GRADUATES OF DEMOCRACY SHE WAITED LONG ENOUGH

A Graduates of Democracy Campaign In Collaboration with the European Student Think Tank

Contact: Cecilia Passaniti, Campaign Coordinator [email protected] GRADUATES OF DEMOCRACY SHE WAITED LONG ENOUGH

CECILIA PASSANITI & HUGO DECIS INTRODUCTION

The Graduates of Democracy is proud to introduce the series of articles on gender equality and women's rights: She Waited Long Enough.

These articles aim to show one thing: gender-related issues, we hope to raise the struggle for women's rights is awareness, provide interesting insight neither unimportant nor new. For and spark a conversation among our centuries now, brave women and men readers on this important matter. fought for rights that are still being debated in parts of the world - This project was designed in including in Europe. By providing the collaboration with the Empow(h)er public with articles on notorious Campaign of the European Student women's rights fighters and to Think Tank.

PAGE 01 GRADUATES OF DEMOCRACY SHE WAITED LONG ENOUGH INDEX

"Interview with Karolina Leakovic, PES Women Vice-President and former candidate for SDP Croatia Leader." - Eva Amalija Orešković

"Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė" - Audrius Sabūnas

"Manuela Sáenz" - Aurora Piergiacomi

"Clara Campoamor" - Cristina Català

"Olympe de Gouges" - Hugo Decis

"Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie" - Marion Cartier

"They Waited Long Enough..." - Robert Zielonka

"...And Now it is Their Time to Walk" - Cecilia Passaniti

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EVA AMALIJA OREŠKOVIĆEVA AMALIJA OREŠKOVIĆ INTERVIEW WITH KAROLINA LEAKOVIC, PES WOMEN VICE-PRESIDENT AND FORMER CANDIDATE FOR SDP CROATIA LEADER

As many as seven candidates participated in recent SDP Croatia leadership elections – three women included. One of them, PES Women Vice-President Karolina Leakovic, was perceived as one of the most progressive candidates, and the only that openly labelled herself as feminist. However, her candidacy was not successful – she got merely 1,2% of members’ votes. Nevertheless, within current Croatian mainstream political landscape, SDP Leadership elections were the example of an open and much- needed debate on social democratic values and challenges for the movement ahead.

Eva Amalija Orešković: Let me start with a question regarding your political and party background – how it all started, and when?

Karolina Leakovic: Almost 18 years ago, at the end of the nineties, when Croatia as well as Europe – not to mention social democratic movement, were much different when we as social democrats were much stronger and more successful. I have been working for the Party, in the HQ, in the field of international relations and communication in general, while engaged in women’s movement in Croatia and internationally. Working together with feminist civil society groups, activists, academia, and sharing experiences of creating a social democratic movement in a post-socialist, transition society,

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was and still is an adventure. And it will continue to be so, in times of xenophobia and socio- economic inequalities, when allies are needed more than ever. In the meantime, I have been a candidate for both Croatian and European Parliament, and actually a member of Croatian parliament for a couple of years. But, circumstances have changed dramatically, in Europe in general. A need for a kind of a new social democratic narrative is now actual as never before.

EAO: When it comes to personal choices and political engagement, it is still more challenging for women, especially young women, to deal with all sorts of prejudices. What is the situation like in Croatia, compared to other CEE and SEE countries?

KL: There are obviously many obstacles to women’s political engagement. They are generally related to the nature of patriarchal and capitalist societies we live in. The logic of free market that is worshipped in post-socialist societies have clearly made most women’s (as well as men’s) lives miserable, especially since the 2008 financial and economic crisis. Democratic processes, together with the Europeanization of our legislation were seen as a beacon of hope for the enlarged EU. But, it is not that simple anymore. Women, and young women, in particular, tend to be disengaged in politics, and reluctant to join political parties. That does not necessarily mean that they are „antipolitical“. On the contrary, if one is interested in political and socio-economic change, it is a tendency to engage in an ad-hoc civil society initiative or a pressure group, rather than applying for a membership in a political party. Finally, political parties are sort of „old- fashioned“, quite closed clubs reserved for middle-aged men. Women who join political parties and become politically active are a minority within mainstream political parties. Often, they are regarded as ambition and career-driven, or if they are unmarried or childless, those that have nothing else to do… Women’s autonomy, even when we have our own „political branches“ is more of a proclamation, than a fact. These trends have to be changed…

EAO: You have been engaged in PES and PES Women for quite some years. How do you see prospects for social democracy, both in the EU and beyond, particularly in the Balkans?

KL: Our European-wide political organisations, both PES and PES Women have to face new EU political reality and I believe both our organisations are capable of doing so. It is true that social democracy is not „flourishing“ around the continent. Still, can Europe „flourish“ without social democracy – that should be our concern… I see our organisations and our sister parties and affiliated organisations as tools for change in people’s lives, not as those representing „us“ or our members’ interests and concerns only. We truly have to re-invent ourselves as a political movement, open for dialogue with progressive forces and especially with all those disenchanted and alienated from organised political actors. To be able to do so, we have to be more open and inclusive for leftist and civic movements. In many cases, we tend to see those as our competition, rather than allies. That is what we need to address.

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EAO: You have participated in recent SDP leadership elections, together with six other candidates. Although your platform was perceived as one of the most progressive, your result was not encouraging. Did you analyse „what went wrong“?

