Women won the right to vote with the passage of the 19th amendment almost 100 years ago, in August of 1920. Women waged a fierce struggle for decades for equality in many social arenas--one of which was gaining the right to vote. The men who passed the historic amendment weren’t, for the most part, anti-sexist or anti-patriarchal. It was an organized movement that won the right to vote, just as it was a militant, organized women’s movement that won the Roe v Wade decision 50 years later. Our militant, radical past forms the bones of the women’s movement, which was often on the frontlines of labor struggles, the fight for abolition and for reproductive rights, at the same time it fought for suffrage. This legacy, often erased from our history books, is a legacy that must be at the core of our struggle today.

All forms of oppression against women, ingrained in this inherently patriarchal society, are tools to preserve capitalism, a system that profits from human suffering. By paying women less, by controlling our bodies, by dehumanizing and trivializing us, by fully subjugating us, and by normalizing all of this, could Capitalism effectively exploit us.

As we know, oppression breeds resistance, and women have always been on the frontlines of struggles for black lives, immigrant rights, labor rights, reproductive rights, and so forth. Immigrant families are being ripped apart. The drums of imperialist war beat constantly. Social services are being slashed while the military budget is almost at a trillion dollar. Women’s reproductive rights have faced a decades long barrage with no end in site. Now is the time for struggle, for radical resistance. The struggle for women’s rights must be linked to the struggle against racism and imperialism, because capitalism is the root cause for that oppression.

Join the Party for Socialism and Liberation Los Angeles and allies on Women’s Equality Day, August 26th, 2018 as we bring the radical roots of feminism to the forefront of the women’s movement. The women’s struggle has no borders, and only by breaking the chains from capitalism is how we win!

Endorsers include:
ANSWER Coalition, The People's Congress of Resistance
(More to be included!)