Full Description
Women's emancipation was a central but contested pillar of socialist and communist internationalism during the twentieth century. The collapse of state socialism has led to renewed interest in the history and legacies of women's movements across the former socialist world during the era of decolonisation, and their significance for global feminisms in the present day. Responding to these debates, this collection of essays explores the history of transnational socialist feminisms during the global Cold War from the perspective of mid-ranking activists, officials and functionaries in international communist and left-revolutionary movements in Eastern Europe and the postcolonial world. Drawing on new sources, including private correspondence, interviews, memoirs and institutional archives, the essays ask how these activists defined women's rights from the era of the Popular Fronts in the 1930s until the United Nations Decade of Women (1976-1985).
Contents
1. Introduction - Women's Rights and Global Socialism: Gendering Socialist Internationalism during the Cold War Celia Donert; 2. "Warphans" and "Quiet" Heroines: Depictions of Chinese Women and Children in the Comité mondial des femmes contre la guerre et le fascisme's Campaigns during the Second Sino-Japanese War Jasmine Calver; 3. Between National and International: Women's Transnational Activism in Twentieth-Century Chile María Fernanda Lanfranco González; 4. Radicalizing Feminism: The Mexican and Cuban Associations within the Women's International Democratic Federation in the Early Cold War Manuel Ramírez Chicharro; 5. International Solidarity as the Cornerstone of the Hungarian Post-War Socialist Women's Rights Agenda in the Magazine Asszonyok Zsófia Lóránd; 6. Women Labour Models and Socialist Transformation in early 1950s China Nicola Spakowski; 7. The WIDF's Work for Women's Rights in the (Post)colonial Countries and the "Soviet Agenda" Yulia Gradskova; 8. A Gendered Approach to the Yu Chi Chan Club and National Liberation Front during South Africa's Transition to Armed Struggle Allison Drew; 9. Women's Transnational Activism against Portugal's Colonial Wars Giulia Strippoli; 10. "The Call of the World": Women's Memories of Global Socialist Feminism in India Mallarika Sinha Roy.
