The Palgrave Handbook of Communist Women Activists around the World

"This Handbook addresses the role of women in communism as a global, social and political movement for the first time, exploring their lives, forms of activism, political strategies and transnational networks. Comprising twenty-five chapters, based on new and primary research, the book presents the lives of self-identified communist women from a truly international perspective and outlines their struggles against fascism and colonialism, and for womens emancipation and national liberation. By using the lens of transnational political biography, the chapters capture the broader picture of these womens lives, unpacking the links between the so-called public and private, the power structures and inequalities of their societies, the formal networks and politics in which they were involved, and the informal connections and friendships that supported their activism both at the national and international level. Challenging androcentric and Eurocentric narratives about communism, this Handbook reveals the active and significant roles of women in nineteenth- and twentieth-century communist movements and regimes, and highlights the importance of communist women in shaping the agenda for womens rights worldwide." --Page 4 of cover Acknowledgments Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures 1 Introduction: Toward a Global History of Communist Women Part I: The Three Foremothers—Zetkin, Kollontai, Jones Part II: Three Other Protagonists Part III: A Few Notes on the Recent Historiography Part IV: Their Contributions to Socialism and Communism—Why, What, and How Why What They Did and Contributed How—Reasons Why They (Partially) Succeeded Part V: This Handbook Notes Part I Global Foremothers 2 Clara Zetkin (1857–1933): A Rebel Building the Socialist and Communist International Women’s Movements Part 1: Life Wiederau. Childhood in an Enlightened Home, 1857–1872 Paris. Exile and Apprenticeship, 1882–1891 Stuttgart/Sillenbuch. Editor of Die Gleichheit, SPD Politician 1891–1917 Birkenwerder/Berlin–Moscow, Arkhangelskoye. Communist, Antifascist, Internationalist, 1918–1933 Part 2: Work Zetkin’s Theory of Women’s Liberation Gainful Employment as a Prerequisite for the Emancipation of Women Politics and Women’s Suffrage Self-Determination Education and Culture Against War and Fascism Conclusion Notes Bibliography 3 Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952): Communism as the Only Way Toward Women’s Liberation Formative Years (1872–1898) Toward the Revolution (1898–1917) Work in the Government and Diplomatic Service (1917–1952) Appendix: Brief Reflections on Archival Sources, Scholarly Biographies and Kollontai Fan Fiction Notes Bibliography 4 A Right to Be Radical: Claudia Jones (1915–1964) and the “Super-Exploitation of the Black Woman” Claudia Jones: Communism, Origins, and Work in the CPUSA Claudia’s Communism and The Super-Exploitation of the Black Woman Thesis The Impact of Anti-Communism on Her Life and Work and the Right to be Radical Trends in Recent Scholarship Claudia Jones from Political Prisoner to International Figure Notes Bibliography Part II Europe 5 Helen Crawfurd (1877–1954): Scottish Suffragette and International Communist Crawfurd’s Life in a Nutshell The Making of a Scottish Suffragette Red Clydeside: Ethical Socialism and the Anti-War Effort Communist Internationalism International Workers’ Relief Antifascist Organizing Conclusion Autobiography and Archival Material Notes Bibliography 6 Ana Pauker (1893–1960): The Infamous Romanian Woman Communist Leader How to Become a Revolutionary? A Career of Activism Still Insufficiently Known (1921–1934) The Birth of the Ana Pauker Myth (1934–1944) Ana Pauker in Power (1944–1952) Pauker’s Fall from Power and Her Legacy Notes Bibliography 7 Dolores Ibárruri, Pasionaria (1895–1989): Communist Woman of Steel, Global Icon A Woman in a Men’s Party The Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War: From Devoted Activist to Antifascist Icon Exile and the “Women’s Cold War” Mater Dolorosa: An Icon with No Real Power? Conclusion Notes Bibliography 8 Teresa Noce (1900–1980): A Communist “Professional Revolutionary” in Twentieth-Century Italy Noce’s Political Apprenticeship: From Her Childhood in Turin to the Foundation of the Communist Party of Italy Noce’s Antifascist Activities and the International Communist Movement: French, Soviet, and Spanish Experiences Resistance Across Borders and the Concentration Camps Experiences Noce in the Italian Parliament: Fighting for Women’s Rights in Post-War Years A Communist Trade Unionist in the Cold War: Promoting Working Women’s Rights in Italy and Beyond Public and Private Life: The Communist Moral in Teresa Noce’s Political Story Remembering Teresa Noce in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries Notes Bibliography 9 Edwarda Orłowska (1906–1977): A Story of Communist Activism in Poland Told in Words and Silences Professional Revolutionary Comrade Orłowska Conclusion Notes Bibliography 10 Nina Vasilievna Popova (1908–1994): “Woman in the Land of Socialism” Introduction1 Biography Popova’s Views on Women’s Emancipation Nina Popova’s Work in the Domain of Women’s Rights The Tactics Behind Popova’s Achievements Continuing in the Footsteps of Bolshevik Feminism Conclusion Notes Bibliography Part III Asia 11 Deng Yingchao (1904–1992): A Feminist Leader in the Chinese Communist Party A Young Feminist Joined the Communist Party Feminist Efforts in the Communist Revolution Functioning as a Socialist State Feminist in the Early PRC Retreat and Resurgence Conclusion Notes Bibliography 12 Pak Chŏng-ae (1907-?): From Red Labor Unions to the Korean Democratic Women’s Union Japanese Imperialism and Red Labor Unions Women’s International Democratic Federation and the World Peace Council Women in Socialist Construction Conclusion Notes Bibliography 13 Iijima Aiko (1932–2005): A Feminist’s Fight Against Discrimination in Japan Iijima Aiko, Ōta Ryū, and Communist Activism Gender, Race, Discriminations Iijima Aiko and the Committee of Asian Women Who Fight Aggression = Discrimination Gender-Based Discrimination vs. Global Power Structure Conclusion Notes Bibliography 14 Nguyễn Thị Bình (b. 1927): “The Flower and Fire of the Revolution” Introduction Childhood and Teenage Years Transition into Adulthood and August Revolution Formative Experience—Anti-French Resistance Formative Experience: Arrest and Imprisonment After the 1954 Geneva Conference Madame Bình Enters the World Stage Paris Peace Negotiations: 1968–1973 After Paris and the End of War Minister of Education Return to Diplomacy Vice Presidency and Retirement Conclusion Notes Bibliography 15 Umi Sardjono (1923–2011) and the Quest to Build a New Society for Indonesian Women Introduction The Making of a Political Activist The Founding of Gerwis/Gerwani and Sardjono’s Views on Women’s Emancipation Struggling for a New Marriage Law as a Means to Achieve Gender Equality The 1965–1968 Anti-Communist Repression and the End of Gerwani Conclusions Notes Bibliography 16 Behice Boran (1910–1987): A Committed Communist Woman in Cold War Turkey Introduction Early Years Between Bursa, Istanbul, and Ann Arbor (1910–1938) From a Marxist Scholar to a Communist Activist (1939–1945) The Post-World War Two Years and the Beginning of the Cold War in Turkey: Fighting for Peace (1945–1961) A Woman to Lead Socialists in Turkey (1962–1974) The Last Years of a Life That Revolutionized Women’s Lives (1975–1987) Conclusion Notes Bibliography Part IV Africa and the Middle East 17 Naziha al-Dulaimi (1923–2007) and the Anticolonial Struggle in Iraq Life and Activism Under the Hashemite Monarchy Contextualizing Al-Dulaimi’s Critique Unveiling the British Legacy for Iraqi Women Shaping a New Gender Order Conclusion Notes Bibliography 18 “Not Only the Country’s Independence, Mine Too!” Arlette