– “Strengthening your sorority network” – French-speaking sororities #2

January 26 marked the start of the Sororités Francophones conference cycle for 2022. Activists from ten countries came together to create a virtual space for exchange, attentive listening, and discussion. They spent two hours discussing this year's theme: "Strengthening sisterhood through networking"!

The Sororités Francophones lecture series is inspired by a first edition that took place on June 23, 2021 during the Feminist World Tour, ahead of the Generation Equality Forum (GEF). The initiative, launched by Equipop and the Network of Young Feminists of West Africa, stems from a desire to create a space dedicated to reflection on feminism and sisterhood. The meetings provide an opportunity to address a wide range of topics by comparing different experiences and life stories. The aim is to enrich knowledge about multidisciplinary and intergenerational feminisms. The idea is to create a support network and to pool the reflections of the various participants.

Networks promoting sisterhood

The meeting on January 26, entitled "Strengthening Sisterhood Through Networking," focused on three key concerns: - Can collective action increase the reach of our individual efforts? - How can we compare our insights to move toward truly transformative change? - How can we collectively find solutions to violence against women, particularly in the feminist activism community?   Feminist activists Chanceline Mevowanou from Benin, Lina Abou-Habib from Lebanon, and Louise Delavier from France spoke about their work and shared their thoughts. They discussed sisterhood, organizing collective action among women, conflict resolution, and the challenges posed by differences among activists.

Building sisterhood

The concept of sisterhood is a notion used by feminist activists, which takes on several dimensions, from a tool for collective resistance to sharing and creating spaces for exchange.    Sorority is found in collective thinking, where women network and empower each other. It is a means of resisting oppression through collective support. To illustrate the concept, Lina Abou-Habib cited some very concrete examples: "A woman who was killed in Baghdad for her political work also concerns me in Lebanon. Sexual assaults against women in Syria also concern me because they are used in my [political] regimes. We cannot work individually when our aggressors work collectively." According to Chanceline Mevowanou, "sorority is also a collective responsibility where we can build spaces where the survival of one depends on the survival of the other." She explains that women who have privileges must use their communication platforms and networks to highlight the oppression that other women suffer, but also their work, their initiatives, and their art. Indeed, working on sisterhood requires taking into account and working in an intersectional way on the power relations within the same collective, in this case, the social group of "women.""Sisterhood does not mean that we agree on everything and that we all have the same point of view. But we know what unites us,"as Chancelineexplained. In order to work collectively and strengthen solidarity among activists, they need safe spaces to exchange ideas, discuss their shared experiences, and learn from each other. According to Chanceline Mevowanou, the involvement of younger generations, who feel increasingly concerned and are investing in new means and tools, particularly through social media, has led to the emergence of online spaces and new ways of working that are breathing new life into the concept of sisterhood.

Collective action: a necessary tool against patriarchy

Becoming supportive and acting collectively is not just about connecting with other activists online and in physical spaces. Feminists also need to capitalize on feminist experiences, encourage sisterhood, including among younger women, and finally raise funds for synergistic work and mutual aid among activists.    Networks and collective action play a crucial role in the feminist struggle and in the well-being of activists. We must use these tools for collective mobilization to "build laboratories for action,"as Chanceline Mevowanou has said. Using networks to capitalize on and learn from the experiences of feminists in other geographical areas will also ensure that sisterhood is not simply "a lesson to be repeated, but rather part of a continuum."    According to Louise Delavier, women and girls are pitted against each other from an early age by society, including in middle and high schools. To encourage sisterhood, the French association En Avant Toutes encourages young women to find ways to tackle inequalities together, starting in middle school. "Sometimes it's the first time they hear that they're allowed to help each other and show solidarity,"said Louise Delavier about the work done with young people. Strengthening sisterhood also means understanding that by taking action, we can make sisterhood emerge. Explaining the mission of the Doria Feminist Fund, a fund that supports feminist mutual aid networks in the MENA region, Lina Abou-Habib highlights the importance of financial support in backing the actions of feminist activists, particularly their collective mobilization.  Collective actions cannot have a significant and lasting impact if they are not financially supported. The existence of funding mechanisms that take into account the specific practices and challenges of feminist activists, and that enable them to carry out collective actions that they themselves have thought through, based on their experiences and their oppressors, must be a priority.