Events
A listing of major feminist events in 2009
For women in London it’s also worth checking out this list hosted by Women in London.
2009
January
- 24 January - Zine Fest, The Women’s Library, London, 12pm-4pm
February
- 5-6 February - Ladyfest Goldsmiths, London
- 11 February - Leeds Rape Crisis meeting, Leeds Civic Hall, 6.00pm
Initial meeting to discuss the setting up of a new Rape Crisis centre. Please email ktrussell[at]care2.com if you’d like to attend. - 11 February - Talk on The Monstrous Lesbian in Literature and Art c. 1900-1930 by Lindsay River, Treadwells Bookshop, London, 7.15pm, £5.00 in advance
“The image of “The Lesbian” - monstrous, tragic and exoticised, in English literature of the 1910s and 20s. The idea of her monstrosity arose from the culture of the time: the fin-de-siècle fascination with “deadly and dangerous females”as well as the appearance of images of aesthetic and decadent men. The numerous facets of the ‘monstrous lesbian’ notions included the idea that a heterosexual woman could be ensnared by one of these dangerous creatures; there was the idea that homosexuality could be ‘caught’ like a disease from them. This sort of lesbian represented a threat to the natural order of society, for she would steal away men’s wives and daughters, and defied taming. In stories and illustrations she is likened to a vampire, snake, beast, or dragon.” - 14 February - Gender, Race and Class - an anti-capitalist feminist event
- 17 February - 15 Years of DIVA Magazine, Women’s Library, London
To celebrate 15 years of DIVA, Europe’s biggest selling lesbian magazine, this special event explores the role of DIVA and how it has filled a gap in the magazines market. Editor Jane Czyzselska talks with Louise Carolin and Stella Duffy - 18 February - London Women and Planning Forum seminar on Locating sex work: red light districts, hot zones and safe places for women’, Queen Mary, University of Lonodn, 1:30pm-5:30pm, £25, or £10 concessions
Speakers include the Poppy Project, Object, Dr Teela Sanders and Professor Phil Hubbard. Full address: Registration Room 126, Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, E1 4NS. To reserve a place please contact f.paynter@qmul.ac.uk - 20 February - Bristol Reclaim the Night, College Green, vigil 6pm, march 7pm
Women-only and mixed genders march. - 21 February - Brighton Zinefest, West Hill Hall, plus gigs in London and Brighton
- 21 February - Reclaim The Night NORTH, Manchester, 7.30pm
Mixed genders march followed by rally and clubnight at the University of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road. - 21 February - Feminist Activist Forum history group, Feminist Library, London 2:30pm-4:30pm
A catch-up meeting on current projects, including Outwrite feminist anti-imperialist women’s newspaper exhibition and chronology of grassroots feminist activism in the UK. We will also be discussing ideas for a possible feminist history zine. This meeting is open to all genders. Any questions to history@feministactivistforum.org.uk Find the library at: 5 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7XW. - 25 February - Discussion on ‘Emancipation Through Islam’, London School of Economics, 2.00pm
Dr Katerina Dalacoura will start a discussion on the topic of women’s emancipation through their religion. All are welcome to attend and join in this frank and honest debate. Room in H102. - 27 February - Abortion Rights Comedy Cabaret, The Comedy Pub, London, 8.00pm, £10 including free raffle
Event to celebrate Obama scrapping the anti-abortion Global Gag Rule and International Women’s Day 2009. All female line-up, including Kate Smurthwaite, Riot Showgirls, Eve Webster, Abi Roberts, Iszi Lawrence & Claire Benjamin. Full address: 7 Oxendon Street, London SW1Y 4EE, book online at Soho Comedy Club. Venue not wheelchair accessible. - 28 February - NUJ Women’s Conference, London
The conference will assess progress in the 30 years since the union published Images of Women, guidelines for promoting equality through journalism. The conference asks if this ground-breaking guide to non-sexist reporting made any difference, or has the stereotyping just got more subtle? Email joannef@nuj.org.uk to register - 28 February -1 March - London AnarchaFeminist Kolektiv Feminist Health Weekend
20 workshops on wide variety of topics. Open to all women and trans people, kids space and disabled access and adaptation available. Contact: email lafk@riseup.net or see the website for more details - 28 February - Network of Oxford Women [NOW] for Justice and Peace Building Alliance for Joint Action Against War, North Oxford Community Centre, Summertown, 11am-4.30pm, £3
Speakers Haifa Zangana (Iraqi author and founder member of Solidarity for an Independent and Unified Iraq), Alice Ukoko (founder of Women of Africa), Kate Hudson (Chair CND) Aim to build an alliance for joint action against war. - 28 February - Benefit Gaza, Cockpit Theatre, London, 6.30pm foyer events, 7.30pm main show, £15 or £12 concessions
