International Feminist Network
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The International Feminist Network (!FN) is an international network to mobilize support and solidarity for women. The history of people's solidarity internationally is long: there
are now well established organizations to fight for workers' rights, for the release of political prisoners, and against racism.But there has been no such organization for women. Over the past decade we have come to realize the extent of the countless injustices against women throughout the world, and if we are to gain strength and power to combat these injustices, it is imperative to create and build up international solidarity. IFN is an attempt to do this
IFN started after the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in Brussels, Belgium, in March 1976. The idea was that there should be continuing support and publicity for crimes against women anywhere. ISIS coordinates IFN by sending out appeals for support to national contact people in (at present) twenty-five countries. These national contacts then disseminate the information within their own countries,for action. Usually, the action to be taken consists of sending telegrams and letters of protest or support, of organizing demonstrations, and of getting national and international publicity for the case. Any woman or group of women can send in information to ISIS for distribution through IFN. The guidelines under which IFN operates for taking up cases are as follows:
a) priority is given to supporting feminist issues and women not supported by other kinds of networks or channels;
b) women should be supported even if the issue is not particularly "feminist" wherever their struggles are looked on as "secondary", (e.g. women political prisoners, women in mixed groups such as labour unions, liberation movements, etc.);
c) care is taken that the IFN is not used as an instrument of male-dominated or male-oriented groups.
National contact people
The tasks of the national network contact women are basically two. The first is to distribute the information and appeals for support in their country. Whenever ISIS receives an appeal for support, we duplicate it and send a copy to all the IFN contact women. They in turn duplicate the same information — translating it if necessary — and distribute it to as many women's groups and individuals as possible. Some of the ways this is being done are through feminist magazines and newsletters, notices put up in women's houses, notices in the mass media or alternative press, by mail to women's groups around the country or through a telephone tree. National contact women report back to us about how the networks are working in their countries and also about what kinds of response.