KL: Our leadership elections are organised according to the “one member – one vote“ principle and all members of SDP (roughly 37 thousand) are entitled to cast their vote for the leader. In our case, slightly more than 50% of members voted and I got a modest number of votes. Nevertheless, I feel privileged to be able to run (prerequisite for that is a support of at least 1000 members), and present my platform as well as engage in dialogue with members. That was truly inspirational, a unique experience that – despite the outcome – is a solid ground for future projects. I am rather optimistic: members are interested in developing democratic procedures and strengthening policy dialogue within the Party. And I am looking forward to participating in that!

EAO: You have taken over Women’s Organization of SDP Croatia after its president resigned over declining status of women within the Party. What are your and the organisation priorities?

KL: Focusing on local elections in May 2017, empowering women to take power on a local level in their hands and promoting gender sensitive local projects. When women advance, communities advance. Gender dimension and socio- economic equality will be in focus of our work in next couple of months.

EAO: Finally, what would be your message or advice for young female politicians? Is there something you wish you knew sooner?

KL: I would rather not give any pieces of advice to anyone. I would only encourage young women to engage much more in feminist and progressive movements in the European periphery since conservative backlash is strong, they are well organised and very influential – in politics as well as in society in general. We cannot take any of the achievements in gender equality, workers rights and human rights in general, for granted. Day by day, we should engage in occupying public domain. That is how more equality, more freedom and more solidarity is delivered. Twitter: @evaamalija

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AUDRIUS SABŪNAS GABRIELĖ PETKEVIČAITĖ-BITĖ

Feminism is a somewhat infamous term. One of the primary reasons is a lack of public awareness of what this word stands for. Many Conservatives in Lithuania would align it with Valerie Solanas adherents, while some might even think it is just an invention of the recent times. In fact, very few famous people have vocally supported here. On the contrary, there is the opposite tendency, – for instance, a female lead- singer of a Lithuanian band „Liūdni Slibinai“ has to the disappointment of Lithuanian feminists fiercely denied “allegations of feminism” that were incited by her satirical song “I‘m A Woman”,critical of rooted patriarchalism.

This is all too bad for a country whose statehood has always been linked to social and gender equity, where equal rights for men and women were fought together with the fights for Independence in the early 1900s to late 1910s. This is a State where no one had even dared to seriously challenge the presence of women‘s rights once the Republic came into existence – after 150 years of absence on the map. This article is going to portray one of the most well-known people who played a major role empowering women and participating in national politics, Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė.

A pen name “Bitė”, meaning “The Bee”

This name is not often, if ever, associated with feminism, apart from the fact that Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė and the Lithuanian writer Žemaitė should hold the title of first Lithuanian feminists, according to contemporary feminist academics. However, her tireless life-long struggle to improve social conditions for women and economically unpriviledged

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pupils, as well as a successful career in politics, would align her with other prominent statesmen of that time. It is not clear what were her motives when she chose “Bee” as her pen name. The bees are perceived as a symbol of tireless and hard work and Gabrielė has certainly lived up to it. Not limited to her work during the Independence period, she was an influential member of the Lithuanian Democratic Party, the 2nd underground Lithuanian political party established in 1902. Her activities distributing illegal literature (Lithuanian language usage in public was prohibited and only books in Cyrillic were allowed) cost her persecution by the Tsarist authorities. Throughout the 1890s to early 1900s she was involved in teaching children from poor families. She was a co-director of the first play in Lithuanian “America in the Sauna” which was staged in a private building in Palanga town, in 1899. A year later she and her fellow feminist author Žemaitė wrote yet another play, titled “The Happiness Sold Out”.

Consequently, she was also among the few female delegates to the Great Seimas of Vilnius, organised in 1905. This quite spontaneous assembly was inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1905, resulting in the democratisation of Russia and hopes to gain autonomy for Lithuania. It was during the Great Seimas of Vilnius that the universal was concluded, thus making Lithuania one of the first countries to grant women’s rights to vote. The “only” obstacle for a proper implementation of such a progressive provision was that Lithuania was geopolitically a non-existent entity, so this provision was first exercised only in 1919 when Lithuania organised its first ever elections, one year after the Independence from the Russian Empire. Bitė was also among the leading figures in numerous women organisations, including the first Lithuanian women gathering in 1907. It is obvious that Bitė was certainly among the ones responsible for the progressive provision during the Great Seimas of Vilnius. Some traditionalists would ridicule women’s involvement in politics even in the 1920s, but no serious discussion took place on whether to reconsider the principles of suffrage in the Consitution. However, women still faced challenges even now that they were supposed to have equal civil rights with men. Both the Vilnius Conference and the succeeding Council of Lithuania, which would sign an act of independence were comprised solely of men. Furthermore, all 20 delegates but one were ethnic Lithuanians. As a result women activists staged a protest, demanding delegates representing women and ethnic minorities. Even though three Jewish and one Belarusian Jewish delegate were invited to join the Council, it remained 100% masculine right until the end of 1918.

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One of the first female parliamentarians and presidential candidates.

Despite having been ignored in 1917-1918, Lithuanian women had a good chance to exercise their political rights during the first election in 1919. Five women out of some 30 candidates were elected, including Bitė. She was the only left-wing woman candidate elected, the other four being members of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party. Five women delegates, almost 5% in the Parliament was quite an achievement, not only for agrarian Lithuania with embedded patriarchal values but also in the European and North American context where many women had to either keep fighting for their right to vote or had no representation in the Parliament. Some delegates left the Assembly over time and another feminist candidate Felicija Bortkevičienė took her place in 1921. Even more surprisingly, Bitė chaired the first session of The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania, a predecessor of the Parliament of Lithuania as one of the oldest Lithuanian delegates. The situation was quite unprecedented, as the first session was chaired by Gabrielė, with a secretary also being a fellow female parliamentarian, Ona Muraškaitė-Račiukaitienė. Here is an excerpt from a passionate speech by Bitė.

