Participants
The participants at the meeting were both independent feminists — that is, women not connected to a particular group — and women from feminist groups.
In this section we try to give a picture of the work which women are doing in Latin America, based on information transcribed from the meeting and the little that was sent to us after the meeting.
The description consists of three parts: 1) the position of independent feminists, which we took from the interventions of some women during the meeting; b) the general situation of the feminist movement in each country represented. This almost certainly does not reflect all the dimensions of the movement in Latin America and the Caribbean since it only represents what was said by the women participating. We thought it nonetheless important to publish this information; c) what the various groups are doing both in theory and in practice. Where no other information was available we include only the groups' addresses.
Independent women:
"At the moment I am working on myself, because if I believe that the world must be changed, I must begin by changing my own life style otherwise I cannot expect other women to do the same. I think that the feminist struggle is as political as any other kind of struggle, since the need to confront ourselves and put into question many of the things we do is also political. I see no difference between the type of politics confronting the proletariat, for exaple, and feminist politics. I believe there is no difference between feminism and politics. Although I'm not part of any group, I am concerned politically with women changing. I think each woman has to start from where she is."
"I would like to take 1976, 1977 and 1978 as the point when activist women broke with the political parties, as the root of our feminist struggle. We broke loose in search of another reality. As party women we tried to find identity in an absurd tangle of relationships in which we followed our men, obeyed, gave support, admired, competed, asked for approval, imitated, served; and the men told us what to do, what to think and praised us for all this. It was a male universe in which we moved but were lost.
We wanted to build another world and yet we were destroying ourselves. In denying our words, thoughts, the movement and autonomy, we were becoming faceless and non-existant. We started to discover each other and to meet together without permission from the men or the leadership of the party. We began to wonder whether, after all, we could not think, understand and run the world. Slowly we drew closer to each other, to our own world and our own sensitivity.
Then came the censorship: the women were changing and the men would not tolerate this happening outside their control. Nervous and aggressive, they took over the space where we used to meet. They invaded our time by insisting that at least one man be present at these women's meetings which threatened them because they were excluded.
This only renewed our determination to meet together to revive our bodies and souls which had been trampled down by macho culture. It was not easy to cut the paternal umbilical cord and to find a way out. Gradually we turned from a little political grouping into a political movement, the women's front. We then took part in national meetings of this movement, speaking about women, sexuality and the family, problems which are not usually talked about or are classed as private, intimate or individual. This gave rise to endless complaints, scandals, censorship, name-calling, opposition and division. We were the witches. So we stopped speaking and reality cut the cord for us. We were simply no longer able to continue the debate, asking once again for approval and discussion of our problems.
Our lives are not at everyone's disposal, and they are not an object for discussion."
Descriptions of the Groups
Brazil
There are groups of differing opinions in the feminist movement in Brazil, yet one common characteristic is that nearly all of them started from groups related to the political parties fighting for amnesty. The rest have been autonomous groups from the beginning.
Feminism appeared in Brazil in 1972—73. The women who started groups within the party organisations began to question the party, its authoritarian structure etc. Many women then went on to form autonomous groups.
The groups have concentrated on exposing the areas where women are harmed - work situation, the family, the health services; and on creating and strengthening refuges for battered and raped women and centres for defending women's rights. They have also done research on women's situation.
COM - Centro de Defensa por los Derechos de la Mujer (Centre for the Defense of Women's Rights) Rua Raul Pompeia 181 Sao Pedro 30.000 Belo Horizonte Brazil.
This Centre was set up after the actions which took place when two women were killed by their husbands in August 1980. It provides a place for reflection, discussion and action against violence against women. This violence takes various forms: discrimination at work, the undervaluing of women's role in the domestic sphere, sexual repression, different education and socialisation, and physical violence — beating, rape and killing.
COM has gradually become a reference point for the mass media like radio and television, which consult the Centre when they are dealing with women's issues. Through this publicity the Centre has rapidly become a refuge for women who are victims of violence, and a place where women go for help either in person or through letters. This growing demand has led the Centre to set up an SOS service which operates with voluntary workers.
The Centre's objectives ;
— To deal with cases of violence against women in all its forms.
— To create a space where women can discuss their problems and have them dealt with from a feminist perspective.