An evening of music, comedy, poetry, readings and magic, raising funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians and The Rachel Corrie Foundation. Acts include Ewen Macintosh (from The Office) to Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen. Book online at
cheekymaggot.co.uk
March
- 1 March - Our Bodies, Our Selves?, Guildhall, Bath, 7.00pm-8.30pm, £10/£8
Part of the Bath Literature Festival, Naomi Alderman, Joan Bakewell, Sarah Dunant, with Helen Taylor addresses questions such as: “In these days of so-called post-feminism, who controls women’s bodies? What is it that drives young women to starve themselves? And older women to submit to the surgeon’s knife or the hypodermic full of botox? In an age of aggressive late consumerism, what control do we have over our appearance? Now that women’s looks are no longer a route to power and influence, who is it that we want to look good for?” - 2 March - Women-themed pub quiz, Griffin Pub, Frome, 8.30pm
Pub quiz to raise money for Women In Action: a charity in Managua, Nicaragua, that promotes cultural exchange and improves lives through sustainable community development. - 3 March - Female-focused music quiz, Griffin Pub, Frome, 8.30pm
Music quiz focusing on female artists, to raise money for Women in Action: a charity in Managua, Nicaragua, that promotes cultural exchange and improves lives through sustainable community development. - 3 March - EHRC and EVAW International Women’s Day reception, London, 6pm
The Equality and Human Rights Commission and End Violence Against Women reception will allow us to remind parliamentarians and stakeholders of the recommendations and findings of the Map the Gaps reports in the run up to International Women’s Day and to discuss wider issues of violence against women. Please confirm attendance by 27 March, by emailing esther.thomas@equalityhumanrights.com providing details of any access or dietary requirements. Full address: Smeaton Room, One Great George Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3AA - 4 March - Wine tasting evening, Griffin Pub, Frome, 8pm, £10 in advance
Wine tasting to raise money for Women in Action: a charity in Managua, Nicaragua, that promotes cultural exchange and improves lives through sustainable community development. Cost of tickets includes all wine, entertainment and nibbles. - 5 March - Debate asking ‘Do women need a leg up in politics?’, St Pancras Room, London, 1.30pm
Hosted by One World Action, speakers include Vera Baird (Solicitor General), Isma Almas (Comic), Jeanette Arnold (London Assembly), Natalie Bennett (The Guardian), Lucy Changwe (Zambian Development Minister), Nicholas Parsons (Actor) & Emily Thornberry, MP. Full address: St Pancras Room, Kings Place, NW1 9AG. Reservations: mbirchall@oneworldaction.org - 6-14 March - Cardiff International Women’s Day festival, venues across Cardiff.
- 6 March - Inspirational women event, Ruskin College, Oxford, 9.30am-2.30pm, free, lunch included, but booking essential
Ever wanted to change the world but didn’t know where to start? Discovering the inspirational woman inside yourself? Feel inadequate or underprepared to change the world? Want to discover what’s special about you? Book by emailing llivesey@ruskin.ac.uk. Followed by open day for women’s studies and other courses, 4.00pm-6.00pm. - 6 March - Challenging Demand 3, Teacher Building, Glasgow, free
A one-day conference to challenge the demand from men for the exploitation of women and children through pornography, sexualisation and sexual violence. Speakers include Kenny MacAskill MSP, Linda Thompson Women’s Support Project, Sandy Brindley Rape Crisis Scotland, Rebecca Whisnant founder member of the U.S. National Feminist Movement Against Pornography. Full address: Teacher Building, 14 St Enoch Square,Glasgow. (Conference is free but a fee of £50 will be payable if you do not notify us in advance of your non-attendance by 27th February). - 6 March - Public meeting to celebrate International Women’s Day, University of London Union, 7.00-9.00pm
As women in countries including war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan fight to defend the most basic human rights, women across the world are being hit by the economic crisis - through job losses, wage cuts, cuts in services, increased domestic violence and in many other ways. We, activists in the women’s and workers’ movements, are organising this meeting to celebrate International Women’s Day in the way its founders meant it to be celebrated: by promoting the international struggle for women’s liberation. Speakers include Jean Lambert (Green Party MEP), Terri Judd (The Independent), Maria Exall (CWU), Tamar Katz (Israeli National Service resister), Laura Schwartz (Feminist Fightback), Houzan Mahmoud (Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq) - 6 March - Oxford Radical Forum, Ho Chi Minh Quad, Wadham College, Oxford
