Paper short abstract:

Social movement networks in the Basque Country provide ethnographical evidence of intersections between groups promoting gender equality, ecological awareness, migrants’ sociopolitical participation and Basque culture and language. However, there is criticism of failure to include a non-white perspective and take decolonialization beyond theory.

Paper long abstract:

This proposal gives account of the relations between the Basque feminist movement and other sociopolitical groups in Rentería (Gipuzkoa, Basque Country). It is part of a wider project of the University of the Basque Country: “New solidarities, reciprocities and alliances. The emergence of collaborative spaces of political participation and redefinition of citizenship”. The main aim is to analyze the emergence of intersections between different movements: feminist, GLTBI, anti-racist and inclusive, Basque cultural and linguistic, ecologist.

The focus is the building and opening of a Women’s House (Emakumeen Etxea) (summer 2019) and the design and implementation of activities. The ethnographic research commenced in 2018 and consisted in observing planning sessions and participating in meetings, as well as research into other organizations linked to this initiative and working towards the participation of migrants, ecological awareness, linguistic diversification and communicative strategies.

One of the concerns of the women involved in the planning process was the inclusion of non-Basque or Spanish members of the community. They adopted different strategies to this end, without great success. This paper explores the criticism directed at the Basque feminist movement and its defence of the Basque nation by self-defined racialized women and the possibilities or limitations this places on the emergence of synergies between the feminist movements and those promoting cultural diversity as well as defending the Basque language and identity.

This issue cuts to the heart of our undertakings as feminist anthropologists, working within a purportedly decolonial theoretical framework while recognizing the difficulties for putting theory into practice both as anthropologists and as feminists.