A group of Radical/Anarcho Feminists from Newcastle upon Tyne gathered at Greys Monument in the city’s centre on Saturday 7th March 2009 to take action on the eve of International Women’s Day. The group felt it was important to show solidarity with women worldwide who have no voice and whose oppression goes unrecognised; women who have been and continue to be exploited by a racist supremacist imperialist system of patriarchal capitalism and will very much bear the brunt of the current economic crisis. The protest also wanted to highlight the plight of women in the UK who will suffer further sexual exploitation, poverty as well as an increased possibility of violent attacks and rape due to the economic decline, which statistically has been shown to increase during times of recession.

In the feminist tradition of cultural subversion and reclamation, the women hung and pegged their banners from a washing line to which moving herstories of rape, domestic violence and exploitation were added by women who were passing the protest and wanted their story to be told. Not only did the feminists decorate the dreary monument to Lord Grey with colourful banners bearing slogans and statistics about the oppression of women worldwide, they also engaged in a session of street art on the monument’s steps with men, women and children to co-create a banner that celebrated women’s autonomy.

The day was one of solidarity and diverse engagement. Making Waves, the Tyneside Socialist Women’s Choir sang and the demonstration was supported by women from the Stop the War Coalition, Tyneside Socialist Forum and both males and females from Fight Racism Fight Imperialism! The FRFI! open megaphone was put to good use by the protestors who reminded the passing crowds that women are exploited, killed, raped, denied basic healthcare rights and mutilated on a daily basis and that by remaining silent about these atrocities we become complicit in their continuation.

A few of the fearless Rad Feminists also scrambled the heights of the monument to make visible their banners .This led to the threatened arrest of one female protester (and harassment of the group) by a male police officer who could not remember the name of the law he was arresting her under! Due to the support and solidarity shown by all the groups mentioned above, the officer walked off bemused and slightly embarrassed and no charge against the protester taken.

This protest was organised in the wake of the Welfare Reform Bill in which single mothers(their children) and people with disabilities amongst others are being brutally targeted by New Labour. This bill will mean that the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of society who already live in abject poverty, are socially marginalised and politically disenfranchised will be made to suffer even more .

There has never been a more crucial time for women and men to take to the streets and reclaim their right to protest and stand with their sisters worldwide against violence, exploitation and oppression.