.

This Bulletin presents brief reports of the workshops, a description of the situation of feminism in each country and its organisation, the resolutions and finally a list of material which women brought along.

The reports from the workshops are uneven in length and in analysis. They reflect rather the dynamics of the meeting and the groups as well as the interests of participants. There were a series of activities which it would be difficult to reflect in this Bulletin — among which were sketches, poetry, songs and dancing. These things added a truly creative element to the meeting and gave us new ways of relating and meeting together.

There were four workshops: Sexuality, Women and Culture, Women and Work, Feminism and Political Struggle. In the group on Sexuality, the themes discussed were: sexuality including contraception and lesbianism, reproduction, contraception and abortion, and sexual violence. One of the most interesting aspects of this workshop was the session on self-examination where women learnt more about their own bodies. The problems of women and madness were also discussed, drawing on the experiences of women from the Tunja psychiatric hospital in Colombia.

In the workshop on Culture, emphasis was on analysing patriarchal ideology and its impact on the mass media and how they convey false images of women even in women themselves. The group also looked at how education, especially primary education, reinforces traditional sex roles. It recommended totally revising teaching materials to make them non-sexist. The group felt it important to look for different ways in which women can express themselves creatively, especially in art which can be a tool for breaking away from existing forms and encouraging critical awareness

The group on Work provided a forum for the exchange of information and experiences in struggles to end discrimination against women at work, in kinds of work, working conditions, wages, and the need to have maternity accepted as a normal event for working women. It emphasised the need for providing day-care centres and to promote dialogue with trade unions which would enable women to participate more actively in unions, and to encourage these organisations to make women's demands parts of their political platforms.

The theme Feminism and Political Struggle attracted a large number of participants. Some of the central questions running throughout the discussion were: what goals is feminism working towards? What are the specific conditions of feminism in Latin America? What are the basic obstacles confronting feminism? How can one broaden, strengthen and deepen the organisation and participation of women from the working classes? How can one attract and assure the participation of the middle classes in the feminist movement? What does socialism mean for feminists? In the end, the debate focussed on the autonomy of feminist groups and the double struggle, feminism and anti-imperialism.

We want to end by saying that a new page has now been written in the history of feminism in this continent and it is the responsibility of each woman, each country and each group to see that this new page begins to change our lives and that of our countries, so that in 1983 when we meet again in Lima, Peru, Latin American and Caribbean feminism will have taken over the space denied to women in history.