— To help women share their experiences and find out what they have in common and w/hat they differences are. This will help create a support network among women and an understanding of how the situation can be changed.
— To support women with information, advice and ways of finding the best solution to their problems.
— To encourage the women who come to participate in the work of the SOS service and in organising defense groups
Colectivo de Sao Paulo SOS SOS Mulher S.P. Pea Benedito Calixto, 56 Puiheiro Sao Paulo 01000 Brazil.
The group initiates actions to denounce the oppression of women at work, in education etc., carries out reflection and study on women's issues, and supports women who have been victims of violence in its many different forms.
Colombia
Describing feminism in Colombia is complicated since the country has developed unequally and the different groups which exist have different positions according to the relationship of feminism to the socio-political reality in different parts of the country.
when many small groups were formed by women coming back to the country after having experienced the feminist movement abroad. Most of the groups began with consciousnessraising, yet for many women it was not clear why the oppression of women meant that one had to organise, discuss and try to change the situation. For others, the struggle of the Colombian people for liberation was more important than women's problems, and they felt that fighting to change women's situation was divisive of the overall struggle.
Nonetheless, feminist groups attracted other women and gradually new groups were formed although somewhat spasmodically. The achievements have been isolated and many contradictions still exist among feminists, making work on a broader base somewhat difficult.
Feminist groups are made up mostly of professional women, students, or women who have had access to better social and economic conditions.
Feminists in Colombia have had a hard struggle to maintain the autonomy of the movement against the manipulation of political groups. One great achievement in this respect is the realization of this First Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Meeting as an autonomous feminist event.
Centro de Estudios de Investigacion sobre la Mujer — CEIM (Centre for Study and Research on Women) A.A. 49105 Medellin Colombia.
CEIM began in April 1981. Its main objective is to promote study and research on the situation and current problems of Colombian women, and to propose solutions which enable women themselves to actively participate in the social and economic development of the community.
Its primary functions within these objectives are to:
- encourage the education of women and promote different activities which help this,
— produce, edit and distribute a publication dealing with information on women's issues
CEIM has carried out different activities such as: study groups, elaboration of research projects, and the preparation of a document for this meeting, called "Notes on Female Sexuality" (Bogota, July 1981).
Circulo de Mujeres (Women's Circule) A.A.1324 - Bogota D.E. (1) " Colombia.
This group was formed about three years ago by women who were concerned about being women in a world made by and for men. They were also concerned about couple relationships, relationships with children, participation in political parties and participation as workers. Initially the group was a consciousness- raising one.
Gradually they went further and started working with women from the working classes. They were immediately confronted with the problem of the lack of material with which to work with these women, and started to produce their own material.
They have now produced their first pamphlet, "Women and Domestic Work", and want to produce audiovisual material for all their work
Colectivo de Mujeres de Medelli'n (Medellin Women's Collective) = Clara Ines Mazo . Carrera 72A no. 45E-63 Medellin Colombia.
Discussion group on women's issues, exposing areas of women's oppression.
Cine-Mujer A.A. 2758 Bogota Colombia.
A private foundation which has been producing and distributing non-sexist films about the situation of women since 1978.
They have produced the following films:
- A primera vista (At first sight)
- Paraiso Artificial (artificial paradise)
- Y su mama ique hace? (And what does your mother do?
- Carmen Carrascal
- I LIegaron las feministas! (the feminists are comin
Costurero A.A. 2262 Mainzales Colombia. 33 f A.A
This group began meeting in September 1980. They had very few resources and many problems of common understanding and unity of perspective. The name "Costurero" (sewing box) reflects the reality of the group and the traditional way in which they meet, at least in this part of the country: women meet to chat, "gossip", talk about their problems.
The group has done various things such as putting together a bibliography of studies relating to women, and organising a cultural day to celebrate international women's day.
Corporacion Mujer y Famllla (Women and Family Organisation) A.A. 36151 Bogota Colombia.
The Regional Organisation for the Integrated Development of the Woman and the Family is a non-profit organisation set up In 1979. It was initiated by several feminists who felt there was a great gap in research done by and with women. They also felt the need to relate research on women to the socioeconomic conditions.
Their objectives are:
— To plan, develop, carry out and evaluate action-oriented research programmes fundamentally directed to women in the working classes, and to the family as an important unit in human development.
— To contribute to the knowledge of the situation and needs of women and families in Colombia and Latin America.
