The WIDF's Work for Women's Rights in the (Post)colonial Countries and the “Soviet Agenda”

Yulia Gradskova

doi:10.1017/s0020859022000062

Abstract

AbstractThe primary aim of this article is to problematize the WIDF's interpretations of the rights of women from (post)colonial countries and its tactics in working for and together with these women. It shows that, in the context of rapid geopolitical changes – the growing anti-colonial struggle and Cold War competition – the WIDF had to change its ideology, ways of working, and communication strategies in order to keep its leading position in transnational work for women's rights and to maintain the sympathies of women from countries outside Europe. The main focus is on the contradictions, negotiations, and adjustments inside the WIDF with respect to the new political situation and the demands of women from Africa and Asia, in particular, during the highest period of anticolonial transformation (1950s to early 1970s). This article also pays attention to Soviet ideas on the emancipation of women and, in particular, to the influence of Soviet experiences of emancipating women from non-Slavic (Eastern and Southern) parts of the USSR on the WIDF's perception of and policies for the improvement of the situation of women in Asia and Africa. This article is based primarily on analysis of the WIDF's archival documents preserved in the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) in Moscow, along with the WIDF's official publications.

Highlights

This article deals with the history of the Women’s International Democratic Federation’s (WIDF) promotion of women’s rights in the countries of Asia and Africa during the period of decolonization; it pays special attention to the Soviet role in this endeavour
The main focus is on the contradictions, negotiations, and adjustments inside the WIDF with respect to the new political situation and the demands of women from Africa and Asia, in particular, during the highest period of anticolonial transformation ( s to early s)
The WIDF was created in Paris in, and, as previous research has shown, was an important actor in the anti

Summary

Introduction

This article deals with the history of the Women’s International Democratic Federation’s (WIDF) promotion of women’s rights in the countries of Asia and Africa during the period of decolonization; it pays special attention to the Soviet role in this endeavour. Neither author pays much attention to the internal process of WIDF decision-making or to the Soviet role in the organization Both authors carefully state that historical sources on the WIDF’s activities are incomplete and invite further discussion of the WIDF’s work advancing women’s rights and opposing colonialism. Francisca de Haan, the first academic to write about this organization, argues that researchers often view it as one of the pro-Soviet organizations without evaluating the WIDF’s role more seriously. According to her, this was a continuation of the Cold War in women’s history

Objectives

Conclusion