The Myths of Mars and Venus - Deborah Cameron (author, The Myths of Mars and Venus: Do men and women really speak different languages?) 3:45pm-5:00pm, Gender and the Media: What the Movies we Love Tell us About How to be Women and Men - Amy Putman, Ryan Thoreson & Ashley Slaff 6:00pm-7:30pm - 7 March - Million Women Rise march and rally, London
- 7 March - Women Writing Space, University of Warwick
- 7 March - International Women’s Day event for Latin American women living in the UK, Living Space, London, SE1, 2-5pm
Informal workshop by Centro de Estudios de la Mujer, film screening, free food, live Andean band and Latin music, this event is organised by the Central American Women’s Network and Latin American Women’s Rights Service. A creche will be available. To reserve a place, email info@cawn.org
- 7 March - The Critter Connection, Griffin Pub, Frome
The acoustic soul / ska band play to raise money for Women in Action: a charity in Managua, Nicaragua, that promotes cultural exchange and improves lives through sustainable community development. - 8 March - Reclaim the Night Liverpool & International Women’s Day Women’s Festival
- 8 March - Reclaim the Night Edinburgh
- 8 March - Women In Action at Sausage Sunday, 1pm, £2 suggested donation
Fabulous female-musician-only Sausage Sunday. A whole host of fantastic local (and not so local) female musicians will be playing all afternoon. With a bbq. - 8 March - International Women’s Day pub quiz, The Union Tavern, Clerkenwell, London, 7.30pm, £4
Islington and Hackney AI Group is having an International Women’s Day pub quiz with speakers from Amnesty. Places are limited so book early by calling Zsofia on 0787 5652674 (if no one answers just leave a message). - 8 March - Reclaim the Night Edinburgh, Festival Square assembly point
To mark the 98th International Women’s Day protest against the tolerance of violence against women in Scotland and challenging all forms of male violence against women in homes and on the streets. March followed after-event in Teviot Building with local groups and speakers, music and mingling with fellow marchers. - 11 March - Sex Traffic, ICA, London, 7pm, £10, £9 concessions, £8 ICA members
“The media and NGOs have raised awareness of sex trafficking in recent years, but does it serve the interests of migrant sex workers to suggest they have been trafficked, or does it collude in their criminalisation and deportation? Should our priority be to give migrant women in the sex industry more control over their own lives, or to stop the traffic? Speakers: Laura María Agustín (author and educator), Georgina Perry (service manager), Catherine Stephens (sex worker), Jon Birch (Metropolitan Police Clubs and Vice Unit)” See ICA website for more info and book tickets. - 14 March - Quality Youth Work With Girls and Young Women Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, 9.30am-4.00pm
Conference and launch of the feminist webs archive! With guest speakers from Object! and Oxfam, as well as a number of creative, interactive workshops. - 17 March - Reclaim the Night Cardiff, Cardiff city centre, from 7.00pm
March to challenge attitudes to female victims of sexual violence, demand improvements in the rape conviction rate and lobby the Welsh Assembly for an integrated strategy to end violence against women. There will be a self-defined women-only section at the front of the march, followed by an all genders section - 19/20 March - Lisistrata, Berlington Rooms, University of Manchester, 7pm
Modern re-telling of the classic Greek play, featuring an all-female cast. Proceeds will be used to support local women’s groups. - 21 March - Demonstration Against Immigration Detention, Yarl’s Wood, Bedford
Gather 11.30am at Bedford Town Centre to march from Bedford to Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre, to demonstrate between 12.30 and 2pm. - 27-29 March - Images of Black Women Film Festival, Tricycle Theatre, London
This film festival celebrates its fifth anniversary of championing women of African descent in cinema. See the festival website for more information and call the Tricycle boxoffice for tickets on 0207 328 1000 - 28 March - Study day on gender and sex in magazines, The Women’s Library, London, 10.30am-3.00pm, £20, £15 concessions
A day of talks, on British Vogue’s response to World War II; sex fiction and the problem page in the women’s magazines of the 1920s and 1930s; masculinity and men’s magazines; and on women’s magazines and feminist magazines were influenced by feminism in the 1970s. See The Women’s Library website for more info and to book.