— To advise trade unions and guilds.
— To publish studies and lectures dealing with women and the family.
— To carry out courses, seminars and workshops for members of the above-mentioned organisations and for the working classes.
— To collaborate in developing ways of working which will help to change traditional social research methods into action- oriented research.
El Taller (The Workshop) Laura Medina Colombia.
This group studies women's issues and produces audiovisual material.
Greco Laura Libia Villegas Calle42 No. 34-51 Medellin Colombia.
A group concerned with homosexuality.
Grupo Amplio por la Liberacion de la Mujer — CAM (Women's Liberation Group) A.A. 3021 Cali Colombia.
The work of this group deals mainly with organising forums, discussions, and exposes on the problems of the family, sexuality and sexual violence. They also organise whole-day events, produce material, make contact with women from different social sectors, and participate in actions against women's oppression.
Grupo de Mujeres del Hospital Slqulatrico de Tunja (Women's Group of the Tunja Psychiatric Hospital) Maria Eugenia Rojas Hospital Siquiatrico de Tunja
Apdo. 983 Tunja-Boyaca Colombia.
Started in 1981, this group grew out of the work done at the open-door Psychiatric Hospital. This work led the women of the group to realise that it is women who suffer most and are beaten most, and that women who are "mad" suffer the most acute oppression.
The group is interested in action and study on women and psychiatry and the problems arising from this, and putting into question traditional methods of therapy for women. They are involved in a major fight to "de-psychiatrise" the everyday problems facing women.
"Las Mujeres" (The Women) Teresa Fernandez A.A. 5715 Medellin Colombia.
This group is involved in consciousness-raising leading to action against oppressive situations for women. In 1977 the group published a journal which they could not continue for financial reasons.
La Mujer Rosario Vargas Edificio Ganem, Calle Universidad Apartamento 612 Cartagena Colombia.
An autonomous organisation which brings together women from all nationalities, political parties and situations, working for women's liberation.
Mujer Avenida Caracas No. 69 A-39 Apto 301 Bogota D.E.(2) Colombia.
This group began by meeting from time to time to talk about their own experiences, problems, happiness, children, family, relationships with other people, and began to see that all of them had some similar problems which they lived through but didn't know how to deal with. At first the group tried to analyse these problems by reading works about women and discussing them. They became aware of the political dimension of all this, and the revolutionary idea that change in the family implied. They then tried to get more women involved.
They saw the need to get to know their own bodies and to destroy the taboos which distort sexuality and make women out to be withdrawn and ignorant in this respect. The group is beginning to really get to know each other, love each other and feel good about being women.
Mujeres en la Lucha (Women in Struggle) A.A. 7953 Bogota Colombia.
Some women of the group came from small groups, others came to the group with experience of having worked in political parties and trade union organisations; yet others came with their individual experiences
Statted in 1977, the group worked first on changing their everyday life — they discussed and talked about what they felt and hoped. This involved discussion of conflicts in relationships with husbands, sons, fathers, women and men friends. But in this way the discussions went way beyond what was expected and became something put into permanent practice — a confrontation on all levels, and a need to change everything, even the most casual relationship. This has been one of the great struggles and also one of the great satisfactions of the group.
But the group did not want to stay at the level of consciousness- raising alone, and felt the need to relate their experiences to the rest of society. They decided to work with women from the working class. From this they have been able to define what for them are the basic points of feminism:
— autonomous feminism as political practice
— the need for feminist organisations
— participation on equal terms within party organisations
— health as a priority area because it touches all areas of our lives as women
— having children as a real choice
— women's sexuality as a totality, and the right to freely enjoy this
— the double working-day which most women are subjected to.
Taking these points as a basis, the group has concentrated on:
- encouraging women to think and thus find ways of organising
- encouraging amongst themselves ways of confronting everyday life at all levels
- encouraging, organising and participating in activities dealing with women's issues
- organising workshops with women from other social sectors, on health, sexuality, and the family
- establishing and strengthening relationships with feminist groups on the international level in order to exchange experiences, give mutual support and work together on specific issues
— helping to create the Women and Family Organisation
— participating in the production of the feminist journal "Que Pasa Mujer" (to be published shortly)
— collecting material for the setting-up of a documentation centre.
