Gigi Francisco: “They are supposed to be the floor, not the ceiling”

We often think that feminism is practiced in one, defined way. But when two feminists start to talk with each other, this idea has to clear the room. Here is the result of a discussion between a young feminist living in Europe trying to become a 'professional feminist' and a much more experienced feminist living in the Philippines.


By Isabelle Gentilhomme

Gigi Francisco works with DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era) and has been involved in WIDE for 15 years now, mainly on development projects. Isabelle Gentilhomme is a young feminist, studying in Brussels and working as an intern at WIDE. They meet each other a day before the conference to discuss this thing called 'feminism'.


With her experience in the field, Gigi Francisco is able to compare her experiences of feminism in the South with feminism in Europe. Though they work together, there are still many different visions. For Francisco, feminism in Europe is split in two parts: on the one hand, there are European feminist organizations like WIDE, working closer than ever before with social movements such as the European Social Forum and the Seattle to Brussels network. On the other hand, there are feminist organizations that are engaging with European institutions like the European Parliament and the European Commission.

This is about the 'institutionalisation' and 'professionalization' of feminism in the European Union. Some organizations have understood that women’s rights will be well advocated for if they are working hand-in-hand with 'non-governmental institutions' such as S2B, because the situation of women in the South is nothing to be compared with the situation of women in the EU. So advocating at the level of European institutions without previous consultation of South organizations can be negative for the feminist struggle. But the EU should not behave like the USA in thinking that they have a model that can be applied anywhere without considering religious, political and cultural differences.


The young ones
Does political parity means gender equality? As a young feminist, Isabelle Gentilhomme thought it did. 'But I didn’t consider the women who are not involved in politics!' she states. Even if Europe is to reach this political parity, it does not mean that gender equality will be reached in other areas. Gentilhomme realized that her feminism was too institutional. 'I thought that gender equality would be reachable if countries were able to achieve the MDGs (Millemium Development Goals) which are the objectives of governmental institutions,' she explains. 'But in the discussion with Gigi, I'm reminded by her that these MDGs are the minimum for human rights and that feminism should go much higher than these standards – women need to demand more protection from their governments.'

Are feminists sometimes too involved in the system? Are we forgetting to develop alternatives to the system we are living in? Can feminism be professional?

For Gigi Francisco these are the new challenges of European feminism. European feminism needs to re-think what it strives for and how it aims to achieve their goals in order to address the important issues in an alternative way. It needs more diversity and more feminism to wake up solidarity: solidarity within Europe, but also solidarity among women from all around the world who are facing growing poverty and increasing social gaps. European feminism needs a confrontation among its organizations to re-build a new 'Era of thinking' and work more effectively for women’s rights.

Feminism has to be at the heart of any political debate in the EU as well as alternatives to the current system. The financial crisis that we are currently experiencing confirms that the neoliberal system must be challenged urgently.

The WIDE Annual Conference offers a special and timely opportunity to start new dialogues about feminism, where we can lay the groundwork for future, collective action. Women from all around the world are coming together during these three days in The Hague to share their experiences of feminism and their ideas for alternatives. This is our chance to strengthen our actions to be able to reach 'gender equality and social justice'.


This article has been publised in Daily Visions 08-10-2008