April
- 2 April, Talk by Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi, The Women’s Library, London, 7.00pm, £6, £4 concessions
“Nawal El Saadawi, Egypt’s most famous feminist activist, has written extensively on women and Islam. One of the first female Muslim writers to discuss sex, feminism and the veil, her powerful writing highlights social and religious injustice. Hear Nawal on this rare visit to the UK, coinciding with the re-releaseof some of her classic books: Searching, A Daughter of Isis and The Circling Song.” See The Women’s Library website for more info - 9 April, Cum the Revolution One! Black Panthers and Women in the Civil Rights Movement, 8pm - 1am (one off screening of A Place of Rage documentary by Dame Pratibha Parmar at 8.15pm sharp and performances from Project Caramel, Zstar, MC Chickaboo and Miss Bailey from 9.30pm sharp), Bethnal Green Working Men’s Bird’s Club, London, £8/6
“Barack Obama’s inauguration as the President of the US of A in January is a hard won victory for the African American Civil Rights movement. Bird Club looks back on the decades preceding this event and celebrates the women and the men who fought for the right to sit at the front of the bus. Dress up: All African American style for everyone!” See the Birdclub website for more info. - 18 April - Guided walk on the women who have defined Whitechapel and Spittalfields, The Women’s Library, London, 10.30am, £8, advance booking essential
“Visit sites associated with women who have defined Whitechapel and Spitalfields. From Eva Luckes and Edith Cavell at the London Hospital, to social reformers Annie Besant and Mary Hughes. Find out how writers and artists like Monica Ali and Tracey Emin have used the area to inspire their work.” See The Women’s Library website for more info - 24-26 April - Race, privilege and identity, Bristol
A gathering to “engage with issues of race, privilege and identity in radical queer-feminist communities through building dialogue, coalitions and resources”. - 30 April - Sex, shopping and sisterhood: politics in women’s magazines, The Women’s Library, 7.00pm, £8 or £6 concessions
“This event explores how women’s magazines have addressed politics, from influential feminist journal Spare Rib to leading popular magazines like Woman’s Own. Join past and present editors to discuss the successes and challenges, and debate whether politics and pleasure really can mix. Marsha Rowe, Spare Rib; Jess McCabe, The F-Word; Ali Hall, Look; Jane Reed, Woman’s Own.
May
- 3 May - Cambridge Reclaim the Night
“With violence against women affecting hundreds of thousands of women in Britain every year, yet the conviction rate for rape the lowest it’s been for decades, we’re taking to the streets to march against violence against women. We’re asking all self-defining women (children welcome) to join us for a defiant march through Cambridge, reclaiming public spaces from fear of violence. Assemble 8:30pm in the middle of Parkers’ Piece for a women’s march to King’s College Chapel, where from 9:15pm there will be talk and a vigil open to all genders with music, speakers and silence.” See Women’s Union website for more info. - 7 May - Talk on the life of suffragette Evelyn Sharp, The Women’s Library, London, 7.00pm, £6 or £4 concessions
“Angela V John (Professor of History, Aberystwyth University) talks about her latest biography, the life of Evelyn Sharp (1869-1955), journalist, suffragette, pacifist and incorrigible rebel. Sharp was a popular writer of children’s school stories and fairy tales. She was twice imprisoned for suffrage militancy, and edited Votes for Women in its later years.” See The Women’s Library website for more info - 13 May - ‘Black in fashion: have we turned a page?’, The Women’s Library, London, 7pm, £8 or £6 concessions
“September 2008’s Italian Vogue featured only black models and went on to be one of its best-selling issues, challenging the myth that black models can’t sell mainstream magazines. Minority ethnic media have for a long time been successful in meeting the needs of their readers. Our panel will ask how well mainstream women’s magazines reflect the diversity of the population. Carol Tulloch, TRAIN/V&A Research Fellow; Carole White, Premier Model Management; Sole Adeyake, Mahogony Models; Jennifer G Robinson, Precious; Ashanti Omkar, Henna. In collaboration with Precious Online: The Magazine and Network for Women of Colour - 17-23 May - Ladyfest Oxford ‘09, various locations in Oxford
The second-ever Ladyfest in Oxford, the festival “supports the creative talents of professional and amateur female acts in our community”, including a workshop on race, sexuality and representation in film, a bookgroup discussion of Faithless, by Joyce Carol Oates, a ‘crafternoon’ of workshops on knitting, zines and DIY culture. See website for more info. - 22 May - North Kent Women’s Aid candle light sponsored walk, starting 7.30pm, £7.00 registration fee
Six-mile walk from the Eltham/Falconwood crematorium to Bexleyheath Clock Tower, to raise funds for North Kent Women’s Aid. After the walk there will be a BBQ & drinks for all. For further information and a sponsorship form please contact Karen on karen@nkwa.org.uk.
