Feminist resistance manual: a journey to the heart of Femen
For a week, they have been preparing a plan. When the chosen moment approached, at six in the afternoon on Friday, June 11, in front of the Ministry of Justice, 15 women who belong to the Femen collective had to act as a team. They would meet in a nearby bar, all of them dressed in black pants and shoes. They would take off their jackets, they would place a wreath of flowers on their heads, they would leave their breasts in the air, previously painted with some messages in black ink, they would walk a few meters to the facade of the ministry and they would stand in front of it according to a device 6- 5-4 to denounce the passivity of the institutions in the face of cases of sexist violence in the country. The six in the first row would carry a 12-meter-long banner divided into three parts with a slogan: "Denying machismo kills us." The two at the ends would be the captains. And none should forget one of the main slogans: "If the police catch you, dead weight."
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So they did and executed yesterday. Everything went better than expected. Any luck.
The preparations for this protest had undergone some modifications in the previous weeks. It was planned that 16 companions of the group would attend, one for each woman murdered in Spain throughout 2021. Each participant would have the name of one of the deceased painted on their back, with the date of death, age and place of death. event. But one of them has failed at the last minute, and two more women have been killed during the week. So finally there would be 15 women carrying 21 lighted candles with the name of the murdered, which they would deposit in front of the ministry.
On the first Saturday of June, in a place in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Madrid, preparations began. The place is small. It is about 40 meters. Its old walls are papered with Femen posters and banners of their actions. The compound is furnished as if it were a school, but on weekends it becomes a training ground. When they change their clothes and put on the flower crown, one of the hallmarks of the feminist organization, the relaxed gesture with which many of them have entered the premises tenses. Four of the attendees are rookies within the Spanish group of Femen, which has 24 active women. One of them is Lucía, who works as a cartographer: "I'm afraid they'll recognize me at work, but my parents agree with what I do," she explains. "At my job they still haven't seen my face because I started in November and everything has been virtual, so I don't worry." Marta, a veteran, asks her if she is worried about going topless. She says no. “I ask because two of them dropped out because of it,” says Marta.
Lara Alcázar is the captain. She is 28 years old, she is from Asturias and graduated in Art History. For more than nine years, she has introduced women to sextremism, the use of the body as a political weapon. Every weekend, the activists intersperse physical training with instructions on how to deal with the protests and how to confront the authorities. They all internalize Alcázar's order: "If the police catch you, dead weight." And that has to be tested.
Alcázar stands in front of a blackboard. The rest make a circle. Her experience as leader of the Spanish branch of the group allows her to anticipate all the problems that may arise during the action scheduled for Friday June 11. Her hierarchy is indisputable: “I go in first and start shouting the slogans. We don't sing, we scream. After I come in, you follow me,” she says as she draws the position of each activist on the whiteboard with markers. It is a 6-5-4, a front row of six women, two rows behind four and five, as if it were a sports strategy. "Here we cannot afford to improvise, that can put us all at risk," she warns.
Last Tuesday, Alcázar announced a change of plans: instead of going at seven in the evening they would go at six. And, instead of cutting off traffic, something that is a crime, they are going to limit themselves to standing in front of the door of the Ministry of Justice in an act that, at most, would only force some passers-by to change their route.
Security is important. “We cannot afford another fine, especially with the new ones and those that come from all over Spain. We promised them that we were going to behave well”, explains Alcázar. The rules are clear with the police: you don't talk to them. They will all carry their DNI in their shoes to show it immediately in case they have to be identified.
Because resistance to the police, explains Alcázar, must be active, but peaceful, since it is forbidden for activists to attack the forces of authority in the middle of an action, not even as a form of defense.
To do this, the Femen must maintain that fixed position. The idea is to stay in a dead weight position to avoid being knocked down by the police for as long as possible. His attitude always has to be firm and aggressive. “The fear at the beginning of an action is forgotten when you are filled with rage for what you are denouncing, the desire to change things will give you strength,” explains Palmira, a veteran who will be in command of the rearguard. She will be in charge of lighting the candles.
@Esting87 @shirleyhelliwe1 @lucindapreston @MichaelRosenYes Lots of schools bring a variety of external visitors in… https://t.co/c0XElwO5XY
— Kathy Hulme Tue Jan 26 12:43:19 +0000 2021
The first six women who make up the front line-up carry a twelve-meter-long banner divided into three parts. They hold it in pairs. "If you are lazy in arms, you are not going to be able to go to the front," Alcázar explains to the new activists. “You always go with your partner. Here, like at school, with what the teacher says, that's your turn”. Those of the other two rows are responsible for holding the candles. Lara and Palmira act as captains, one in front, the other in the rear groups.
After an hour of tactical talk, the women line up in single file and training begins. “Think of something that makes you very angry,” Mariliyn tells Lucía while they practice shouting. The windows of the studio resound with the activists' proclamations: "Femicide, national emergency!"
In the rehearsal, some act as activists and others as police officers. The activists each hold a banner. The ones who play the police try to take them down. They should not react, just hold the position as firm as possible, as vertical as possible. They are evasion maneuvers. "It has to be a peaceful resistance," insists Alcázar.
"If I notice that we are in danger, you have to trust your instinct to know that we have to finish," says Alcázar. He assures them that at all times she will give orders and call the shots. "I am going to verbalize at all times what you have to do, don't worry," he reaffirms.
During training, the newcomers have to practice taking their clothes off quickly and easily so they don't get in the way of the action. "Remember, a lot of sun protection for the nipples, which burn very easily in the summer." They run around the room over and over again while taking off their shirts. “Whenever we are topless, we are shouting our denunciation. If not, it's just exhibitionism, it doesn't make sense, "explains Alcázar.
Once the physical preparation is finished, it is time to think about the slogans. He brainstorms. "We don't ask, we demand," Alcázar reminds them. After several attempts, they manage to get the first one out: “Interior and Justice, macho accomplices!”
Friday the 11th is the day. The women gradually arrive at the house of one of the activists after leaving work and begin to paint their breasts while talking about Juana Rivas, the woman from Granada immersed in a long lawsuit to recover her children. For two hours they dress, paint and prepare for the moment of action. They do the last rehearsals and walk out the door. “Jacket, crown in hand and ID in the shoe. Lists!”
They walk through the streets of the Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña camouflaged with their jackets. They enter the bar closest to the ministry, where they leave the clothes for the partner of one of them. Already uncovered, they run towards the doors of the Ministry where a dozen graphic reporters are waiting.
The women execute the plan smoothly. "Femicide, national emergency!" They shout for more than 15 minutes, almost at the entrance to the Noviciado subway station. Some cars whistle and some women clap. The police do not appear. Everything turns out easier than planned. At the signal from Alcázar, as planned, they pick up the banners and walk out. Behind, in front of the Ministry of Justice, they leave 21 red candles that remember the 21 women murdered by machismo this year.
The 15 women defended women's rights with their bodies and their voices. That is the ideology of Femen. Friday June 11 was not just any day, other demonstrations took place in all parts of Spain. It was a day of sorrow for what happened in Tenerife and the death of a minor in Estepa. Activism against machismo will force them to continue preparing for future interventions. A long fight awaits them.
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