The CPI(M)’s use of terms like ‘fascistic tendencies’ and ‘neofascism’ rather than labelling the BJP outright as fascist has sparked controversy, but as VIJAY PRASHAD explains, ‘fascism’ is a term that must be used correctly and sparingly
The price of women’s equality is eternal vigilance
Women’s hard-fought-for rights are facing sustained and serious ideological attack. Let this International Women’s Day be a call to arms, says Professor MARY DAVIS
Despite using female spokespeople for its campaigns against clinic buffer zones, ADF UK’s board consists entirely of men, with 80 per cent living outside Britain and most funding from its US parent, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Ben Cowles previews his interview with Stand Up to Racism’s SABBY DHALU for the Morning Star’s new Youtube channel
For Britain, direct military aid is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the spiralling energy crisis that has fueled inflation, driven millions into fuel poverty and inflated corporate profits, reveals HELEN MERCER
Both Conservative and Labour administrations have now refused to release research showing PIP payments are vital for disabled people’s survival, exposing the ideological nature of planned welfare ‘reforms,’ writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY
Western media dismisses the National People’s Congress while ignoring its extensive consultation processes, massive public participation mechanisms, and a tiered structure involving millions of deputies, explains JENNY CLEGG
Despite caring for vulnerable children and often covering classes, support staff remain undervalued, with some earning less than supermarket workers — but GMB’s campaigning offers new hope, argues DONNA SPICER
IT WOULD be tempting to mark International Women’s Day as a day to celebrate women’s victories. That would be a mistake because even after 50 years of the Equal Pay Act & Sex Discrimination Act, working-class women in Britain cannot chalk up many victories.
Some have argued that women have made great progress in the 21st century, and thus they question whether it is necessary to continue the debate on women’s inequality.
Compared to previous centuries when women were the property of men and had no rights at all, it is clear that women’s status in many countries has improved, at least juridically — although it has gone backwards in others. However, apart from the right to vote and own property, equality for women as it now exists is based, by an unseen process of co-option, on the successes of a favoured few; for working-class women little has altered.
More from this author
The proponents and enablers of Holocaust distortion and anti-communism now have increasing political power and influence in a number of European countries, obstructing an understanding of the reality of fascism’s crimes, warns MARY DAVIS
The infamous forged missive exposed how the Establishment worked to discredit Labour despite its loudly declared anti-communist stance, writes MARY DAVIS, analysing the 1924 government’s destruction
Despite some steps forward for women’s rights, the tasks ahead remain daunting as in many parts of the world these rights are being eroded and the clock is being turned back, argues MARY DAVIS
MARY DAVIS examines Lenin’s contribution to Marxist theory and practice and how it relates to the great events of 1917
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GEORGINA ANDREWS and CAROL STAVRIS introduce a new conference on women’s oppression under capitalism to take place in December, with the central theme of ending violence against women and girls
Women are not a minority — their issues should not be treated as ‘minority issues’ in our movement, writes MARY DAVIS
With fascists and their supporters cynically and falsely posing as ‘defenders of women,’ the left must take violence against women seriously and gain a better understanding of women’s oppression, warns HELEN O’CONNOR