June
- 2 June - Discussion on whether all women are oppressed and what hand do they play in their own oppression?, Feminist Library, London, 6.30-8.00pm
The first meeting of a new discussion group at the Feminist Library. “Our aim is to collectively find ways to implement internal activism so as to make our collective external activism more potent and long lasting.” The discussion is women-only, trans-inclusive, at takes place at the Feminist Library, 5 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7XW - 13 June - Talk on women and the anti-apartheid movement, The Women’s Library, London, 10.30am-1.00pm, free
Panel discussion on “women’s involvement in the political activities in London, and their support for the women’s movement in South Africa, especially those that were engaged in the struggle for freedom. The event will feature writers, academics and activists, including London Anti-Apartheid women.” See The Women’s Library website for more info - 18 June - Discussion on the impact of magazines on body image, The Women’s Library, London, 7pm, £8, £6 concessions
Speakers include: Susie Orbach, author of Fat is a Feminist Issue; Deanne Jade, National Centre for Eating Disorders; Dr Vivienne Nathanson, British Medical Association. - 19 June - Solidarity protest for Yarls Wood hunger strike, Serco Institute, 22 Hand Court, off High Holborn, WC1V, 12 noon to 1 pm
More info from Indymedia - 20 June - Bird’s Eye View, Celebrating Women Filmmakers 1915 -2030, Delegate Centre Café Bar, 34 Bread Street , Edinburgh Film Festival, EH3 9AF, Free to all EIFF pass holders
More here - 22 June - Birds Eye View: Pitch and Connect 1530 - 1700, Glenkinchie Room, Sheraton Hotel, Edinburgh Film Festival, Free to all EIFF pass holders
More here - 25 June - Private view of Colouring Outside the Lines: The Exhibition & zine launch (issue 5), Gallery II, University of Bradford, 5 - 7pm. Exhibition runs Friday 26 June - Friday 24 July 2009. Free Entry.
More about the exhibition here - 28 June - CLUB DES FEMMES presents A SWINGING SUMMERTIME SPECIAL: The World Ten Times Over (film), Curzon Soho, 93 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY, 2.30pm.
Box Office: 0871 7033 988 (Website.)
“Wolf Rilla, fresh from shooting The Village of the Damned, delivers quite possibly the first British lesbian film. Two nightclub hostesses Ginnie (June Ritchie) and Billa (Sylvia Syms) are in love. At a time when female emancipation and sexual freedom was heavily regulated (the film suffered at the censors), it is Syms who delivers a powerhouse performance as the older woman disgusted with her job and unable to set herself free”.
More details of LGBT film screenings at Pride London on the Pout website
July
- 4 July - Special opening and picnic for “Colouring Outside the Lines: The Exhibition” (to coincide with the University of Bradford open day), 11 - 4pm (Meet up at 12 noon in the gallery), opening times: Mon - Fri, 10am-5pm, Thursdays ‘til 6pm (or by appointment). Free entry
“This exhibition is the first collaborative curatorial venture of two young women, Rachel Kaye (Gallery II, University of Bradford) and Melanie Maddison (Colouring Outside The Lines zine), and seeks to open the discussion of who has access to art - in terms of both curators and artists… At midday there will be a picnic and story-telling session with the opportunity to discuss the exhibition with the artists and curators involved in the project in a relaxed setting”. - 5 July - CLUB DES FEMMES presents A SWINGING SUMMERTIME SPECIAL: The Killing of Sister George (film), Curzon Soho, 93 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY, 3pm
Box Office: 0871 7033 988 (Website.)
“Already controversial by the time it reached cinemas because of its X-rated sex scene the film failed at the box office but remains an era-defining cult classic. The Killing of Sister George gave audiences a rare glimpse of London lesbian culture”.
More details of LGBT film screenings at Pride London on the Pout website - July 16 - Fundraiser for new rape crisis centre in Leeds (Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds, SARSVL), The Subculture, 7.30pm - 11pm
Featuring Tiny Tin Lady, Trapdoor Minotaur, Invisible Cities, Franny DiWanko. More here. - July 20 - Rally to protest Boris Johnson’s cuts to Rape Crisis funding, GLA City Hall, London, 12.30pm - 2.30pm
More information here. - July 23 - Veg Out For Violence: Birmingham Reclaim The Night Fundraiser, Warehouse Cafe, 54-57 Allison Street, Birmingham, 7pm - 10pm.
