Women in Struggle
Pie

The women of Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cyprus, the
Middle East, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Chile must struggle
under the yoke of colonialism, racism and fascism. For many of
them itis an armed struggle calling for tremendous sacrifices for a
better tomorrow. The women of Vietnam and Angola faced with the
task of rebuilding their countries are once again called upon to
take up arms in the fight against imperialist aggression.

i pare ~y

The poverty caused by the multi-national corporations which
pillage their countries is the main enemy of the developing world.
Nearly 80% of the population in Latin America is illiterate, 36
million suffer from matnutrition and one child under five dies every
30 seconds.

Women and Socialism
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wall in?

Serafima Kotova is a deputy chief engineer at a Spinning Mill
factory in Moscow and a member of Parliament for the Russian
federation. Women in socialism are guaranteed by their constitu-
tions equality in education and the work force and the right to a job.
To facilitate the role they play as mothers there are extensive
daycare programs, paid maternity leave and job security.

Communists and
the fight for
equal rights

By NAN McDONALD

The Communist Party of
Canada in its practical work of
developing the anti-monopoly,
anti-imperialist struggle is guided
by the maxim that the unity of the
working class is the indispensable
factor making for people’s unity
against the monopolies.

In our work among women we
underline that the fight for the full
Participation of women on equal
terms with men is essential for an
effective struggle against mono-
poly, for peace, “democracy,
economic advance and for social-
ism.

It is our position also that the
fight for <all-sided equality for
women is an integral part of the
Class struggle in which the entire
labor and democratic movement
needs to become engaged. Each
side of the struggle compliments
the other.

The lesson here is self-evident:
to make the fight for women’s
rights — for equality in the work
place and for equal pay for work
of equal value — a major demand
of the trade unions. In addition, to
organize the unorganized sectors
of the work force such as the ser-
vice trades, shops, offices,
financial houses, and so on,
means to organize women work-
ers in the main. This would add a
veritable tower of new strength to
the workers’ movement in the
first place and, secondly, to the
women’s movement as well. Not
only in the economic sense, but in
the social and political spheres
also;

A Social Question

The emancipation of women
cannot be achieved by setting
women against men, and men
against women, but by uniting
men and women in common
Struggle against the enemy of
both, state-monopoly capitalism.
The women's question is basi-
cally a social question, which can
only be completely resolved
under socialism.

In this respect, the achieve-
ments of socialism demonstrate
the giant strides made toward the
final solution of the age-long dou-
ble yoke of oppression borne by
women. Suffice it to mention
here, that there are only six
women members of Canada’s
Parliament of 265 members, a
mere 2.3% of the total. On the
other hand, women members of
the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
number 475 or 31.3% of the total.

At the same time, much can be
done under capitalism through
united, militant and sustained
struggle. But in order to achieve
such united struggle requires clar-
ity of aims, an understanding of
who is the main enemy, combat-
ting all expressions of male

supremacy and chauvinism. At
the same time it is important to
struggle against petty-bourgeois,
separatist, feminist concepts for
they weaken the ability to wage a
united and effective fight for the
all-sided equality of women with
men.

However, it needs to be em-
phasized that there are specific is-
sues and problems facing women
which must be approached in a
specific way. Without this speci-
fic approach it will not be possible
to fully win women for the
democratic struggle, including the
struggle for socialism which is the
highest expression of real democ-
racy.

A Serious Obstacle

It is necessary to remind our-
selves that there is a tendency,
both on the part of women and of
men, to disregard the specific na-
ture of what is generally termed
‘‘the women’s question’. Just as
there exists another tendency to
separate the specific women’s is-
sues and problems from the gen-
eral, social, economic and politi-
cal struggle. Both these incorrect
tendencies need to be combatted.

A negative feature hindering
the specific struggle for women’s
rights is the manipulation of the
struggle by monopoly interests
and .governments designed to
prevent a serious campaign on
this front. Such manipulation
must be recognized as a serious
obstacle aimed at thwarting de-
mands opening the road that
would put an end to all vestiges of
economic, social, political and
legal inequalities. This diversio-
nary tactic finds expression in
focusing on single aspects of wo-

PROFITS
~ NOT
. PEOPLE

.
&

CUT

men’s rights which need to be
fought for, but not at the expense
of the basic rights of women in
their millions on the economic
and political front.

By far the majority of women
are a part. of working class
families, and either work directly
on the job or as housewives. The ~
real issues that concern them in-
clude: jobs as a right, equal pay
for work of equal value, upgrad-
ing of skills, creative jobs,
adequate maternity benefits,
health care, universal daycare
facilities at reasonable, affordable
rates, family law, adequate family
incomes, the high cost of living
and housing. Women face not
only the exploitation at the work
place which is the primary source
of exploitation, but the burden of
inequality in the economic, so-
cial, political and legal spheres.

In addition the general wo-
men’s movement needs to take up
much more vigorously the fight
for world peace, for without a
successful fight for peace, détente
and disarmament, women’s

rights, like the rights of all people,
could be dissolved in nuclear
dust.

The Tribune greets Interna-
tional Women’s Day as a
landmark in the struggle for the
all-sided emancipation of wo-
men. We join with those
women and men who, day by
day keep up this fight for the
fulfillment of women’s rights
and goals.

The accompanying article is
abridged from a presentation
made by Nan McDonald, the
Communist Party’s director of
work among women, at a con-
ference on women, held in Ber-
lin.

To express our paper’s sol-
idarity with women on this
international day — and
throughout the year — we find
the words of Nan McDonald

Tribune greets IWD

appropriate, when she says:
““We, Communists, in wel-
coming the growing upsurge of
the women’s movement in
Canada, believe that these is-
sues (dealt with in the article)
taken in their totality, could
help form the basis of a broad,
united democratic women’s
movement in our country em-
bracing, not only working
women who historically must
stand at its heart, but the
majority of women of our
country. Such a movement,
placing the struggle for peace,
détente and disarmament at
the centre of the struggle for
women’s rights, will be a pow-
erful addition to the workers’
movement and the general
democratic movement.’

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 9, 1979—Page 7