“[…] I am happy to be able to chair [the Constituent Assembly] as an old indepen - dence fighter of my nation, as a woman who has acquired equal rights that we had been craving so much, as a member of the society who ceaselessly fought against all sorts of enslavement, either by other nations, social class or capital. Our nation’s journey to freedom was long and particularly exhausting. It was not easy for us either, who find themselves in this precious manor of Independence brought by the will of the people. We have been suffering various kinds of oppression for over a hundred years after all. Let us behave in a cultured manner wherever we go and let our nation take a gun only if our enemy is about to attack us. We understand well that our fate is in our hands and that all we have to trust in is ourselves; it is our strength that we have to heal our old wounds and throughout tireless and organised labour can we rebuild our country which had suffered tremendous damage caused by war. We, the delegates, should not even for a moment forget that we are only here to fulfil the people’s will when exercising our great work. Let us work here according to the expectations of those who have sent us here.”

She would later resign and come back to the city of Panevėžys where her primary activity was teaching and being a patron for talented young people from the poor background. Bitė became the first female presidential candidate in 1926. According to the Constitution of Lithuania, a president was elected by the members of the Parliament. Nobody knew the term “gender balance” at that time, but this election was famously the only perfectly gender-balanced presidential election in Lithuania.

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She stood against Socialist Kazys Grinius, Antanas Smetona (Nationalist Union) and another fellow left-wing woman candidate Felicija Bortkevičienė. However, she lost to Kazys Grinius who received 93% of the delegate votes.

Darker times for women's organisations.

Bitė remained loyal to her ideals and continued teaching and supporting individuals from poor families, publishing articles, writing novels and maintaining the women’s movement alive. However, the coup d’état by the Nationalists in December 1926 made her involvement in politics more complicated. The new government dissolved the Parliament the following year and was uninterested in either democracy or women emancipation. Even when the new Parliament consisting of one party was finally elected 11 years ago, it was 100% masculine. Furthermore, taking the United States as exemplary, the Nationalist government adopted a law which forbade working for both spouses in a state sector, unless their salaries did not exceed a certain amount of money, on the excuse of the Great Depression. This resulted in most middle-class women forcibly turning into housewives. Most pro-feminist organisations were unwelcome over time and only women’s gatherings, first sanctioned by the Lithuanian Nationalist Union (such as the one led by Sofija Smetonienė, a wife of the president and – surprisingly – a goddaughter of Bitė) were ultimately allowed. Women’s gatherings were not targeted as long as they did not seem overly political, partly because president Smetona appreciated women‘s contribution to independence. It is not known to what extent Bitė was involved in women‘s clubs and organisations after 1927. Already in her late 60s, she extensively wrote publicist articles and novels, many of which resembled her life-long struggle and ideals. She was an outspoken preacher of tolerance and humanist values, as well as a critic of a socially unequal society. Her devoted work as a teacher and patron for poorer pupils, as well as her former contributions to the Independence were recognised by the state. Two state orders were appointed to her from the president himself, despite the two technically being political rivals, in 1929 and 1936.

Bitė passed away during the most chaotic and tragic times for Lithuania (Soviet occupation 1940-41, followed by Nazi occupation in 1941-1944) in 1943, aged 82, in the city of Panevėžys. The future of women‘s organisations became more unfavourable than ever, with many former women activists becoming victims of political repressions or being forced to flee to the West before the 2nd advancement of the Red

Army and a consequent re-occupation. The legacy of women, including Bitė ´s, involved in establishing Lithuanian statehood and fighting for women‘s rights was attempted to be forcibly erased during the upcoming period. Such attempts, however, have proved to be fruitless. The works of Bitė advocating social justice and tolerance, as well as her enormous contribution to Lithuanian statehood, live in the hearts of many Lithuanian people and continue to influence even the youngest activists. Audrius Sabunas

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The majority of South Americans could certainly understand who you are talking about if you mention the nicknames ‘Manuelita’ o AURORA PIETRGIACOMI Libertadora’. Unfortunately, while European and American political ‘heroes´ of the past are worldwide known, few of those who made MANUELA important contributions to the history of the southern hemisphere SÁENZ are likewise famous in northern countries. Manuela Saénz is considered one of the main heroes of the Latin American independence. Her figure has been ignored and denigrated for almost a century, and only in recent years was she given the attention that such a complex and multifaceted character deserves.

Manuela Sáenz y Aizpuro was born on December parties which were really meetings for 27, 1797, daughter of Simon Sáenz, a Spanish conspirators and she would leak important merchant, and María Joaquina de Aizpuru, who information to the rebels. Once Peru was belonged to a noble Basque family. It should be liberated in 1822, she was attributed the title of noticed though that the genealogist F. Jurado knight of la Orden El Sol. Noboa found some Jewish and indigenous roots in her family lineage, and this would explain the She then returned to Ecuador where she actively native-looking features noticeable in her cooperated with liberation forces: she was doing portraits. intelligence work, take care of wounded people and collected and donated provisions for the Since a very young age, she was in contact and rebels. In Quito, Manuela met Simon Bolivar. The was following with interest the local rebellions two will start a romantic relationship made of against the Spaniards. Her stay in a cloister frequent encounters, while Manuela was actively wanted by her mother lasted shortly since taking part in the formation of a strong Manuela’s personality and interest strongly Ecuadorian nation. Bolivar himself gave her a clashed with monastery life. To end local rumours uniform, which she would proudly wear when about her moral rectitude, she was forced to needed. After the death of her father, she went marry a 40-year old man whom she will never back to Lima where she played an important part love. This, however, introduced her to the upper in the Ayacucho battle – the battle that secured classes of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian society, Peru’s Independence. which at the end of 1819 was already agitated by the news of Simon Bolivar’s actions. After this, she followed her lover to Bogota, since she was an active member of the Bolivarian party She rapidly turned into one of the principal and was in charge of Bolivar’s archives. In activists in Lima who conspired against the Bogotá in September 1828 a group of Spanish administration: she would organise conspirators, among whose there was Santander