More here.
August
- 21st - 28th August - Million Women Rise Women’s Camp 09, Wales Million Women Rise Coalition invite you to join them in beautiful countryside near Lampeter, to share time around the fire, singing, talking and making music together, and to enjoy local walks. There will also be time to discuss the work of Million Women Rise and plans for the 2010 march.
September
- 25-27th September - Ladyfest Edinburgh Feminist arts, workshops, culture, music and fun
October
- 10 October - Feminism in London 2009, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London, 10.00am-5.00pm, £3.50 waged, £1.50 unwaged
“A one-day conference on feminism in London, featuring some of the many feminist activist groups that are campaigning in and around London. There will be talks, workshops and a chance to network. The event is for women and pro-feminist men.” - 10 October - Gude Cause march through Edinburgh, Princes Street
A re-enactment of a key suffragette march in Edinburgh, in 1909. See website for more info - 17 October - Birmingham Reclaim the Night
- 24 October - World Wide Women, Sheffield Quakers Meeting House, 9.45am-4.30pm.
A conference which places the position of women in relation to economic inequality, injustice, disease, violence and poverty under the microscope of feminism. - 30 October - Fawcett Society’s Equal Pay Day.
Take action against the pay gap, see Fawcett’s website for details.
November
- 19-21 November - TDOR photo exhibition, Entrance Foyer, Jubilee Library, Jubilee Square, Brighton:
A public exhibition of photos of some of the people who have been killed in the last year. Some tributes will be on display with an explanation of what the Transgender Day of Remembrance is for, and its history.
There will also be a book of condolence for Andrea Waddell, who was recently murdered in Brighton. - 20 November - The Piazza, Warwick University, Coventry - 6.00pm
Candlelit vigil for the Transgender Day of Remembrance
Full details on Facebook - 20 November - Old Refectory, Wadham College, Oxford - 7.30pm
Trans Q&A for those wanting to expand their knowledge and awareness of trans issues. A safe space, open to all and no prior knowledge required.
Followed by… - 20 November - Old Refectory, Wadham College, Oxford - 9.00pm
A screening of Boys Don’t Cry. - 21 November - 52 Club, 52 Gower Street, London WC1E 6EB - Beginning at 2:15pm
Vigil for the Transgender Day of Remembrance
Details here - 21 November - 1st Floor, Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Kemptown, Brighton - from 3.00pm
Vigil for the Transgender Day of Remembrance - 21 November - Reclaim the Night London, Whitehall Place, 6pm.
Women and children only, followed by mixed-gender rally. - 22 November - Beacon of Hope, Sackville Park, off Canal Street, Manchester - Beginning at 3.45pm
Service for the Transgender Day of Remembrance - 25 November - Reclaim the Night Portsmouth, Spinnaker Tower, 7pm.
All women, men and children welcome. - 28 November - Reclaim the Night Leeds, Leeds Art Gallery, 6pm.
Self-defined women and children (female and male) only, other supporters can join at the end of Briggate at approx. 7.10pm.
December
- 1 December - Healing and Saying Through Art, The Drum, Birmingham, 5pm-9.30pm
An evening of monologues, speakers, film, art workshops, theatre and poetry to raise awareness of violence against women. - 4-5 December - Transnational Feminisms Conference, University of Manchester
Drawing on the impact of postcolonial feminism and its enactments, this conference will examine how women are affected by political systems in a global climate, how feminism translates and moves across borders, and how feminism can be utilised as a methodology for understanding the transnational context.
2008
January
February
- 22 February - Ladyfest Goldsmiths, New Cross, London
- 23rd February-29th March - Images of Black Women Film Festival, London, various venues
March
- 1 March - Reclaim the Night NORTH, Manchester
- 4 March - Pro-choice protest, Cardiff
- 6-14 March - Birds Eye View Film Festival, BFI Southbank and ICA, London
- 15th-16th March - DIY Women’s Health Weekend WomynSpace, Hackney
- 8 March - Million Women Rise, London & national
- 8 March - Capital Woman 2008, London
- 15th March - European Feminist Forum Hampstead Town Hall, 213 Haverstock Hill (Belsize Park tube) London NW3 4QP 2:30 - 6:30 pm.
