On the Occasion of 25 November

International Day of Struggle against Violence against Women

The Inferiority of Women, the Inferiority of Humanity

The unprecedented growth of violence against women in this patriarchal capitalist world has become a horrendous phenomenon. From the trade in female children and young teenagers to the West and other countries for forced prostitution and pornography to rape and violence, to the humiliation and degradation of women in their homes by the males in the family – these are all links in the chain of the state, social and domestic oppression of women. It is the patriarchal capitalist system that exercises brutal oppression against women. This system cannot continue to function without widespread violence against women and by asserting and reinforcing a position of male superiority over women in economic, social and domestic life.

Any woman who experiences violence in any shape or form just has to ask herself: why has this happened to me? What relationship is there between violence and the system of capitalism, and why is one of the main pillars of this system of oppression and exploitation the inferior status of women, and why is there this blatant war against them? Why do the imperialists and religious fundamentalists – the two main anti-women poles in today’s world – spread such massive hatred and violence against women? Why do men all over the world use this privilege that the system has offered them to the maximum and act as if they possess women, and on that basis exercise such brutal violence against them? And why, at the same time, is violence against women not “man’s nature” but rather part of “the nature of men” formed and shaped by this chauvinist patriarchal system?

To answer these burning questions, women need a scientific understanding of the workings of this chauvinist patriarchal system so that they will be able to consciously wage a deep-going struggle against it and transform the whole society.

We are living in a world that more than ever before needs a radical change in the enslaved position of women – in other words, changing women’s position is the master key for radically changing the world. A fundamental change in women’s condition is bound up with the overthrow of a system that has been founded on their subordination and enslavement. It is impossible to overturn the system of capitalism without transforming the power relations between men and women.

We are not posing the question today of whether we can prove it is possible to make such a change – for we can build a world where no woman would be subject to violence because of her gender. We can build a world that puts an end to thousands of years of oppression and changes “man’s nature” – a world that puts an end to men’s ownership of women and raises men’s consciousness so that they see women as complete human beings. A world where books and poems, TV and radio, cinema and theatre, music and culture in general forge deep respect for women and celebrate their role in creating a vibrant society. A world where every woman in every corner of the earth fights for the emancipation of all humanity. It is possible to build such a world, one where women are emancipated, and we are not going to wait to prove this, we are not going to stand still or silently submit! In order to radically and completely transform this oppressive chauvinist world and put an end to the one-sided violent war on women, we shall, not only on 25 November but every day, every hour and every moment, stand at the forefront of this battle! And with the help of such struggle all over the world, we shall do the impossible!

8 March Woman's  Organisation (Iran- Afghanistan) – 25 November 2013

 Site: www.8mars.com  / email: zan_dam_Iran@hotmail.com