Revista "Cuentame tu Vida" (Tell me your Life Journal) A.A. 5138 Call Colombia.
Founded in 1977 by a group of basically intellectual women with the aim of creating an outlet for women to express themselves, with a new way of speaking and writing.
The first number dealt with the family, women's bodies, and women and literature. There have been five numbers up to now.
Curazao
In Curazao, Aruba and the other islands of the Netherlands Antilles, the movement does not concentrate on the specific demands of women, but those demands are part of the reason that women have organised. There are about 50 women's groups in Curazao and four or five in Aruba. Some groups are not activist but fall into the category of more traditional women's organisations working to promote culture, for example, or national folklore, or to organise and give services to the community. Nonetheless there
have been times when many groups have come together to work on issues where the specific demands of women have been implicit. The first public activities of the Aruba groups, for instance, were on the issue of women's work.
Union de Mujeres Antianas — UMA (Union of Antillian Women) Esperantaweg 51 Curazao.
Of all the groups in Curazao, the UMA is the group which is the most feminist both in its demands and its activism. It is first and foremost a political group focussing on the struggle of the Antillian people for independence and liberation from capitalism and all forms of oppression and exploitation. Its objective is to get real participation of women of the Antilles in this struggle for national independence. This is combined with the feminist struggle for women's liberation. Although this struggle takes second place historically in the Antilles, it is not considered less important.
UMA's strategies consist of:
— organising women to unite in support of actions against inequality and injustice
— encouraging women's organisations of the Antilles to work together
— disseminating information by publishing the journal BOSERO, organising cultural activities and workshops, and conducting research on, for example, the conditions of work for women in private companies, state institutions, domestic services and other sectors of the economy.
Ecuador
For nearly all the groups in Ecuador, feminism grew out of the work done with working class women in the demands for livelihood, food, health and child-care in both rural and urban areas.
Although women's groups began by working on general problems, about two years ago they started dealing with more specific ones such as equal pay, equal access to education and employment, the right to abortion, domestic work, and the use of women in advertising. This gave rise to a revival of creativity which women had been deprived of until then.
Grupo Autonomo de Mujeres (Autonomous Women's Group) Soledad Martinez Pedro Basen No. 2 Quito Ecuador.
This group began in 1980 with a process of defining itself within the feminist movement. It directs its work to the working classes. The group defines itself as autonomous, but supports the work of other women by, for example, collaborating in the production of the journal "Eva de la Manzana".
Union de Mujeres Trabajadoras (Union of Working Women)
The need to form the Union of Working Women came up in 1978 because of the conditions which peasant women and those working in the city had to face.
The Union is involved in stimulating women to organise in all sectors, to fight for the rights of all working women.
Mexico
The feminist movement in Mexico began in 1970 when the first organisation was created bringing together different groups of women — liberals, radicals, socialists, those struggling for the legalisation of abortion — in a denunciation of violence against women. Later the "Coalition of Feminist Women" was created, and in 1978 another unifying organisation, the "National Front for the Liberation and Rights of Women" came into being. This organisation brought together feminist groups, political parties of the Left, homosexual groups, independent unions, and professional unions. In 1977, a feminist law on voluntary motherhood was presented for the first time, sparking off a national campaign for free and voluntary motherhood.
The first two feminist publications, "Revolt" and " FEM " appeared in 1976. The majority of groups in Mexico are oriented toward the Left and act as study groups.
Centro de Apoyo a las Mujeres Violadas (Support Centre for Raped Women) Calle 17 No. 122 Col. San Pedro de los Pinos Div. Personal Astronomos 40-8
Mexico 08 D.F.
This centre, which provides legal, psychological, and medical support for women victims of rape, was created in 1979. During the first year information was given by telephone. Now, women are accompanied when pressing charges, and if necessary therapy is made available to women who request it.
The centre has had its own office since 1979. The current focus is on achieving a certain awareness among women. The number of reported rapes has increased, as has the number of women coming to the centre for aid and support. The centre is presently in the process of reorganising with the aim of offering a more broadly-based service to women who come there.
CIDHAL Apartado 579 Cuernavaca - Morelos Mexico.
CIDHAL's main function is to compile documentation on women and their situation in the world, especially in Latin America. It now has an extensive documentation centre.
