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CHAPTER E

ON THE ACTIVITY OF COMMUNIST WOMEN IN THE RADICAL WOMEN'S MOVEMENT (OGE)

48. In terms of mass movement, communist women are active in the women's associations of OGE, which is a nationwide radical women's organization with a history going back 44 years. It is the women's organization that since its foundation opposes the classless approach of inequalities to the detriment of women, the one-sided orientation to problems faced by women regarding legislation and behaviour on the part of men. Of course, communist women participating in this mass organization cannot consider that the mobilization of women is based on a unified political perception nor on the degree of awareness of women's inequality. The unifying element is —at least in the central intervention of OGE—  the class view of the problems of women’s inequality, of the acute popular problems overall, the militant demand of women’s contemporary needs, and the participation in the workers'–people's struggles.

The orientation of several leading bodies towards increasing the participation of women Party members in OGE, starting from sectoral and KNE organizations, as well as creating new OGE groups in some areas, was expressed to a certain extent in the rise of the mobilization of women in the associations and groups of OGE, in comparison with the previous congress of OGE. However, not all opportunities have been used to reach working women, mothers, and younger women, particularly students, who are not politically affiliated with the Party. It is necessary to surmount the difficulty of illustrating the  objective situation of the associations and groups of OGE and their administrative boards to the Party Organs. This can be achieved through the substantial operation of the Party Groups of women's associations and the creative monitoring of the contribution of communist women in the radical women's movement. Under their responsibility, it is necessary to improve our understanding of this movement’s role, which, after the pandemic, should enter a new phase of development, overcoming the problems that arose by the pandemic. The Party and KNE members need to be at the forefront of holding mass meetings of the associations and groups of OGE, generating lively discussion and activity  on the occasion of the upcoming congress, which was postponed.

Communist women who participate at a national level in other bodies of the women's movement as well need to secure that the activity of the administrative board is oriented towards the participation of women workers, employees, urban self-employed and farmers in the associations and groups of OGE. Although our work showed differences from one region to another, in the previous period the associations and groups of OGE developed a multifaceted militant activity with steady work in retail, health, and other sectors. This activity focused on the demands for the universal social right of women to work, for the social responsibility of protecting motherhood and supporting family, for the equal participation of women in social life and activity.

The various central elaborations and the activity of the radical women's movement to inform women and encourage them to struggle for their demands had a significant contribution to the specialization of the communists’ work among women. This activity was based on the triad of stable employment–income from employment–social services, upon which the quality of life and free time depend, demanding permanent and stable work, fixed working hours, the abolition of flexible working conditions, the defence of the Sunday holiday, against the bourgeois state, bourgeois institutions, and capitalist employers. The discussion of these demands forms criteria; it reveals the economic and social causes that are responsible for the non-satisfaction of the contemporary social needs of women, taking into account their special needs due to their role in the reproductive process, highlighting today's possibilities in the 21st century. This shows its uniqueness as a radical women's movement, which, not only does not come into conflict with the labour–trade union movement and other radical social movements (of the urban self-employed, of farmers), but also cooperates and struggles with them to increase the participation of working women in the workers'–people's struggles.

An important front of ideological–political work among women, which requires further specialization, is the revealing and denunciation of imperialist interventions, of NATO, of foreign bases in Greece, of the relatively recent US–Greek agreements; the joint action with EEDYE; the front against drug use, often in joint action with respective organizations; the expression of solidarity with refugees and particularly women and children.

The leading organs and Party Groups of associations and groups of OGE need to study the conclusions drawn from OGE campaigns in recent years. They have helped to open the discussion with more women at workplaces, universities, and neighbourhoods, about the framework of struggle which highlights that the problems that women face in every aspect of their social life are related to the convergence of female inequality and class division of society, of capitalist exploitation.

The leading bodies need to show resolve in the mobilization of female students in the radical women’s movement, for its joint action with students' unions, something that can be achieved by raising the awareness of members and friends of the KNE in universities.

The Bulletin of OGE can be utilized in a more efficient way by women cadres and Party members, regardless of their assignments, but also from Party groups of unions in sectors with an increased participation of women (e.g. Retail, Services, Telecommunications, Tourism, Health, Education). It is a form that can enlighten working class women on issues of contemporary women's social needs, for instance, health and especially the needs for Primary Healthcare Facilities, the friendship of the peoples as opposed to imperialist interventions, and the solidarity with refugees, seeking to promote militant demands and initiatives. Especially in recent years, the Bulletin has been upgraded in terms of content and form, it has been enriched with articles about workplaces by women trade unionists.

The leading bodies need to engage in orienting communist women in the administrative boards of women's associations for the development of joint action with unions, associations of the self-employed, and farmers' associations, so that their intervention acquires substantial content. An effort was made in this direction at the occasion of the International Women's Day in 2020, which had certain good results in Attica and more poor results in Thessaloniki, Thessaly, and Crete. It partly contributed to disseminate positions and demands for women employees in the life and operation of trade unions. It is necessary to utilize the nationwide experience of the joint action that has been accumulated in Attica, where more stable steps are being made in this direction, mainly in retail, with the development of joint action for the issue of Sunday Holiday with the Attica Federation of Craftsmen (OBSA).

Particularly during the period of restrictive measures, the need arose for the guiding organs to support the intervention of communist women in the administrative boards and women's associations, taking into account the difficulties they encounter in their operation, in order to develop a multifaceted activity and initiative on every problem that the people face, as was expressed during the days of nationwide action in Health, in Retail, in Hospitality–Tourism, etc.

ON THE STRUGGLE IN THE WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION (WIDF)

49. The existing correlation of forces reflects the participation of a large number of organizations in a social democratic direction and the negative condition of the communist movement, as in many countries the CPs have not developed an orientation of the work of communist women towards the creation andmobilization of radical women’s organizations. At the same time, many WIDF organizations, in some cases even those who are affiliated with the Communist Parties, adopt positions that reproduce erroneous views and an integration policy of the women's movement.

A new element of the past period is that more and more women’s organizations of the WIDF adopt the bourgeois and opportunistic views of the feminist current in the women's movement, as well as of the views on “social gender”. Through the intervention of the OGE, the need was stressed to strengthen the radical orientation in the women's movement with mass women's organizations based on women's associations and their members. Their militant action needs to support the interests and demands of the women of a working class–popular social position or background. We estimate that in the context of the WIDF, the forces of OGE forces confronted the orientation of several women's organizations that support mainly bourgeois social democratic governments, as opposed to the liberal mixture of bourgeois management as well as to the imperialist unions. From this point of view, they showed resolve in the need to denounce the US–NATO–EU  imperialist plans, in the stance of women's organizations against imperialist interventions to reject the bourgeois bargaining and the entrapment in various imperialist centres. Under these difficult circumstances, the forces of OGE sought joint action with other organizations.