Spaces of Anti-Ableist, Feminist Resistance

Abstract

This article describes how Las FemiDiskas, an anti-ableist, feminist social movement organization, develops virtual engagement strategies to resist ableist and sexist violence experienced in individual homes and public spaces. How do women with disabilities organize against patriarchal violence in private and public spaces during pandemic times in the global south? I explore this question through ethnographic participative audiovisual methods. As a transnational feminist and member of Las FemiDiskas, I use participatory observations to identify how members of this collective are raising awareness of violence inflicted against women with disabilities in Bolivia. The spaces of resistance created by Las FemiDiskas are made through transnational networks of feminist solidarities. The transformation of private spaces is affected as much as online spaces and public ones. The COVID-19 crisis pushed for the creation of a safe space to discuss and create a collective voice for women with disabilities. Online activism has opened a door to new inclusive spaces, where location is not an obstacle to collectively organizing, as long as there is internet accessibility. The creation of these new virtual spaces transforms existing material spaces and shapes the collective identity of women with disabilities and challenges and reconstructs notions of disability and gender. Exploring how digital and remote activism is deployed by women with disabilities and allies shines a light on future, kinder, non-discriminatory, and transnational practices within social movements.