MOBILISATION AND MOVEMENT BUILDING

1. by Dr. Mrs. Nemata Majeks-Walker MOBILISATION AND MOVEMENT BUILDING Founder & First President of The 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone Email: nematta@hotmail.com Website: nemaya.co.uk : fiftyfifty-sl.org

2. OUTLINE • What is a Movement? • What is Movement Building? • Why do Movements matter? • What are the characteristics of Movements? • How do we build feminist movements? • What is the relationship between Movements and Organizations • What is the Life Cycle of Movements • How can women’s movements manage diversity and difference among us, particularly if we have different values and core principles? • How can we maintain a level of cohesion, but at the same time address the real political issues at stake for women? • What is the price to be paid for confronting diversity? • What are the challenges of the current context? • Can women’s Movements rise above the challenges of the current context, and coalesce once more around shared interests, with our sense of these interests made stronger by an awareness of the differences between us?

3. 'Be the change you want to see in the world' Ghandi. •  “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” Patajanli

4. WHAT IS A MOVEMENT? • an organized set of constituents pursuing • a common (political) agenda of change • through collective action. • the building of some kind of collective power – whether of individuals, organizations, or a combination of both. • the central concept within the term “movement” – viz., that movement means something dynamic, something moving towards some goal. • building a movement is to amass the power necessary to do something you cannot do through one organization

5. WHAT IS A MOVEMENT? • According to Veneklasen and Miller (2202), “coalitions and alliances bolster advocacy by bringing together the strength and resources of diverse groups to create a more powerful voice for change.”

6. WHAT IS MOVEMENT BUILDING? • Movement building is the process of mobilising the constituency that implicitly benefits from a particular social, economic or political change, organizing the constituency in some way, and building a clear political agenda (or change agenda), and preparing the constituency to choose its targets, strategies, and actions to bring about the change they seek.

7. SOCIAL MOBILISATION IS A DYNAMIC PROCESS, USING ALL TRADITIONAL, MODERN AND CULTURAL CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION IN ORDER TO GET MEMBERS OF THE POPULATION TO JOIN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEM. This goes from the ordinary citizen to the head of stste.

8. How do we build feminist movements? We build feminist movements by employing aprocess that mobilizes women, their allies or supporters, for struggles whose goals are specific to gender equality outcomes

9. A few examples of feminist movements • female genital mutilation, • bride-burning and female foeticide, • violence against women, • for expanding equality of access to citizenship, e.g. women’s right to vote • land or inheritance rights, • the girl-child’s right to Education, • employment rights, • reproductive and sexual rights. • customary inheritance rights in Kenya and Tanzania, • the anti-FGM movements in several countries of Africa

10. movements against the repeal of gender-equal legal rights in several parts of the Middle East • the rights of migrant women in China • the sex workers movements in several parts of Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas • the Afro-Brazilian women’s movement in Brazil • the reproductive rights movements across Latin America, • the anti-dowry and anti-sex determination movements of India • struggles against honor-killings in Pakistan • against the trafficking of women in the Philippines and Indonesia

11. The relationship between Movements and Organizations A Movement is: • something dynamic, • something moving towards some goal. • NOT static • Organizations related to movements must must be in a state of motion, moving towards some particular set of goals or changes that they were set up to promote.

12. The relationship between Movements and Organizations • By their very nature, coalitions and networks are based on a commonly identified issue and set of objectives. Bobo, Kendall, and Max (1991) define a coalition as, An organization of organizations working together for a goal.

13. The relationship between Movements and Organizations • We must remember that coalitions are not built because it is good, moral, or nice to get everyone working together. The only reason to spend the time and energy building a coalition is to amass the power necessary to do something you cannot do through one organization. (Bobo et al., 70).

14. What is the Life Cycle of Movements • Movements: • arise • Grow • thrive • achieve impact and fame • and then, sometimes, go into phases of dormancy, retreat, or decline.

15. What is the Life Cycle of Movements? Movements don’t have to live forever – indeed, if they are successful, they probably should fade away as their political agendas are achieved and their constituents reap the fruits of change.