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– the future president of Colombia tried to She is often referred to as Bolivar’s mistress and assassinate the Liberator. She promptly not as one of the principal figures of Latin understood what was happening and was able to American liberation. The historiography of the face the aggressors herself giving time to Bolivar time criticises her for her masculine attitude and to escape: it is said that himself gave her the appearance, her ‘unmoral’ sexual behaviour, her nickname “Libertadora del Libertador”. insolence of wearing a military uniform in public. The fact that she did not comply with the gender The two will be lovers until Bolivar’s departure to stereotypes of the 19th century attracted the Santa Marta in 1830. When she heard months antipathy of many: her sexual freedom, later of the death of her beloved, she attempted ‘immorality’, her disinterest in being the angel of suicide but didn’t succeed. After Bolivar’s death, the home opposed to her will to belong to the Santander took power and started persecuting all political life, were all subject of critics. She was the supporters and collaborators of the told to be influent on the country’s politics for her Libertador. As a consequence of this, she will be erotic force and not thanks to her abilities and exiled to Jamaica. knowledge. Undoubtedly many at the time recognised her value. Some defended her She tried in 1835 to go back to her native land, relationship with Bolivar, and her qualities were Ecuador, but president Rocafuerte refused her acknowledged by many of her colleagues and on arrival, so she anchored in Paita, a Peruvian observers. Only in recent years, Manuelita was port. Here she will live the rest of her days in given more attention by historians and the public: a humble home, selling hemmed textiles to live. she is now considered a national hero and moral She was loved by the people of the village and judgments about her are not the core of the received visits from important personalities. She discussion anymore. Perhaps she lived in a died of diphtheria at the age of 59, in poverty society that was not able to fully appreciate her and solitude. complex personality, and sadly she spent the last years of her life alone and in poverty. This, Interestingly, the figure of Manuela Saenz has however, represents a good example of how, always caused controversies. Many historians of sometimes, history does justice to those who the time wrote about her due to her unorthodox deserve it. behaviour and not to her heroic achievements. Twitter: @rorapiergiacomi

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"(…)Resolved lo que queráis, pero afrontando la responsabilidad de dar entrada a esa mitad de género humano en política, para que la política sea cosa de dos, porque solo hay una cosa que hace un sexo solo: alumbrar; las demás las hacemos todos en común, y no podéis venir aquí vosotros a legislar , a votar impuestos, a dictar deberes, a legislar sobre la raza humana, sobre la mujer y sobre el hijo, aislados, fuera de nosotras." (El voto femenino y yo. Editorial Horas. , 2006)

CLARA CAMPOAMOR

C R I S T I N A C A T A L Á

All women are in debt with Clara Campoamor. On October 1, 1931, this deputy of the Spanish Radical Socialist Party gave a brilliant speech before the , which led to the approval of the right to vote for women. But this giant step towards equal rights cost her the political career. The Madrilenian had to face opponents even within her own party. Finally, female suffrage was approved with 161 votes in favour and 121 against and she went down in history as one of the most outstanding deputies of the . She was one of the 21 deputies of the Constitutional Commission and from there she fought with courage in favour of non-discrimination on the grounds of sex, the legal equality of the children in and out of marriage, divorce and the female vote.

Clara Campoamor Rodríguez was born in Madrid, in 1888, to a humble family of liberal-progressive thinking. In 1898, the year in which lost what was left of its colonial empire, Clara also suffered the loss of her father, and the mother, having to take care of her and her brother was forced to retake her job as a seamstress. The economic situation of Spain at the end of the 19th Century did not lead to many economic opportunities, which, coupled with the precariousness of the family, made Clara, barely 13 years old, forced to leave school and start working with her mother. PAGE 12 GRADUATES OF DEMOCRACY SHE WAITED LONG ENOUGH

