Happy International Women's Day or, as we say, happy Feminist Resistance Day!
We should celebrate and value the achievements and struggles of feminist activists and movements everyday but March 8 is an opportunity to shed some extra light on them! Of course, these days, our thoughts are with all the people in Ukraine or currently leaving Ukraine, with feminist resistance in Russia and with all the fierce feminists around the world fighting to disrupt the injust status quo against all odds.
We honestly stand on the shoulders of giants. There are so many inspiring and trailblazing feminists that have guided each of us at CFFP, some of them well known, some of them working in the back, maybe without ever being hugely known for their work but still dedicating their hearts and souls to feminist resistance. This is the spirit we try to keep alive when working on dismantling systems of oppression everyday: when we face backlash and are belittled, when people try to devalue our work or insult us personally. We’re not gonna lie, it’s tough and sometimes, we think about calling it quits.
But we know we owe it to the brave feminists that paved the way for us, making it possible to work in a deeply patriarchal, racist and exclusive field. We owe it to those coming after us to open doors and to simply keep fighting for them, for their future. And we owe it especially to those feminists walking this journey with us in the here and now, doing amazing work each and everyday. We know how much you give, we value your expertise, we cherish the shared experiences – it is an honour to walk beside and with you!
Hands down, the broader feminist movement has never been the most welcoming or diverse movement and we acknowledge that. So, to those excluding Black and Brown people, low-income people, disabled people, LGBTQI+ people and especially trans women, people based in the Global South, children, older people, people without university education, and many more, we would like to say: your feminism is not our feminism. True feminism has always been and will always be unapologetically INTERSECTIONAL and gears towards the needs of those most marginalised!
And to those who feel like they do not belong in the feminist movement, who are still struggling to find their place, those who just started their feminist journey and those who are just trying their best, we want to reiterate: we hear you and believe us when we say, there is space for you in feminist resistance! We wish you all the strength and support you need to (re)claim that space.
Here’s to feminist resistance!
Love,
Sheena for the CFFP team
Sheena Anderson is Project Manager at CFFP, leading our work on Climate Justice and Anti-Racism.