Colectivo Cine Mujer (Women's Film Collective) Angelas Negoechea Penunuri 19 " Sede Casa Oyoacan D.F. Mexico.
Since its establishment in 1974—75, this organisation has been interested in the production of audiovisual material and the presentation of different images of women in the mass media. The collective currently has six women members. They have made films on abortion, rape, and domestic work, and have published a book on a meeting of working class women in Mexico.
Colectivo La Revuelta ("Revolution" Collective) Lucero Gonzalez Madero 516 Col. Miraval ' Cuernavaca Mexico.
Organised in 1975 to publish a magazine, the collective members fell short of this goal but they do contribute a page of information for women to a centre-left periodical. Their goal, however, still is to launch their own publication.
FINALIDM Margaritta E. Magana A.A. No. 70-564 Mexico 20 D.F. Mexico.
Although the women who belong to FNALIDM come from divers groups such as unions, they consider themselves feminists and not representatives of the organisations from which they come. They support all movements which are fighting for the rights of women.
FEM Martha Lamas Begonia 13 San Angel INN Mexico 20 D.F. Mexico.
Feminist magazine.
GAMU: Grupo Autonomo de Mujeres Universitarias (Autonomous Group of University Women) Colovenes 97 Jardines de San Mateo Maucalpan Mexico.
GAMU fights against the harassment and rape of university women. They have launched a campaign of denunciations, meetings and marches, and have drafted a petition addressed to university authorities, demanding better lighting, security measures and transportation as well as a university supported crisis centre. The group is made up of women students and women administrative staff members.
Peru
Although women in Peru have participated in many struggles — land invasions in suburban areas, union strikes, neighborhood movements — in none of these cases have the problems of women been taken into account. Thus, women's organisations dealing with the specific problems of women began to appear in 1970. In 1973 ALIMUPER (Action Group for the Liberation of Peruvian Women) was formed and established women's fight for birth control. In 1979 various women's groups surfaced, although they did not define themselves as feminist. Although these groups considered the problems of women to be important, the concept of feminism had been so manipulated by the dominant ideology that women were afraid of the label "feminist". However, cooperation among these groups resulted in their merger into a National Coordinating
Group of Feminist Organisations in 1979. Initially, the Group agreed upon certain joint projects such as support for the women of Nicaragua, celebration of International Women's Day, and denunciation of the advertising and consumerism associated with Mother's Day.
The Group is composed of feminist socialist organisations who fight against the exploitation and underdevelopment of Peru, while at the same time believing that the central problem of women is patriarchy and that by questioning this ideological concept the social institutions which buttress the capitalist system can also be brought into question.
A key point of agreement is the importance of autonomy of feminist organisations. This means that each organisation in the Group has the right to struggle for its own demands, and to have its own structure independent from political party organisations. As a feminist organisation, they believe that activists of political parties ought to defend feminist positions within the Group and its members organisations, and not party positions.
ALIMUPER A.A. No. 2211 Lima 100 Peru.
ALIMUPER was formed in 1973. When it first began seeking widespread support in 1979, the women of this group were seen as the "crazies" of the capital city of Lima and were reviled by the Left and Right as revolutionaries. The battle was long and hard but it was successful in reaching women of the middle and professional classes and, from there, women of other classes. During these first years, it published studies on women and law and women and politics. But the most important success was that women had taken to the street
Today work goes on in several areas:
— health
— organisation and development of a centre along with the groups Flora Tristan and Creatividad y Cambio (Creativity and Change)
— a workshop which takes place on Thursday in the Centre and which consists of three parts: a session in which women can speak out freely, analysis of books and documents, and discussions on how to advance the work of the group
— strengthening relations with feminist groups at the international level
— publication of a bulletin three times a year dealing with the problems of women and the socio-political reality of Peru .
Asociacion Peru-Mujer (Association of Peruvian Women) Av. Espana 578 No. 301 Brena Lima Peru.
Founded on the 8th March 1979, the Association is a private, non-profit institution whose goal is to carry out studies and activities which contribute to social change, with emphasis on the participation of women. Its objectives are:
— to organise women and train union leaders
— to promote the vocational training of women
— to provide health services, infant and maternal care, and family planning, based on appropriate technology and with respect for the cultural values of the population
Its current activities are:
— infant care services, with instruction for mothers .