Meanwhile, society was evolving and the idea of the female vote was making its way among the Spaniards. Clara was already twenty years old A principle when, in 1908, the British House of Commons approved, albeit with restrictions, female suffrage. Six days later, on March 9, Emilio Alcalá- Galiano, asked Congress for the female vote, arguing a paradox that of political could hardly be rebutted: honesty can be queens but not electors Eight days later, when the new Local Administration Regime Law was that we being debated, the amendment to article 41 of the bill by the deputy Francisco Pi y Arsuaga was put into question. He proposed, for the first have not yet time in Spanish history, that married women of legal age, could vote in municipal elections, a proposal that was not successful either. When Clara Campoamor began to fight for political rights there were only achieved three women in the chamber: the socialist Margarita Nelken, and Campoamor herself. Two of them stood against female suffrage, in a 80 years system that allowed them to be elected, but not elective. While in women of Finland (1906), Denmark (1915), or the United States (1920) women could later. already exercise this right, Spanish women were still unable to do so. This debate offered the possibility of equating political rights with men, but also of preceding countries like France, which did not approve it until 1944. At the beginning of her struggle, Campoamor counted with both the opposition on the right and the left (as the socialist Prieto). While conservatives thought women were not qualified to vote, progressives argued electoral reasons, worried that women - especially in rural areas - would vote to the right if given a chance. In the Courts'debate, Campoamor sought a rival to her height: the Deputy Victoria Kent, whom she faced in one of the most relevant and intellectual debates. “I don't think it is time to give the vote to the Spanish woman” argued Kent, while she advocated for a postponement in its concession. “If Spanish women were all workers, if they had already attended university and were free in their conscience, I would stand in front of the Chamber to ask for the female suffrage, rhetoric,” she said in a speech interrupted on several occasions by applauses. Campoamor followed by picking up the witness of Kent and began a brilliant intervention: “Ladies and gentlemen, far from censuring or attacking the statements of my colleague I understand, on the contrary, the torture of her spirit having seen today in the process of denying the initial capacity of women”. She gave a one of a kind speech, not often heard nowadays, and load rhetoric (“Do they not suffer the consequences of legislation? Do they not pay taxes to support the state in the same way as men do?”) as well as enlightening historical and statistical data (“the decrease in illiteracy is faster in women than in men”). Campoamor convinced a Congress loaded with prejudice and suspicion. The chamber approved the female suffrage that is still used by Spanish women. No politician, deputy or representative has had a greater impact on democracy in Spain than Clara Campoamor. To the perseverance and tenacity of this woman, the Spaniards owe no less than . She was one of the first deputies in the Courts of the Second Republic and she fought hard to give women the same electoral rights as men and to approve the first Divorce Law. Thus, what in other countries was achieved through the efforts of generations, in Spain was achieved at once thanks to the effort of one person: Clara Campoamor. She did not allow any electoral strategy to go before her ideology, a principle of political honesty that we have not yet achieved 80 years later. Twitter: @CrisCatala PAGE 13 GRADUATES OF DEMOCRACY SHE WAITED LONG ENOUGH

OLYMPE DE “an uncultivated and ill-mannered GOUGES individual” who died soon after the birth of their son, who would grow up to disown his mother to escape the Revolution’s wrath. H U G O D E C I S She decided not to get married again, for the French law stated that a married woman needed her husband’s agreement to Although one of France’s first feminist, publish any article or novel, which made Olympe de Gouges remains surprisingly her freer as a widow than she ever was as unknown by European progressives. a wife. She was free, indeed and at last, Surely, we all know the basic: her name, to pursue her own desires and therefore and how she met her fate when the decided to move to Paris and join the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris found her many artists and intellectuals who were guilty of having “question[ed] the shaking the very foundations of the republican principles” and therefore, French monarchy, slowly but surely sentenced her to death alongside 2742 paving the way for a ground-breaking individuals deemed as enemies of the State. and ambitious revolution. Besides her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, little of At a time when women living alone and well her life and work is known by the public. were often considered to be prostitutes, Yet, she was arguably one of the most Olympe de Gouges’ habits of seeing men influential feminists of the modern era without getting married – such as the and, as one of the Revolution’s artisans powerful Bretrix de Rozières – made her and daughters, a martyr of progress as appear, at the very best, as a voluptuous well as a vibrant symbol of the darkest courtesan. Yet, the company of these men aspects of the First Republic. provided her with the two things she needed the most: money and (relative) Olympe de Gouges’ youth – she was then freedom. She was, therefore, able to write called Marie Gouze – seems to be filled and produce “Black Men’s Slavery or the with decisions taken by her family on her Fortunate Shipwreck” thus proving that she behalf. As a 17-year-old young woman, she was not only interested in emancipating the was married to a man thirty years older women but those who were dominated by than her, described by Paul Noack as the powerful and the rich.

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To denounce slavery whilst half of France’s stability of the Republic and to ensure the foreign trade was linked to it wasn’t only nation’s survival, the Convention made it almost daring: it was a topic only dealt with by the impossible to criticise it and soon enough, the century’s highbrows. She was, therefore, rightful criticism was considered a capital asserting herself as an equal of Diderot or offence. The Revolution was ready to feed Rousseau, though her thoughts never on its own children. reached the fame of theirs. She had no Olympe de Gouges, yet, remained brave inferiority complex whatsoever and that was enough to criticise the power of the surely her biggest asset and strength. Convention. Friend of some preeminent Girondins – a political faction close to the With the French Revolution came the dark Robespierre’s Jacobins – she took some daring times of Terror. Besieged by more than ten stances, offering her services to Louis XVI’s foreign kingdoms brought together by a shared defence – he hadn’t been sentenced to death will to re-establish Louis XVI on the throne of yet – as well as to Marie-Antoinette, France’s France and make an example of the French former Queen, who was soon to be sent to the republic to impress their own people, but also guillotine. Her opinions included some radical devastated by monarchist rebellions led by thoughts, such as allowing the power to fanatic priests and seditious officers, the First execute women – as they were, unlike men, Republic’s life was filled with plots, treasons, unable to be sentenced to death. Among other brave sacrifices and hopeless battles at the things, she also defended the Right to borders. In less than 10 years of Revolutionary Divorce – which was truly revolutionary at Wars, the French Republic, dedicating its entire that time – as well as the necessity to economy and society to war for the first time in recognise infants born out the wedlock to the history of Europe, raised more than a million prevent them from living a life of misery. soldiers and sacrificed nearly 500,000 of them Her thoughts were ground-breaking, but against the armies of Prussia, Austria, Russia, such boldness, though partly supported by the Great-Britain, Sweden and Spain, without even revolutionary factions, was also to draw mentioning the fierce troops from Italian and attention to her as she prepared herself to denounce the Convention’s abuses of power. German kingdoms. Organising the mobilisation and daily life of the First Republic was the Olympe de Gouges was arrested on July 20, Convention, which established the Terror first 1793. Her charges were serious. She had as a mean to prevent the Republic from falling publicly criticised the First Republic for the and then, as an oppressive tool dedicated to massacres that had occurred in its jails during crushing any suspects. But beyond the the bloody nights of September 2nd and 3rd, deputies and other representatives, France 1792 and blamed Marat, one of the Revolution’s was being ruled by one master and one leaders and spokesmen, for it. Marat was master only: the fear to see its numerous another son of the Revolution, who was later enemies crush its armies, loot its eastern on assassinated by the fanatic Charlotte cities and defeat not only the nation as a Corday. Moreover, she had accused whole but the ideas that were still defended Robespierre, perhaps the most French by thousands of citizens: Liberté, Egalité, Revolutionary of those of those days, of Fraternité. In the name of preserving the wanting to become the Republic's dictator.

