By Elena Tarifa, Coordinator of the International Committee of Barcelona en Comú
Barcelona is a feminist city, applying a gender perspective in all municipal policies and taking a collective stand against gender violence. We’re a city that takes into account and combats the everyday difficulties faced by women in terms of care, job insecurity and labor discrimination, safety at home and in the streets. We’re a feminist city, which protects and stands up for sexual and gender diversity, which has created a pioneering LGBTI center and fights LGBTI-phobia. We’re a city based on equality and diversity, reinventing ourselves every day to achieve a space that is free and safe for everybody.
As a feminist organization, Barcelona en Comú also works to feminize politics, by placing care, listening, dialogue and empathy at the center of our approach above the traditional, top-down norms of competition and macho grandstanding. We are continuously trying to become a more women-friendly organization by encouraging women in their diversity to join our participation spaces and our representative positions. It is not an easy task, as politics still is a male-dominated environment, but we believe we’re advancing in the right direction — also by learning and sharing good practices with our other municipalist and social movements partners.
International Women’s Day is a good occasion to deepen our common struggle with the global feminist movement and advance together towards a truly equal and democratic society. Feminism is a transformational trigger, from local to global action.
