The history of the seven activists of the feminist collective 8 Thousand Motiussentenced to a year and a half in prison for her participation in the feminist general strike of March 8, 2018has once again sparked a broad debate about the repression of social movements in our country.
During a peaceful protest on the occasion of 8M, the seven women along with many other colleagues occupied the train tracks in Barcelona, in a symbolic act to make visible the fight for “the rights of all.” The sentence, one of the harshest against the movement, also includes compensation of more than 26,000 euros to the railway company for damages and losses. These militants They have been in the judicial process for six years now, with all the physical and emotional exhaustion that this implies, in a case that, far from being an isolated episode, seems to constitute one more piece in a broad mosaic of criminalization aimed at punishing social protest.
To understand its impact, it is important to frame it within a broader context of judicial measures that, in recent years, have attempted to control and curb expressions of dissent. The feminist movement, which has fought with strength and organization in pro of equality, it thus faces challenges that go beyond its demands; faces, on this occasion, a response from the legal system that many consider disproportionate. Are we facing a limitation on freedom of expression? What does this ruling imply for those who organize in other groups and associations?
Public has had the opportunity to contact these accused activists and conduct the following interview, where they reflect on the importance of this trial and its consequences, and, above all, they demand the need to remain organized to resist situations like this.
What message do you think this sentence sends not only to feminists, but to any group that fights for their rights in the streets? Could it have a deterrent effect on participation in future feminist protests? How would the movement respond to it?
For us, the message that is sent is that the feminism of Amancio Ortega or that of the institutional campaigns of the city councils for the 8M are allowed, but the one who uses direct action does not. In our case, we have come up against the institution, but this is what happens with any group that shakes these structures, which in our opinion certainly do not work. The idea is that We cannot question the State neither do their structures. The conviction aims to generate a deterrent effectthis is an exemplary punishment.
“The message this sentence sends is a deterrent effect”
It is not a punishment for the 30 women who were on the tracks, in that case the crime would be directly punished, it would be more evident proof that all the people who were there were committing a crime; but it is pointed out, Only seven of those who were there are punished. That is to say, it is no longer a matter of having gone down to the tracks or not, but rather it is an example, a way to tell the rest to learn. Furthermore, it is pointed out to those people who were most activewhether holding the banner or speaking through the megaphone (basically what the militants of any group assume). It’s not a coincidence.
Therefore, for us, it is about an attempt to scare and, in reality, today we cannot say that they have not achieved it, because of course there has been fear at times throughout the process. Yet, this has not stopped ushas not made us stay in our homes; but, in fact, we have managed to turn it around and make it visible. The response of the feminist movement, at that time and throughout all these years, has been to respond with displays of solidarity.
The judicial system has historically been criticized for its patriarchal bias. Does this conviction reinforce that idea? How do you see the relationship between justice and feminism?
If what we have is a judicial system that is directly the legacy of fascism that we have lived for so many years here in our territory and in which we consider that there has not been a transition, it is not surprising that those same courts criminalize the protest. These are courts where, in addition, it is difficult to see women.
“We need Justice to protect us and to be able to use the judicial system in our favor so that our rights are guaranteed”
Even so, it is true that in our case we had a courtroom where it was all women and this has not guaranteed a more feminist accusation either, quite the opposite. In the end, Being a woman is not the only requirement to be a feminist, but you also have to have a bit of historical memory, a desire for change and be a little more left-wing.. The judge has made it very clear, with this sentence of one year and six months plus all the additions, which side she is on; and it is not on the side of the feminists who fight for their rights and for the rights of all.
However, we do think that We need Justice to protect us and that we can use the judicial system in our favor so that our rights are guaranteed. We need them to be structures with a feminist perspective because, if not, they simply reproduce the dynamics of the system, the patriarchal logic is reproduced.
What is your assessment of the role of the judicial system in the criminalization and repression of social movements? We see that now a lot of cases of infiltrated police are being uncovered…
In our case, there is a part of repression shared with the rest of the social movements that question the system, but also We have seen that there are some specificities due to the fact that it is a feminist case.. Throughout these years, we have tried to analyze how we had experienced the repression, whether it was the same as the repression that our fellow fighters have experienced, and we observed some differences. With the issue of infiltrated police officers, for example, gender mandates have been taken advantage of to gain access to groups.
“The judicial system also takes advantage of the social construction of gender to scare, infantilize or question feminism”
In general, The judicial system also takes advantage of the social construction of gender to scare, infantilize or question what we do. On March 8, we experienced all the paternalism and infantilization on the part of the police forces. The way they addressed us and tried to explain to us how we had to fight, how things worked according to their point of view. Our response was not to obey and theirs was repression. Among other issues, one of the things they did was call or show up at the accused’s house (remember that this was six years ago and some still lived at their parents’ or relatives’ house) to try to scare them.
What impact do you think this ruling can have on the public perception of the legitimacy of the feminist struggle in a context, also, of ultra-conservative and sexist reaction?
It’s a attack on the feminist movementjust as when there are other sentences against other feminist comrades, they are also direct attacks against us as militants. That day we did not go out on the streets for ourselves, nor for the seven of us who are accused, nor for the 30 who were there; but for all those who have fought before and those who have to fight later. Us We were there to guarantee the right to strike for other womenwho were in companies where the right to strike was violated, and to also point out that public transport was the space where 17.1% of attacks occurred outside the sphere of the couple.
“The door is being left open to questioning the feminist struggle”
In the context in which we find ourselves, it is crucial for us to try to have jurisprudence that protects us and that hate speech does not run rampant. We believe that otherwise What we are doing is leaving the door open to questioning the feminist struggle.. That day we were demanding to be able to inhabit spaces without being attacked, without a husband or a politician having the peace of mind to sexually assault any woman. We had many reasons.
The impact of a ruling like this It may be that sometimes we think about whether we have to throw in the towel or not.. I think that, in general, all feminists are very convinced that you don’t throw in the towel and demonstrate it daily, but it can have an impact. In the end, there are many years of campaigning, of explaining the case, of collecting money… and all this wears you down and causes you, on some occasions, to stop participating in some movements as well.
How can the feminist movement articulate a solid response to this type of condemnation?
We must remain organized, not only for March 8, but throughout the year. One has to be in contact with other strugglesbuild a feminism that is anti-capitalist, that has a class perspective, that is anti-colonial, anti-racist, trans-inclusive, that also fights for decent housing, for decent working conditions… For us it makes no sense to renounce any of these demands . If at that moment we already had more than 8,000 reasons, well now we have even more.
Until things change, we are going to continue adding reasons. For us, this is the way build a solid response and continue thinking about how to transform realityfrom the closest to the most structural.
What role has mutual support and sisterhood played throughout this process? Has it given you strength to continue fighting?
The alliances and links we have created over the years are priceless. At this point we are really a little tired of the whole process, of seeing how much a judicial process can drag on, but all the solidarity of the groups that have supported us is what gives us fuel to continue. The good part that we take away is that We have been able to forge alliances with many groups and beautiful people.. In this sense, we can say that we have turned the repression around, in addition to adding people along the way. For that part, we are infinitely grateful for any show of solidarity and anger that we have had. We will not tire of saying that Without the grassroots organization this would be very difficult to sustain.
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