{"source_url": "https://www.newsday.com", "url": "https://www.newsday.com/opinion/commentary/women-uprisings-2019-economic-inequality-brazil-phillipines-sudan-columbia-iraq-1.40048262", "title": "Women are behind the most successful uprisings of 2019. Here's why.", "top_image": "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.40048264.1577720838!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1280/image.jpg", "meta_img": "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.40048264.1577720838!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1280/image.jpg", "images": ["https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.39513505.1576282387!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_375/image.jpg", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.39671494.1576819323!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_375/image.jpg", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.39911014.1577485963!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_375/image.jpg", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.39905398.1577722817!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_375/image.jpg", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.39686193.1577162779!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_375/image.jpg", "https://www.newsday.com/img/newsday/newsdayLogo.svg", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.39631730.1576704700!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_375/image.jpg", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.22642050.1556723435!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_384/image.png", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.22642050.1556723435!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_768/image.png", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.40048264.1577720838!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_1280/image.jpg", "https://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.40048264.1577720838!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_456/image.jpg"], "movies": [], "text": "We will remember 2019 as a year of uprisings. In over a dozen countries on five continents, people have risen up to confront economic inequality and even the most repressive governments. These mobilizations are answering the question of how to tackle ascendant right-wing authoritarianism \u2014 and women have been at the heart of it all.\n\nIn part, that\u2019s because women know well the consequences of living under these draconian governments. Far-right politicians and groups have repeatedly sought to win political support by promising to keep women in their place. In the lead-up to their elections, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro touted his opposition to a law imposing penalties for gender-motivated killings, and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte crassly joked about possibly participating in a gang rape.\n\nRight-wing forces promote a toxic brand of masculinity that defines manhood through violence and aggression, promising men a slice of patriarchal power in exchange for backing authoritarian rule. They relegate women to silence and submission and force LGBTIQ people into hiding. They have targeted female human rights activists who defy patriarchal norms with harassment, criminalization and even murder.\n\nBut the leadership we\u2019ve seen from women during uprisings is not just a defensive reaction against these threats. Women-led, feminist organizing has become a vital, effective strategy to confront authoritarian power \u2014 partly because women tend to lead nonviolent, inclusive movements that often work to bring about political change against authoritarian regimes.\n\nNonviolent movements have been twice as effective at achieving their goals as violent uprisings, succeeding more than 50% of the time, according to a 2008 study of more than 320 uprisings from 1900 to 2006. And when women are at the forefront, mass mobilizations are more likely to be peaceful, another study concluded. Among nonviolent movements, more than 60% featured women\u2019s organizations that formally called for peace, compared with only 35% among violent campaigns.\n\nIn Sudan, young activist Alaa Salah climbed atop a car this year to lead protest chants and inspire millions. Women \u2014 who bore the brunt of Sudanese dictator Omar Bashir\u2019s repression, including policing women\u2019s behavior and consigning them to second-class citizenship \u2014 made up two-thirds of protesters. Persisting in the face of assault, arrest and sexual violence at the hands of government forces, they insisted on nonviolence, ultimately ousting Bashir and overturning his repressive orders.\n\nIn Colombia, the initial trigger for the biggest mobilizations the country has seen in decades was a rumor of government cuts to pensions. Rights activist Stella Duque, who founded the peace-building organization Taller de Vida, immediately knew that the Colombia uprising was not just about pension cuts.\n\nThe fury grew from years of thwarted opportunities for real peace. It erupted over the government\u2019s failures to effectively implement a historic 2016 peace agreement or to address the needs of those who had suffered through the worst of the violence: former child soldiers, survivors of wartime sexual violence and indigenous and black communities.\n\nSign up for The Point Go inside New York politics. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.\n\nA hallmark of women\u2019s organizing is making sure no one is left behind. For years, Duque has focused on providing healing services through art therapy and support groups for those most impacted by violence, especially young people and demobilized child soldiers. Currently, she\u2019s using her networks and the trust she\u2019s built among those marginalized communities to bring their voices into the protests.\n\nFeminist uprising is also an antidote to authoritarianism because women\u2019s movements provide the infrastructure needed to sustain grass-roots organizing. For years, Yanar Mohammed of the Organization of Women\u2019s Freedom in Iraq has trained and mobilized a nationwide network of activists for democracy and gender justice in Iraq \u2014 while trying to meet women\u2019s needs that include shelter, job training and know-your-rights workshops.\n\nThe Iraqi people\u2019s outrage at their corrupt, undemocratic government has resulted in the country\u2019s largest demonstrations since 2003. When the protests began in October, Mohammed and other activists were ready to draw on their networks and tools. They shuttled people to and from protests and disseminated food and emergency supplies. To guide newly mobilized, less-seasoned activists, they set up tents in Baghdad\u2019s Tahrir Square to educate people and explain tactics \u2014 and distribute brochures about feminism and human rights.\n\nIraq\u2019s protests have already compelled the country\u2019s prime minister to resign. Further victories, such as reforms to combat corruption and sectarianism, will require long-term organizing. Grassroots Iraqi women\u2019s groups have been building channels to keep people engaged through work that began long before the uprising, including broadcasting radio programs about rights and democracy and hosting community-building gatherings.\n\nFeminist movements stand for something that right-wing authoritarians fear: the end of patriarchy. Women are rewriting the rules that allocate power to some and suppress others based on restrictive gender norms. They are creating inclusive communities where people of all genders and identities can live freely, assured of their rights. That\u2019s more than a beautiful dream. It\u2019s a blueprint for a successful uprising.\n\nYifat Susskind is executive director of Madre, a human rights organization that partners with women\u2019s groups facing war and disaster worldwide. She wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": [], "authors": ["Yifat Susskind", "Los Angeles Times", "Tns"], "publish_date": "Mon Dec 30 12:00:00 2019", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "We will remember 2019 as a year of uprisings. In over a dozen countries on five continents, people have risen up to confront economic inequality and even the most repressive governments. These mobiliz", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "/img/newsday/favicon.ico", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=100%,initial-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=2.0", "description": "We will remember 2019 as a year of uprisings. 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