— training of women in community leadership
— maternal and child health care services, with instruction from the medical community
— research on the situation of Peruvian women
— organising workshops
— preparation of audiovisual material and publications on the situation of women in Peru.
Centre Flora Tristan A.P. 2211 Jiron Quiica 431 Lima 100 Peru.
The Centre was created in 1979 by women who felt a need for support in their struggle for a more serious appreciation of specific women's issues in the political parties to which they belonged.
The Centre works with the working class to strengthen the growing feminist movement in Peru.
Frente Socialist de Mujeres (Socialist Women's Front) A.A. 4915 Lima 100 Peru.
The Socialist Women's Front was formed in 1978 in the belief that only by working for Socialism can women find the road to their own liberation. The problems of women cannot be seen in isolation from the struggle of workers or the masses in general. They are part of the social struggle for national liberation. Women are a decisive force and thus bear a great responsibility: to organise as women in the struggle for socialism.
The Front has set the following targets:
— equal access of women to jobs, with equal rights and pay
— labour laws which remove discrimination against women
— establishment of child care facilities, and dining halls in work places and working class neighborhoods. By easing the tasks of housework, these services help women to take their proper place in the labour force of the country.
— social security schemes for families
— unions for domestic workers
— participation of women in the struggle for better wages for all workers.
Mujeres en Lucha (Women in Struggle) Denise Chavez Jose Calvez 1083-604 St. Beatriz Lima 14 Peru.
The group was formed on the initiative of women who addressed the problems of women from a broad-based social, political, economic and ideological perspective. The group is involved in (a) critique of sexist feminist positions which reduce women's problems in Peru to the Man-Woman contradiction, and consequently to sexual inequality, and (b) a critique of mechanistic materialist interpretations dear to the Left, which argue that the condition of women is due to the existence of class society, and that all will be well when capitalism is overthrown.They want to build an autonomous, democratic and mass-based women's movement, and they mainly seek to attract working
class women including young girls.
Revista Mujer y Sociedad (Women and Society Magazine) J.R.Trujillo678 Lima Peru.
Formed by a group of women interested in giving an alternative view of women in the mass media.
Puerto Rico
The situation of women in Puerto Rico is not much different from that in other countries of Latin America since it is an integral part of the region and shares its overall social, political and economic conditions.
Summarising the feminist movement in Puerto Rico is difficult since one has to take into account the general political conditions of the island, the situation of parties of the Left, and the internal processes of the feminist groups. However, it can be mentioned that the Federation of Puerto Rican Women was created in 1974 and that the group "Women Integrate Now" has been in the feminist movement for seven or eight years.
At the governmental level, a department of "Women's Affairs" has been created, but it does not deal with the real interests of the women of Puerto Rico. There is also a Support Centre for victims of rape which is now moving towards a situation where women assume the running of the centre in order to involve them more actively.
Taller de Salud (Health Workshop) Carmita Guzman or Apartado 2172 Estacion Hato Rey R. 1403 Morlllo Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00919 Cayey, Puerto Rico
This group was created under the motto "the health of the Puerto Rican people begins with the health of its women". The Puerto Rican situation, particularly with respect to women's health, is the basis for the work of Taler Salud. The group's objectives are:
- to provide and make available to women important information about their bodies and their health
- to analyse and investigate the situation of women and their health in Puerto Rico today
- to create awareness of the importance of our health and control over our lives.
The group is dedicated to defending and demanding health as a basic right of the highest priority. Their work involves activities of general interest to women's health:
- workshops on health (gynecological examinations, vaginal health, contraception, sterilization, abortion, surgery, etc.)
- publication of bulletins and pamphlets on women's health
- workshops on self-help
The work centers on three specific areas:
- health systems: available medical services (public and private)
- rights concerning reproduction (contraception, abortion,sterilization, etc.)
- occupational health: what rights protect women and how work affects the health of women.
Panama
Comite Femenino de Solidaridad con Chile (Women's Committee in Solidarity with Chile) Hady del Pino U. Zona 6 El Dorato 5 Panama.
