The first UN world conference on women (1975) as a cold war encounter: Recovering anti-imperialist, non-aligned and socialist genealogies

Abstract

The essay addresses contemporary discussions on women’s transnationalism and women’s agency by looking at the first conference of the UN Decade for Women held in Mexico City in 1975, and at its specific embedding in Cold War geopolitics. Through an engagement with different feminist and activists voices, and particularly with the less visible anti-imperialist, Non-Aligned and socialist genealogies of women’s activism expressed during the meeting, the essay argues that the paradigm of Western feminist knowledge production needs to be revisited, in order to encompass multiple forms of women’s political agency that are not expressed through the liberal framework of women’s individual autonomy from the state. By juxtaposing Betty Friedan’s and Vida Tomšič’s stances during the Mexico City event, the paper shows that women’s political agency during the Cold War era took different forms, which included both the refusal and the acceptance of women’s activism within existing national and international institutions.

Ovaj ogled se uklju ču je u ak tu el ne ras pra ve o žen skom tran sna ci o na li zmu i mo ći de lo va nja, raz ma tra ju ći okol no sti u ko ji ma se odr ža la pr va kon fe ren ci ja u okvi ru UN de ka de že na, odr ža ne u Mek si ko Si ti ju 1975. go di ne, s po seb nim osvr tom na spe ci fič ni kon tekst hlad no ra tov ske ge o po li ti ke. Oslu šku ju ći raz li či te fe mi ni stič ke i ak ti vi stič ke gla so ve, s na gla skom na ma nje vi dlji vim an ti im pe ri ja li stič kim, ne svr stanim i so ci ja li stič kim ge ne a lo gi ja ma žen skog ak ti vi zma, ogled se za la že za pre i spi tiva nje za pad ne pa ra dig me fe mi ni stič ke pro iz vod nje zna nja. Reč je o po ku ša ju da se ob u hva te vi še stru ke for me žen ske po li tič ke mo ći de lo va nja, ko je se ne mo gu iz razi ti li be ral nom kon cep ci jom in di vi du al ne auto no mi je že na od dr ža ve. Po re đe njem shva ta nja ko ja su to kom kon fe ren ci je iz ne le Be ti Fri dan i Vi da Tom šič, u tek stu se po ka zu je da je po li tič ka moć de lo va nja že na to kom Hlad nog ra ta ima la raz li či te for me, ko je su ob u hva ta le i od bi ja nje i pri hva ta nje žen skog ak ti vi zma u po sto je ćim na ci o nal nim i me đu na rod nim in sti tu ci ja ma.