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Her friends, the Girondins, had fallen two days before and had already been executed. Her enemies, within the ranks of the Montagnards, were on the other hand quite numerous and her fate was already sealed. Despite her brilliant defence and last attempt at avoiding the capital punishment, she was brought to the guillotine and famously met her fate as she led her life: with dignity and courage. Twitter: @Dresaralos

Women, isn’t it a good time for us to have our own revolution?

Will women Bibliography always be [1] The Revolutionary Tribunals (2015). isolated? Will [2] The Life and Work of Diderot (n.d.). New World Encyclopaedia. [3] The Life and Work of Rousseau (n.d.). New World Encyclopaedia. they ever truly [4] René Sédillot (1987). Le Coût de la Révolution Française, Chapitre I. Paris: join the society? Bilan Démographique. [5] Fiona Le (n.d.). Reasons for the Reign of Terror in France. [6] Myriam Perfetti (2013). Olympe de Gouges – Une Femme contre la Olympe de Gouges, Terreur. Magazine Marianne. Letter to the King, [7] The Death of Marat - Symbol of the Revolution (2009). Letter to the Queen [8] Olympe de Gouges – La Cause des Femmes (n.d.). Hérodote.net.

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“We should all be feminists,” the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie claims. This catch phrase is the title of the TED talk she delivered in Euston in 2012. Born in 1977 in the State of Enugu in Nigeria, this woman is a novelist, a nonfiction writer and a short story writer. Her speech has been published in 2014 and is now available in the form of an essay, due to the strength of her discourse and its logical following success.

What is interesting about her is the manner in which her work, fictional or not, is deeply infused with self-reflexivity and intersectionalism and is very influential when dealing with popular culture. Those two directions are translated in her work by the fact that she refuses to take the concept of “feminism” for granted, that she does not want to reduce it to one struggle defending only one community and finally that she wants to touch as many people as possible.

MARION CARTIER CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE PAGE 17 GRADUATES OF DEMOCRACY SHE WAITED LONG ENOUGH

Let’s first focus on the self-reflective dimension. do not own any monopoly over the notion of Indeed, in her first TED talk entitled “The Danger “feminism”. In her talk, she explains she was told of the Single Story” she tackled the ways in which that feminism was “Unafrican” and was the result “stereotypes limit and shape our thinking”. She of the corruption caused by “Western books”. She argued: “It seems to me that the word feminist, goes against the idea of limiting feminism’s and the idea of feminism itself, is also limited by perspectives. Feminists do not only defend a stereotypes”. In her TED talk, she explained that certain type of women: they defend equal rights the first time she was called a feminist, it was by a for all types of communities. Adichie towards the man. They were arguing and “it was not a end of her talk tackles “culture” at large and says compliment”, she remembered. She then added it is about “continuity and preservation” exerted that her first novel published in 2003, Purple by conservative forces. There is a status quo Hibiscus - about a husband beating up his wife - which needs to be shaken. She makes a central was called “feminist” by a man. The same man statement: “Culture does not make people. People advised her never to define herself as “feminist”, make culture”. This way, she invites people to be because to him feminists are “women who are active in every branch of culture in order to make unhappy because they cannot find husbands”. it less sexist, less racist, essentially open and Adichie took it easy and declared ironically to the tolerant. The influence of her TED talk is highly audience: “So I decided to call myself a happy visible in popular culture. The famous artist feminist”. This way, she goes against the very Beyoncé Knowles borrowed one part of the widespread idea that feminists are nothing but discourse to include it in the form of a verse in her frustrated women. On the contrary, they are track “Flawless”, a song eminently feminist, blooming, radiant people. Chimamanda Ngozi extracted from her eponymous fifth record Adichie’s background is interesting and plays an “Beyoncé.” The extract Beyoncé chose to important role in the way she envisions feminism: incorporate is the one dedicated to ambition and on an intersectional spectrum. She was born in aspiration. Nigeria and emigrated to the United States of America at 19 for her studies. In her novel autobiographical Americanah, published in 2013 and included in the New York Times selection of the 10 best books of the year, she confronts racism and sexism in her home country and in the U.S. Those two evils are not erased in America, but just transformed and spread, hidden, subtle and yet pervasive and persistent. In her talk, she explained: “We have evolved, but it seems to me that our idea of gender has not evolved”. Being racism, sexism or any other form of discrimination, what Adichie is really concerned about is “that fine-grained mark that culture stamps on people.” Similarly, her collection of short stories "The Thing Around Your Neck" is exploring and crossing the boundaries between sexes, geographical frontiers and family generations and roles. The story "On Monday of Last Week" is provided with a queer subtext. Sexual tension is growing between two women. The lesbian possibility is here, though never actualized. This way, she challenges one dimension of patriarchy which is heteronormativity and she expands the concept of “feminism”. White heterosexual women