- 18th March - ‘Lady in Red’ (play about domestic violence) in aid of Oxfordshire Women’s Aid. Oxford Town Hall at 7.30. Entrance free, donations to Oxfordshire Women’s Aid. (OWA). The future of OWA - after 32 years - is now in severe jeopardy.
- 19th March - Haifa Zangana - Book event/talk on City of Widows: An Iraqi Woman’s Account of War and Resistance. 7pm, Housmans, 5 Caledonian Road, King’s Cross, London N1 9DX.
- 26th March - Consent and Community Response to Sexual Assault session. 7.30pm London Action Resource Centre (LARC, 62 Fieldgate St, Whitechapel, London, E1 1ES).
April
- 1 April - Support Southall Black Sisters demo, 6pm outside Ealing Town Hall, Uxbridge Road, W5. Nearest tube: Ealing Broadway.
- 12 April - Feminist Fightback “Teach In” on reproductive freedoms, at LSE
- 19 April - Truth About Rape relaunch rally, 1pm-4pm, Leeds Civic Hall
- 23 April - Abolish No Recourse Day of Action - protest organised by Southall Black Sisters, to be held outside Portcullis House, Westminster, assemble 11AM
- 26 April - FEM 08, Sheffield
- 26th - 27th April 2008 - Ladyfest Cork
- 30th April - Feminism Today event at Housmans Bookshop 7pm. 5 Caledonian Road, King’s Cross, London
May
- 4-31 May - Ladyfest Edinburgh
- 9-11 May - Ladyfest London
- 14 May - Feminist Coalition Against Prostitution meeting
- 24 May - Ladyfest Oxford (Facebook site)
- 30 May - Violence Against Women: Histories, Methodologies, Activism and Research - A One-Day Conference in Honour of Jalna Hanmer, Centre for Women’s Studies, University of York
June
- 3 June - Hélène Cixous (in English) at University of Sussex (entry free, Brighton BN1 9QN) 5 p.m. in Arts Lecture Theatre A2, talk entitled ‘Philippine: Sweet Prison’
- 5 June - NASUWAT conference on women’s participation in the political process, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. See website for more info.
- 14 June - Reclaim the Night Southport, being organised by Sefton Fawcett Society
- 21 June - Feminist Activist Forum meeting, Lambeth Young Women’s Project 21st June, assemble at 12 noon - Unite Against Facism - March from Tooley Street, London SE1 (behind Greater London Assembly building, near Tower Bridge, nearest underground stn London Bridge) to Trafalger Square.
- 24 June - Feminist Review Annual Lecture - Cynthia Cockburn on Can We See Gender Relations as both a consequence and a cause of war? at SOAS, Khalili Lecture Theatre, 7pm
- 24 June - Luce Irigary at ICA on Sharing the World Tickets: £10/£9 Concessions /£8 ICA Members. Second lecture due on September 9th.
- 25 June - What’s so bad about abortion?’ A public debate organised by the charity British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) 6pm Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, London .
July
- 4-7 July - Million Women Rise Summer Camp - (Women and Girls only) forest camp in the suburbs of London to network with women, enjoy some workshops and meet with some of the organisers for a visioning of mwr 2009. Bookings via bridget.fenn@ lshtm.ac. uk or call our info line on 07862113308. Places are limited. Part-weekend attendance is possible.
- 11-13 July - Unsettling Women: Contemporary Women’s Writing and Diaspora, second biennial conference of the Contemporary Women’s Writing Network, University of Leicester. More info here.
- 12 July 12- 5pm - GENDER & SEX DIVERSITY AND FEMINISM: A TRANS AND INTERSEX LEARNING EXCHANGE , Lambeth Women’s Project, 166a Stockwell Road, London SW9 More Information Here: Flyer. A learning exchange on trans and intersex issues and their relationships to feminism, geared toward people who may be unsure of the importance or relevance of transgender to feminism, particularly from an intergenerational perspective. It will be a safe space for feminists from all different positions, backgrounds and generations to meet and discuss trans-issues and the interconnections/implications for feminism. This event is free. Lunch will be provided - donations welcome. Our venue is accessible by wheelchair but unfortunately the toilets are not adapted and are quite small.
- 13 July - Solidarity Picnic, Hampstead Heath. Meet at 12pm, Hampstead Heath Station, South End Green, London. A picnic for feminists of all genders to come together, have fun, build friendship and community. Please bring food/drinks/games to share!