16. The Life Cycle/5 Stages of a Movement • Stage One is the stage where we imagine what the outcome of any change would be; then those who birth the idea inspire others to join them to determine what we want to change, and who needs to be involved in the change. • Stage Two is the Found and Frame stage - where we build our theory of change and decide how we will begin the process of change. • Stage Three is the Ground and Grow stage - for mobilizing and building the organizations of our constituents. • Stage Four is where we Struggle and Learn and engage the targets of change and experiment with different strategies to see what works • Stage Five, that is the final stage when we review what has been achieved, what worked and what did not work and renew our commitment to the Movement.

17. UNITY IN DIVERSITY • Women in the Movements usually differ in • age, • marital status, • religion, • race, • the issues on which their organisations focus • spheres of operation - rural or urban locations, national, community, or household-level work. • Diversity of women i.e. movements that have been built by women of different identities

18. UNITY IN DIVERSITY Members or constituents of Movements of necessity must: • have a common goal. • be able to manage diversity and difference when the movement is being organized so that there is clear-cut understanding among constituents that there has to be unity even in diversity

19. Maintaining a level of cohesion, but addressing the real political issues at stake for women? • the very reasons for forming coalitions or alliances are often the reasons why they are difficult to manage as coalitions sometimes suffer from unrealistic expectations, such as the notion that people who share a common cause will agree on everything • Everjoice points out that in Zimbabwe, while the members of the Women’s Coalition were united in demanding that women’s rights be enshrined in a new constitution, the WC was less united on how this was to be arrived at • Was confronting the State a desirable tactic? • What kind of alliance would the women’s movement have, if any, with the opposition political parties in this process? • Was a good constitutional document all the women wanted • was it critical that this should emerge from an inclusive process? • What exactly would constitute good enough participation by and for women?

20. What is the price to be paid for confronting diversity? Trying to convince one person or a group of people that rather than working in isolation, they should come together as one, pooling their ideas and resources, is a risky business. It could lead to misunderstandings, loss of friendships, dreams and desires and even the breakdown of organizations that have taken time to build. It also means that groups or individuals would have to give up or sacrifice some of the values and principles they hold dear in order to maintain some amount of cohesion.

21. Challenges of the current context The last three to five years have seen the emergence of specific movements aiming to overhaul their countries’ constitutions. You now have the opportunity to shape yours. In most countries, people are divided along party political lines - the ruling party versus the opposition. Any attempt by groups in civil society to raise issues such as human rights violations are understood (by government in most cases, the opposition itself in some, and even donors and the media) in relation to this polarisation. One is perceived as supporting one party and condemning the other.

22. The need to coalesce once more around shared interests, with our sense of these interests made stronger by an awareness of the differences between us In the past we relied on a simple assumption that as women, we share the same identity. By analysing the struggles within women’s Movements in the past, let us all agree that sharing a common female identity is definitely not enough to build or sustain effective movements.

23. Let me end this presentation with the poignant words of Everjoice: “Women’s networks and coalitions (which translate into the women’s movement) can be one of the most potent forces for claiming women’s rights. If they are based on commonly agreed values and principles, the women’s movement can manage their own diversity in changing political circumstances – together you can make a difference! Recognising and affirming, particularly fundamental differences, is a critical part of effective strategising.

24. POIGNANT LESSONS FOR THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT! • Members of the women’s movement please forgive each other • spend time figuring out how to confront the issue of State excesses • lay strong foundations, including shared values, principles, and ideology • make your voices heard in your new constitution!

25. TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! I urge you my sisters to PERSEVERE and ensure that your concerns are reflected in the new constitution of your country! The road is long; it is hazardous, with many pitfalls along the way. Sometimes you’ll stumble, at other times you’ll fall flat on your faces. The secret is never to give up. When you fail or fall, get up, dust yourself down and keep on keeping on. And one day, you will look back with pride at the road down which you have travelled and see your footprints quite clearly on the sands of time.  

26. A notable achievement: Receiving this year’s Madeline K. Albright Grant. The Award annually honours an organization that exhibits exceptional promise in creating a greater role for women in political and civic life. The recipient is selected from a competitive pool of applicants to receive $25,000 to support their initiative that advances women's participation in civic or political life. The 50/50 group is the first African organisation and the third globally to receive this award.