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marriage We teach girls to shrink themselves And we don’t teach boys the same? To make themselves smaller We raise girls to see each other as We say to girls, competitors “You can have ambition Not for jobs or for accomplishments But not too much Which I think can be a good thing You should aim to be successful But for the attention of men But not too successful We teach girls that they cannot be Otherwise, you will threaten the man.” sexual beings But why do we teach girls to aspire to In the way that boys are

It is all about “teaching”, “making”, and “raising” and this “for the attention of men”. It echoes a famous statement uttered by the French philosopher Jean- Jacques Rousseau, saying that “Women have been especially created for men’s pleasure”. The obvious target of Adichie is patriarchy, that is to say, the system through which historical, political, sexual and social powers are exerted by men over women for centuries now. Having grown up in Nigeria, she experienced a deeply enshrined and violent form of patriarchy. By the use of the pronoun “we”, Adichie invites us to consider something very often forgotten and yet central to the issue. Indeed, by the use of an inclusive pronoun, she considers women are also responsible for this inequality of treatment. Women have internalised their subaltern role and do not realise they are being manipulated, limited and discriminated. A work of deconstruction is necessary, to throw away the veil of stereotypes. What is seen as “normal” by women accepting their conditions is actually a social construct, initiated by men, and not a natural state of affairs. Adichie explains “marriage” is not the natural, one and only “source of joy and love” for women, but rather the result of a sexist, essentialist and heteronormative raising leading to social expectations in keeping with men’s desire to maintain power. This very articulated discourse, Beyoncé translates it in vernacular:

Don’t think I’m just his little wife Don’t get it twisted, get it twisted This my shit, bow down bitches.

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It gives visibility and accessibility to the author’s struggle. To finish, what Adichie wants us to bear in mind and to implement is this very inclusive, simple and atemporal definition of feminism, which can cross race, class, levels of education, nationalities and periods of time: “Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes”. By the use of the term “person”, Adichie points to the necessity to include men in the struggle, to a certain humbleness and to the profound humanism which motivates this project. Marion Cartier

Bibliography

[1] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013). We should all be feminists, TEDxEuston. [2] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013). Americanah, p. 177. [3] Rousseau Jean-Jacques (1969). Émile ou de l’éducation, in Œuvres complètes. Paris: Édition Gallimard, p. 692.

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ROBERT ZIELONKA

THEY WAITED LONG ENOUGH...

They waited long enough, and now that their countries are developing this rapidly, there are no more excuses to leave them in hunger, peril health and bearing fragile children. Female malnutrition is still unacceptably prevalent throughout the world. Not only in countries that really are poor, and where there often is not enough food to feed the total population. No, the most malnourished women are not to be found in Sub-Saharan Africa’s countries, but in Asia’s thriving and upcoming economies.

Although the Asia-Pacific region achieved the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of undernourished people between 2000 and 2015, still 490 million people are chronically malnourished in this region, a figure that equals 62 percent of the world’s undernourished. The figure is especially striking if confronted with the map of Least Developed Countries: while half of Sub-Saharan Africa is still classified as such, most Asian countries graduated from this status long ago, leaving only densely-populated Bangladesh and Myanmar alongside a series of smaller countries such as Cambodia, Lao, Timor-Leste, Bhutan and Nepal in this list. This means that many starving women live in China, India, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, countries that are global economic players yet have to lift millions out of poverty and will spend decades before really being able to call themselves developed countries.

Women and children generally suffer most from malnutrition. In traditional households throughout many areas of Asia men often get to eat first, leaving less food behind for the rest of the family. Also, the physiological food needs of pregnant women and children are specific and showcase a basic yet little-understood truth of malnutrition: it is often not the consequence of a lack of food, but rather of a lack of good food. Most countries of Southeast Asia are food self-sufficient, and access to food is not a problem for most people: the problem is access to food with enough vitamins, proteins, carbs, in the right proportion to fulfil the needs of women and children.

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In Indonesia and India, 40% of the children under the age of 5 suffer consequently to malnutrition. They grow up stunted – having a lower height than normal for their age because of chronic malnutrition – or wasted – having a lower body weight than normal because of acute malnutrition. Their cognitive functions often also remain underdeveloped, becoming a chronic handicap throughout their lives. Malnutrition in children can derive from too little or too bad nutrition in the kid’s early years: prechewed food, lack of calcium, vitamins and proteins, overreliance on rice and other carbs. Or it can be the consequence of maternal malnutrition: an undernourished mother will most probably give birth to an undernourished child, who will not be able to develop all physical and cognitive functions in its first years of life which are crucial for its further development. She will not be able to breastfeed properly taking away the best source of good nutrition for the newborn. An undernourished mother, especially when she is very young, will also be more likely to give birth to a dead baby or to bleed to death while giving birth. Indeed, iron deficit remains a problem for many pregnant women throughout the developing world.

To be a feminist – or even just to be a caring human being – in many parts of the world, means that you make all possible efforts to ensure that women do not risk their lives while giving birth.

It means that pregnant women are well fed and that children do not grow up in hunger, leaving them with a handicap for the rest of their lives. It means that you persuade states to spend money, energy and knowledge in the fight to further alleviate malnutrition. It’s a humanitarian plead, but also an economically rational one: every dollar you spend on preventing malnutrition in a kid, is a dollar you will not have to spend on healthcare later, and a dollar you invest in a healthy citizen decades later, that will aid the further growth of your country.