Bourgel, an Algerian Jewish Communist (b. 1928) A Jewish Youth in French Algeria (1928–1945) Indigenous, Jew, French? A Family’s Identity Trajectory Politics at Home (1): Frenchness as a Shield Politics at Home (2): Friends and Enemies “The Algerian People Deserve Something Else:” The Roads of Commitment (1945–1954) Teaching Algerian Children From Informal Political Socialization to Communist Activism “My Independence!” Gender and Politics “The Value of Violence:” Struggling for a New Algeria (1954–1965) A Hope for Peace: Fighting Publicly with the “Liberals” Against the War in Bône (1955–1956) Staying Alive in the Hell of War: Underground Activism and Clandestine Love in Algiers (October 1956–February 1957) “It Was Almost a Utopia.” Fleeing, Coming Back Home, and Leaving (1957–1965) Notes Bibliography 19 Aoua Keita (1912–1980): Anti-Colonial Activist, Nationalist Politician, and Feminist in Mali (West Africa) From the Colonial School To Political Struggle as a “Communist Midwife” Between Unionism and Politics, the Beginnings of an International Career In Independent Mali: A Nationalist and/or a Feminist? Pan-Africanism and Socialist Internationalism From the Socialist Revolution to Exile Conclusion Notes Bibliography Part V Oceania 20 “A Key Person Internationally”: Freda Brown (1919–2009), Australian Activist Early Years, 1919 Working for the Party, 1936 The New Housewives Association, 1946 The Union of Australian Women, 1950 The Women’s International Democratic Federation, 1964 Never Retiring, 1991 “Freda Was a Key Person Internationally” Notes Bibliography 21 Dancing for the Revolution: Rona Bailey, New Zealand Artist Activist (1914–2005) Left-Wing Theatre, Equal Pay, the New Dance Group, and the Communist Party, 1939–1948 Cold War Redbaiting, the 1951 Lockout, and the Sino-Soviet Split Anti-Vietnam War Movement, 1965–1972 Anti-Apartheid Movement, 1972–1982 Project Waitangi: Bringing Anti-Racism Work Home Notes Bibliography Part VI The Americas 22 Jeanne Corbin (1906–1944): A Canadian Communist Militant in a Man’s World A Militant in Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal Timmins and the Rouyn Lumbermen Strike A Woman in a Man’s Party Conclusion Notes Bibliography 23 Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890–1964): Mortal Enemy of Capitalism Early Life and Family Background Industrial Workers of the World World War I Red Scare and Labor Defense Entrance into the Communist Party World War II and the Women’s International Democratic Federation Post-World War II Red Scare Indictment and Incarceration Final Battles Conclusion A Note on Historiography and Archives Notes Bibliography 24 Gachita Amador (1891–1961), Between Two Loves: Communist Action and Guignol Theater Introduction Sources and Approach Childhood, Youth, and First Marriage Humiliating the Pride of the Wicked Rich Making Revolution in Jalisco Transmitting Revolutionary Consciousness Devoted to the Children of the Proletariat Her Marital Break-Up and Abandonment of Militancy Gachita’s Musical and Puppeteering Activities A Final Note Notes Bibliography 25 Vilma Espín (1930–2007): Forging a New Woman Within the Cuban Revolution Introduction Vilma, the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), and the Revolution in Power: 1959–1990 New Men, New Women, New Families Mothers of the Revolution The House and the Street: Vilma Espín, the FMC, and the Sexual Division of Domestic Labor Incorporation into “Production” Vilma Espín as a Global Figure: Bridging Women’s Movements in the “Second” and “Third” Worlds Continuity and Change in Post-Soviet Cuba Conclusions Notes Bibliography 26 “When My Life Goes Out ...” Biography of the Argentinian Communist Activist Fanny Edelman (1911–2011) Becoming a Communist Becoming Fanny Edelman Fanny Edelman, a Comrade of the World The 1980s: Between Revolutionary Upheavals and the Fall of the Berlin Wall Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index