But the very fact that it still exists is a positive factor for all those who attach importance to a women's trade-union organization. After a downturn following the defeat of ERA, CLUW has again become more visible through press releases, The women's on the rise meetings and participation in demonstrations. As an organization it plays a progressive role, especially because of its multiracial character - the presence of Black and Latin American women within it. If the movement for abortion rights continues to develop and broaden, CLUW will be important in bringing the movement into the center of the labor movement, which, in turn, will have a positive effect on CLUW itself. movement
ON NOVEMBER 1-3 of last year, the feminist movement of the Spanish state organised a meeting in Barcelona (las Jornadas de Barcelona) which was attended by 4,000 women from all over the country - young and old, white- and blue-collar workers, peasants from deep within Andalusia, those active in the organised women's movement and those not. We asked Justa Montero, a well-known feminist and a member of the Political Bureau of the Liga Comunista Revolucionaria (LCR), the section of the Fourth International in the Spanish state, to answer our questions.
Question. During the Jornadas de Barcelona you actually performed two abortions - illegal in the case of the two women concerned - and you subsequently made this action public. What led you to take such an initiative, and what was the political significance of it?
Answer. Our reasons were simply that the law on abortion enacted by the government of the Partido Socialista Obrero Espagnol (PSOE) is an insult to women. Only 3 per cent of women seeking abortions are covered by the law, which recognizes the right to abortion only in cases of rape, risk of malformation of the fetus or severe health problems for the woman. And even that 3 percent must go through a special hospital committee and obtain certificates signed by two doctors (and another certificate signed by the police in the case of rape). The application of the 'law is made even more difficult since doctors are allowed to plead "conscientious objection" and in most hospitals refuse to perform abortions. More and more women are again resorting to back-street abortions.
The assembly of women attending the Jornadas gave unanimous approval to the performing of the abortions on two women who could not legally obtain them (one was a minor) in order to point out the absurd limits of the law. After the actions had been made public the police entered the conference rooms to try to find out the identity of both the women who had performed the abortions and those who had undergone them. But we were prepared: 3,000 women had signed a document taking collective responsibility for the performing of the abortions. The secret was well kept, and the police could never discover the names. All the left parties and the trade unions supported the action of the women. And after a week of scandalised debates in the press and throughout the country, the judge charged with the case had to dismiss it for lack of evidence.
The women in the movement are perfectly well aware that the only objective of this type of action is to denounce the law. It is a form of struggle. But in no way should it be taken as an adequate way of responding to the social necessities for the broad masses of women. The movement does not want to be involved in any sort of "self-help" work. We intend to make the demand that abortions should be performed free by the state, within the framework of the health system. It is a demand that we have been making for several years, and the Comisiones
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Obreras (CCOE - Workers' Commissions), various community organizations and the parties of the left (with the exception of the PSOE, of course) have finally agreed to support this demand: Derecho al aborto, las mujeres decidimos [the right to abortion - let the women decide].
Q. What are some of the other issues around which women have been mobilising in the recent period?
A. One of the central themes has been the struggle against the militarisation of society and against the Spanish state remaining in NATO. Anti-militarist women's commissions were created inside the framework of the women's movement and at the same time linked to the peace movement. They have been participating in all the peace demonstrations, especially around demands of particular relevance to women. Recently protests have been organised in front of schools, hospitals and the Ministry of Health and Education to call for more schools and more work for women, whose unemployment rate now exceeds 25 per cent.
Last winter there were demonstrations in front of armament factories that brought together thousands of women. The main content of these demonstrations were the demands for withdrawal from NATO and for the transformation of the military budget into a social budget which would improve the situation of women. The Improve the situation or women. The main slogan was "Neither war which destroys us, nor peace which oppresses us".
Q. How do you explain the strength of the independent women's movement in the Spanish state as compared to the downturn in most of the countries of Europe and North America?
A. One primary explanation is perhaps that this movement, which arose ten years ago within the framework of the anti-Franco struggle, has had close ties to the left and far-left parties from the very beginning and consequently has had a radical orientation. But I believe that it derives its strength above all from its continuity and the fact that during this decade we have been able to achieve significant political weight through our campaigns and the mass actions that we have led. Not only have we been able to influence women from all social strata, but the movement has proved itself capable of integrating the different levels of consciousness reflected in all these women.
The existence of national coordination of the movement and its continuation through all the ups and 18
The equipment used in the two abortions is displayed to the conference and the press. (DR)
the press. (DR) downs of the last ten years have permitted the various themes of the struggles and debates to be brought together so that they have reinforced each other. And by comparing their different experiences, many women have become aware of the fact that in all these fights they are confronting the same enemy.
Finally, I believe that one of the most important strengths of the movement in our country is that feminists have learned how to overcome sectarianism and to respect the opinions of women with different points of view.
Q. And all of that was reflected in the November Jornadas?
A. Absolutely. What was really striking was the number of young women - 16 or 17 years old - who came to the meeting and gathered into their own committees to discuss their problems at home, at school and at leisure - discos and problems of sexuality, for example. Everyone was equally surprised by the number of working women who brought up their specific problems in the discussions of the commissions.
They had come, moreover, as a result of word-of-mouth publicity, posters and leaflets distributed by feminist groups. There was not a single line in the newspapers about the meeting despite the fact that we had held press conferences in Madrid and Barcelona two days before. It was only after the Jornadas - when it hit the newspapers that 4,000 people had attended and that abortions had been performed - that people found out about the conference.
One thing that struck us all was how much the movement had matured since meetings that we had held in Granada in 1979. At that time a Nicaraguan woman who took the floor was hissed by the women present. This time, the floor was given to a representative of Nicaragua to close the conference. She told us how moved she had been by the solidarity expressed to her throughout Europe and particularly in the Spanish state. She explained how important it was for European feminists to understand that the struggle of women in Nicaragua was a part of their own struggle. When she stopped speaking all the women stood up, tears in their eyes, and shouted 'Nicaragua vencera!" It was a moment of intense emotion, and I believe that it marked a great step forward for the women's movement of the Spanish state. International Viewpoint 10 March 1986
WEST GERMANY