They waited long enough, the women and children that suffer from malnutrition in countries where the most beautiful malls are filled by the upcoming middle classes and where most of the world’s economic growth is made. But they also waited long enough, the many men and the, even more, women that spend their life putting an end to malnutrition. They waited long enough, the experts of UN agencies FAO, WFP and IFAD, of ACF, Oxfam and Unicef. They waited long enough, the local government experts, the CSR policies of these companies that really want to make a difference, the young volunteers that travel from all around the world to do fieldwork and help to reduce malnutrition. They waited long enough, the many local heroes who work for little recognition and even less money in the countryside, assisting pregnant women and their husbands, counselling on nutrition, providing the nutrients and often basic yet lifesaving assistance during the delivery. Who spend their days and nights in small barracks, the rooms of local mosques or churches, helping those most in need.

The Sustainable Development Goals aim at ending hunger by 2030. The local heroes cannot achieve this on their own. A hungry mother and a hungry child have no time to wait. Twitter: @ZielonkaRobert

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CECILIA PASSANITI

...AND NOW IS THEIR TIME TO WALK

On January 21st, 2017, I joined the thousands and But also to close the gender pay gap and break the thousands of women, men and children across the glass ceilings that surmount us. We were protesting world who walked in the almost 700 Women’s against institutionalised racism and tolerated Marches around the globe. From Washington DC, homophobia. We were chanting for the freedom to where the March began, to The Hague, where I practice any religion, or none at all, without fear of walked, and across all seven continents (That’s stigmatisation and retaliation. We were protesting right! Two Sister Marches were registered in with the LGBTQIA community for their right of Antarctica as well) people came together and stood being who they are and loving who they love. against misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, racism and primarily hate. The intersectionality of the March was evident and it is something to be proud of today. At a time when Following the chants of Love Trumps Hate and history is being whitewashed and we are thought to Women’s Rights Are Human Rights our voices and think in boxes, the Women’s March represented our signs arrived in front of the American Embassy people as they really are in their beautiful in The Hague as the symbol of the new complexity. The Unity Principles wrote by the administration which took office just the day before founders outline precisely that when they address yesterday amidst protests and dismay. But we knew all the above-mentioned rights but also those of that we were not just protesting one single event. workers and people with disabilities and immigrants The women and men at the March were protesting and, for the first time under the same cause, those against all forms of discrimination and bigotry from of the environment. These principles were clear restrictive reproduction laws across the world, to when looking at the crowd: amongst the many the systematic impunity for sexual abusers. women and girls, there were also men with and

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without their partners and children. There were white people and people of colour, members of the LGBTQIA community, young and elderly people alike, Dutch and foreigners.

But Bwuti wthithoout tfu frtuherrt ahcteiorn, athcist Mioarnch, wtihll riesm aMin jausrt cthhat .w A ill remMaairnch .j ust that. A March.

Over the course of the past week, the Graduates of Democracy and its writers have shed light on some of the less-known people who have contributed to the feminist movement directly or by advancing feminist causes. Those individuals and many more have assisted the development that brought us here today. They helped the world to build a conscience of equality through literature, art, politics, activism, and etcetera and with different focuses. Some faced harsh criticism, some were forgotten, some even gave their life. But all of them persevered because they knew that the goal was much bigger than themselves.

Now it is our turn. This generation is filling the shoes of the giants that came before us and left us the inheritance of wisdom and the power of conviction to fight for what is right, just and fair. Days like today are part of a bigger picture and from where we stand we cannot yet see it all. But step by step we will get closer to the goal as many more will arise. History has stripped women of our value and voices, nevertheless, women have been fighting and are fighting today to change this narrative. A narrative that sees 62 million girls in the world forbidden primary education. A narrative in which 4 in 5 victims of human trafficking are women and 1 in 3 suffers physical or sexual violence. A narrative that occurs in the lives of transgender women killed at a rate of 5 per day. A narrative of eroticized lesbian couples, enslaved sex workers, and teenagers cyber-raped on Facebook. A narrative that protects Peacekeepers who commit sexual crimes on the very people they are mandated to safeguard, and worries more about a rapist’s future career than a victim’s present wellbeing and safety.

There is not place in the future for this narrative and today’s March was just the beginning. In the next four years in the United States, women will fight to maintain the rights they earned over the past Century. In Europe, we will have to hold our ground against the insurgence of far-right parties the threaten the safety and rights of our Muslim, Black, and Immigrant Sisters and Brothers as well as those of many more minorities. In the Middle East, women will continue to fight for their right to self-determination. In many developing countries they will stand for the notion that women own their bodies, their minds, their beliefs, their independence, their life.

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If we come together in solidarity and embrace the intersectionality of feminism and equality, we can achieve gender parity. While each region, nation and community struggle differently and against different walls, the notion that we are all created equal needs to be a cornerstone of our movements. And with the principles of empathy and compassion in mind, we will say that we waited long enough and now is our time to walk. Twitter: @CeciPassaniti

ABOUT THE MARCH: THE NUMBERS U.S.: ~ 4 million people Worldwide: ~2.5 million people FAVORITE SPEECH America Ferrera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrQt0J4hWj4 FAVORITE ARTISTIC PIECE Ashley Judd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8IApUwjHU8 FAVORITE MOMENT "I Can't Keep Quiet" Flash Mob: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeQD9QwYC5M

contact details Graduates of Democracy

/graduatesofdemocracy/

@democracygrads

[email protected]

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