TW: Gender Based Violence in all its forms

On the Tuesday 20th November 2018, SOAS Students’ Union passed motion to stand in solidarity with Bulgarian women who are challenging the patriarchal oppression that they face under their current government. We find the Bulgarian Government’s actions (as outlined by the statement from LevFem on behalf the women of Bulgaria below) both abhorrent and saddening as they continue to chip away at women’s basic human rights. As an organisation that stands against all forms of discrimination and social injustice we must stand up and tell the women of Bulgaria #YouAreNotAlone. We stand with all women but particularly we stand with traditionally marginalised groups, such as: trans women, roma women and women from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

We express our international solidarity with the protest taking place today (26th November 2018); we stand united against all forms of Gender Based Violence and Discrimination whether that be, trafficking of women and girls, forced marriage, female-genital mutilation and sexual assault.

Love and solidarity,

Youssra Elmagboul

Co President of Equality and Liberation 

Here we share a statement from the women in Bulgaria in their own words:

Dear comrades,

This is a call for international solidarity with an upcoming protest in Sofia, Bulgaria that will voice our anguish with a growing violent wave of misogyny in the country.

The protest will take place on November 26, 2018.

We will demand changes that do not only concern the criminal code but such that aim prevention of misogynic crimes. We will also demand an end of violations of rights of working women in the country and changes towards a more responsible social security system.

Bulgaria’s refusal to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in the beginning of 2018 was the tip of the iceberg in a long standing process of hatemongering against women that included gradual removal of their working rights, and an effacement of years of hard-fought social rights. For example, child care is being dislocated from the social sphere, while the government promotes completely inadequate measures against gender based violence and plainly refuses to admit its existence. We have been witnessing a wave of attacks against women and queers on the streets, in their work places, and at home. Many men felt threatened by those who voice their anger with the undying patriarchal structures and step forward to defend their privileged position relying on both physical and verbal abuse. Walking on the streets in Bulgaria is becoming more and more dangerous endeavor for women and queers with each passing day. Since the beginning of 2018, twenty-two women have been killed in domestic violence throughout the country. There are countless victims of gender-based harassment.

Bulgaria exhibits extremely poor labour conditions, which can be linked to a long-standing and ever increasing market liberalization and deregulation. Women are dispropotionally affected by these processes as a recent report on the garment industry has shown. The labour conditions are coupled with a steady increase in the risk of social exclusion and poverty due to impaired access to social securityschemes, where, again, women bear most of the consequences. Additionally, there are very strong  attempts on part of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) to lower both the period and amount of pay for maternity leave in the country. These efforts are actively defended by politicians throughout the entire political spectrum and constitute yet another attack on the working people in Bulgaria, and particularly women. Although we realize that having two years of paid maternity leave is a very rare occurrence worldwide, we would like to stress how important it is to keep it intact for the sake of the feminist movement worldwide. Firstly, the maternity leave is the result of a long-fought feminist battle in the country and we do not want to lose any more of the social security our mothers and grandmothers fought  for. Secondly, women receive only 380 BGN (160 EUR; 220 USD) per month in the second year of their leave, which, needless to say, is a mockery with their workforce. The small amount of social aid, the lack of state and municipality kindergartens, and the extremely low salaries in the country force women into an impossible situation. Each year the responsibility of child care more and more falls on them and drives them away from all sorts of public spheres and influence. Thirdly, we strongly believe that childcare should be a shared responsibility not only between partners, but in the society as a whole. People directly involved in the childcare process should decide on the duration of the childcare leave; the decision-making process should not be dictated by business or market interests. To take away this right from us, would mean yet another lost battle for all of us around the globe.

In solidarity,

LevFem (Informal group of Bulgarian left feminists)