Socialism? Not without women

Kate Hudson looks at custom and practice on the left

Looks like we have to return to the age-old debate about women and socialism. I thought the arguments about women’s liberation and women’s equality had been won on the left, back in the 1970s. Clearly I was wrong. Whether it’s the silence of comrades in Respect about unacceptable rape comments, or the grotesque mishandling of serious allegations within the SWP or reports that a senior trade union figure has been arrested for domestic violence, it all smacks of a disgraceful regression in attitudes towards women.

Of course, the incidents I have mentioned are only the more shocking features of this problem. It seems to me that there is an increasing male-domination of events, meetings, organisations, blogs, you name it. Last week I went to the committee meeting of a broad campaign in which I am involved. It became apparent that three men had represented that organisation at another meeting of around eight men in total. In what way can that possibly be acceptable? When I raised this is a problem, there were some sympathetic voices, but also suggestions that it was ok because when it came to a public statement on the issue, names of leading women in the movement would be added.

This shows a complete lack of understanding of the issue. It is not that we need women as window-dressing or icing on the cake. We need women involved at every level of decision-making, in the political planning and organisation of our movement. Otherwise it is going to go wrong, it is not going to represent the whole of the working class, and it is not going to be something that most women will want to be part of. When I continued to raise the issue, I was asked what I proposed as a solution. Once again this missed the point. It should not be for the woman to come up with the solution. The committee itself needed to understand and embrace the problem and come up with a solution. Fortunately a new way of working was arrived at – that we will send no delegations and have no meetings without ensuring we have a woman representative. Now let’s see how that is put into action.

After 35 years of activity on the left I am utterly sickened by the way things seem to be developing. Yes there are some real offences taking place, but mostly it is unthinking sexism. I am not prepared to be a victim of that. We need a change of attitudes in the movement and a recognition from men that a left without equal input from women will not be worth the name.

In fact, it’s time to re-engage with the debate about prefigurative politics – and time to embrace its practice. In other words that our ways of organizing and the attitudes, principles and practice within our movement, reflect those of the future socialist society that we are striving to bring about. We’re not waiting until after the revolution comrades.