- 26 July - Radical Feminist Summer Gathering, Manchester (now postponed till March 2009)
August
- 16-17 August - Walk Through The Night, a sponsored night-time walk to raise money for Eaves Housing, London
- 30 August - Manchester Zinefest
September
- 23 September - New feminist and world-themed singing group- -WILDSING- - beginning in north London. Contact wildsing@gmail. com for more info.
- 25 September, 2008 19:30 - 26 September, 2008 02:00 Ladybois - Bois/Men Who Support Ladyfest Manchester
- 26 September - Suck My Left One, feminist / queer musical delights, The Common Place, Leeds
October
- 4 October - Meeting of the Feminist Art Project, The Resource Centre, Holloway Road, London, 1.30-5.00pm. More info at Women’s Grid
- 7 October - Abortion Rights Public Meeting, House of Commons, Committee Room 10, 7pm
- 11 October - Feminism in London, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL. Entrance is £3 or £1 for unwaged and students
- 13 October - Climate Rush, Parliament Square, 5.30pm. See here for more details.
- 23-26 October - York Lesbian Art Festival, York
- 24 October - 6pm-Midnight: The Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize 10th Anniversary Awards Ceremony, The Drill Hall, 16 Chenies Street, London, WC1E 7EX. Click here for further details.
November
- 1 November - Closing date for Feminist and Women’s Studies Association Annual Student Essay Competition.
- 7-9 November - LadyFest Manchester
- 7 November, 2008 07:00 - 23:30 Ladyfest Manchester Lady Bands - Friday
- 7 November, 2008 19:30 - 22:30 Ladyfest Manchester Lady Carnival
- 7-9 November - London Transgender Film Festival 2008, Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton.
- 8 November - Oxford Reclaim the Night March. Meet 6.30pm Gloucester Green
- 13 November - Newquay Reclaim the Night mask and banner making workshop. 6pm Four Ways Youth Club.
- 21 November - Newquay Reclaim the Night lantern making workshop. The Public Rooms, Bodmin 6pm.
- 22 November - Reclaim the Night, London
- 22 November - Newquay Reclaim the Night
- 22 November - Reclaim the Night Durham
- 25 November - Reclaim the Night Glasgow. Assemble 6.30pm at the STUC, 333 Woodlands Road, to march to Glasgow Uni Union for the rally. All women and men welcome.
- 26 November - ‘Light A Candle’ multi-faith service to mark International Day to End Violence Against Women. 10.30am, Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff
- 27 November - Free half-day Domestic and Gender Based Violence Conference - 1pm-5pm, Cypriot Community Centre, Earlham Grove, Wood Green N22. To book a place and your lunch, please contact, Equalities Team, Haringey Council: Tel. 020 8489 2576 Email: equalities@haringey.gov.uk
December
- 2 December - Women As Property: Forced labour and forced marriage in the world today Many societies continue to regard women as second class citizens, excluding them from education and from the labour market, and denying them the basic rights and freedoms afforded to men. This has resulted in millions of women and girls becoming victims of slavery. Of the 2.4 million people who are estimated to have been trafficked into forced labour or sexual exploitation around the world, some 80 per cent are women and girls. THE EVENT IS FREE, BUT YOU MUST BOOK A PLACE. Amnesty International UK, The Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard London EC2A 3EA
- 6 December - Make Music. End Violence. The Light House, Fryer Street. Bringing musicians and artists from across the country together to take a stand against Domestic Violence. Tickets cost £10 or £6 with NUS and are available from http://www.artsicfestival.org.uk/ or by contacting Grace Lee on 01902 572173.
- 10th December, 11am-1pm - “Outsourcing Abuse” - a public discussion, Committee room 14, House of Commons. - “Outsourcing Abuse” describes an alarming number of injuries sustained by asylum deportees at the hand of private “escorts” contracted by the Home Office. The report reveals evidence of widespread and seemingly systemic abuse of vulnerable people who have fled their own countries seeking safety and refuge, and that assault claims have largely been brushed off by the Home Office. “Outsourcing Abuse - The use and misuse of state-sanctioned force during the detention and removal of asylum seekers” was written by Birnberg Peirce & Partners, Medical Justice and the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns who have organised this public meeting. Download the “Outsourcing Abuse” report Booking a place for the meeting - everyone is welcome : there is no booking of places requirement as such, but we would like to know if you would like to attend so that we may print you a name badge. Contact: emma.ginn@medicaljustice.org.uk / 07904 778365 Flyer for this event