Dominican Republic
When the Federation of Dominican women was formed in 1961, the country was living under a 30 year old dictatorship and there was no women's movement. This new federation played a very important role in resisting and denouncing the U.S. occupation and imperialist intervention in 1965. This was the beginning of a new era of repression in which women were the first to be repressed. In 1969, faced with numerous problems, the Federation collapsed. In 1974, a group of women was formed to struggle for basic needs, public services, etc. in the slums and rural areas. In 1978, with the re-emergence of the democratic state, mass movements revived at all levels, and the women began to examine questions raised by feminism in industrialized countries. This dynamic was closely linked to the Dominican Left. Thus, autonomous feminist groups do not exist today, but there are feminist groups which have some connection with organizations of the Left.
AFI: Accion Femenina incorporado (Women's Action Incorporated) Sergia Galvan O. Estrella Urena 18 Santo Domingo Dominican Republic
CIPAF: Centro de Investigacion para la Accion Femenina (Research Center for Feminine Action) Elisa Milagros Ramirez Apartado Postal 2793 Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic.
"We were formally born on 8 December, although it was only in February that our economic situation made it possible for us to begin working. We would like to tell you what we do, and what we would like to do. We want to tell you of our interest in supporting the organizations of women and in building a feminist movement. We want to work and learn a lot for this new world of equality and justice which we women have to influence with our creativity which has been repressed for thousands of years.
What we do: research, publications, education, and assistance."
GIF: Circulo de Estudios Feminista Elisa Milagros Ramirez Apartado Postal 2793 Santo Domingo Dominican Republic.
Comite Gestores por un Movimiento Femenino Socialista (Managing Committee for a Women's Socialist Movement) Apartado Postal No. 2283
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic.
The committees are small nuclei of women, whose work is coordinated by a management committee. The Committees were set up by women who had been involved in women's work of one kind of another who felt the need to find solutions to women's problems.
The group started out as a study group and after some time saw the need to link study to practical work. The committee took on tasks in different areas such as research, education, and organization. The main aims were to create an ideological environment and a minimum of resources to serve as a base of feminist ideas, as well as to try to sensitize women to their oppression as a sex.
The group sees itself as a current within organized feminism which considers feminism as a melting-pot where the exploited can develop the struggle against capital.
Promocion de la Mujer del Sur (Promotion of Women of the South) Antonia Herrera C. Nuestra senora del Rosario 168 Bahona. Ciudad de Barahona Dominican Republic.
Helps to organize women and promote a better understanding of women's situations among workers in the southern Dominican Republic. Its point of departure is action-oriented research, focusing on the real needs of working class women, and trying to achieve a more objective explanation of their real situation
UMD: Union de Mujeres Dominicanas (Union of Dominican Women) Virginia Alvarez Dr. Nunez y Dominguez No. 4 Santo Domingo Dominican Republic.
Venezuela
The groups in Venezuela originated as did all groups in Latin American countries during the years 1970—71. They were influenced to a certain extent by feminist movement in industrialized countries , and in the beginning were composed largely of women academics and intellectuals . We have had many problems : the opposition to our struggle by society in general, little research on the situation of women and the family, and the bourgeois ideology of the State . Bur perhaps one of the
greatest obstacles is that most feminist shave remained at t he intellectual level without attempting to work for the advancement of women of other social sectors.
Grupo MIercoles (Wednesday Group) Myriam Gonzalez Katina Fantini Apto 668 S a n Cristobal 5001- A y Tachira Venezuela
The characteristics of the group can be summed up in two concrete premises. The first is the growing capacity on the part of women today to identify their discontent with a situation of oppression and with the possibility of liberating themselves. The second, based on the example of other countries which stimulated the first Venezuelan feminist groups, is to able to work for this liberation.
From this, the group started dealing with the personal experiences of each women, looking for similarities, differences, and a coherent concept of women's situation. The central theme of discussions for more than two year swas motherhood: the so called" destiny" of women because of their biology and the whole cultural skein of traditions, laws, customs, philosophies, and scientific notions which imprison us.
Two concrete productions have come out of these discussions and research: a written work on motherhood, later made into an audiovisual The Pottery-makers of the Low Hills, and the recent film Me and You Ismaeline. Although film has been used because of the personal interest of some members of the group, it has never become an objective in itself. Even in deciding to make the film and during the process of its realization, the primary objective was to maintain the collective character of the work, to ensure that the people involved in the film were women, and above all to keep in the forefront the relationships between theory and reality that the group considers fundamental for the advancement of feminism.
Persona Mariza Bafile Av. Andres Bello Res. Robin Apto 61 Caracas , Venezuela.
La Conjura Giovanna Machado ' Calle La Colina Edificio. La Colina Apto13 Las Acaci as Caracas 104 Venezuela.
Liga Feminista de Maracaibo ( Feminist League of Maracaibo) Alba Carosio Avenida 5 de Juliocob 20 Edificio Miradordel Lago Maracaibo Maracaibo Venezuela.
Movimiento de Muheres de Merida (Women's Movement of Merida) Fidelia Belandria Calle 2 No. 9 Urbanizacion Carabobo Merida Venezuela.
Chile
We can classify the struggle so women in Chile into two categories: those whose purpose is to claim rights which are clearly feminist, and those of a general character whose objective is to work for political change. With in the first type we have the feminist movements which were for me at the beginning of this century and which continued spasmodically until the achievement of women's suffrage. Within the second, the most important organise dactions have been those during the government of Eduardo Frei, the social and political participation during the years of the Salvador Allende government, and finally the action so the last 8 years to try to re-establish essential human rights and democracy in the country.
The first struggles of women were linked to demands of a cultural nature. At the end of the last century women organized for their right to continue their university studies. Thus some of the first professional women in Latin America were admitted to the University of Chile in 1886.
The Ladies Reading Circle was formed in 1915 for the purpose of improving the cultural level of women. This gradually changed in orientation, becoming in 1919 the National Council of Women which presented a project for the civil and political rights of women to the President of the Republic in 1922.
From 1919 to 1944, the date of the First National Congress of Women, a series of feminist movements appeared which, despite acting in isolation, achieved some gains such as pre- and post-natal leave, laws protecting mothers and children, etc.
In 1944 the Chilean Federation of Women's Institutions was formed. Among the movements which belonged to this federation were the "Women's Emancipation Movement", created in 1935 by a group of leftist women, and the "First Committee for Civil Rights for Women" (FECHIF) founded in 1946 by Maria de la Cruz. The immediate objective of FECHIF was to obtain the right to vote, which was achieved in 1948.
Once obtained, this success marked the beginning of the disintegration of the movement. The end came in 1953 when the Chilean Women's Party dissolved. The more active women joined political parties, but with the disappearance of women's organizations the demands of women became secondary.
There were several women's organizations which developed during the Christian Democratic Government and which reached their high point during the Popular Unity Government. During this time the participation of women at different levels of national life was infinitely better than at any other period.
Nevertheless this was perceived only by a sector of more politically conscious women. The rest were opposed to the UP.
During the past 8 years of dictatorship the situation of women has deteriorated: maternity leave, pensions, and health andmaternity services have all been abolished. The aim has been to put women back in their homes to fulfil their reproductive role.
In opposition to the politics of dictatorship, women organized in different ways. First they organised in defense of human rights. This gave rise to the formation of the Association of Families of Disappeared Persons, and to communal dining halls, etc. This was followed by the mobilization of the masses and another series of iniciatives with specific ends. Other groups were formed to help those people most affected by the dictatorship, and to study and discuss the problems of women in this situation. All this has been done under the protection of the unions, church organisations, or other democratic organizations.
Every year the National Trade Union Congress has organised a Women's Meeting where general problems affecting the country are discussed and where the need to create an autonomous women's movement in this country is also put forward.
Reference: Desarrollo y Perspective de la Mujer en Chile (Development and Perspective of Chilean Women), Eliana Merlet.
The Chilean delegation to the Meeting provides a good perspective on the political and social situation of the country.
Comite de Chileans residentes en Colombia (Committee of Chilean Women Living in Colombia) Apartado 2922 Bogota Colombia
CODEM: Comite de Defense de los Derechos de la Mujer (Women's Rights Defense Committee) : Santiago Chile.
Grupo de Mujeres Latinoamericanas - (Latinoamerican Women's Group) 5808 L'esplanade 1 Q Montreal Quebec Canada H2T 3A3
Comite Femenino de Solidaridad con Chile (Women's Committee in Solidarity with Chile) Zone 6.5 El Dorado" Panama.
Coordinadora Nacional Sindical (National Union Coordination) Santa Monica 2360 Santiago, Chile.
Circulo de Estudlos sobre la Mujer (Women's Issues Study Circle) Jose Arrieta 83-A Santiago Chile