Report on the ICOR Women’s Event in Paris: Women Confront Imperialism

Written by: ICOR on 23 July 2026

 

Under the title “Women Confront Imperialism,” the initiative for a women’s coordination, launched at the Second ICOR Women’s Conference in Nepal, brought together younger and older women as well as representatives of various political organizations from different countries.

The aim of the event, held recently in July,  was to strengthen ICOR’s profile on women’s issues, promote exchange between women and organizations, and contribute to unleashing the revolutionary potential of the women’s movement. The ICOR women’s meeting marked the beginning of a series of events of this kind.

The event took place at ACTIT, an association of the Confederation of Oppressed Migrants in Europe (AVEG-KON), and brought together nearly 40 women from France, Germany, Cuba, Peru, Turkey and Kurdistan. Women from Palestine, Tunisia and Cameroon also participated online.

In keeping with ICOR tradition, the event was opened with a cultural performance, this time by the Anka Women’s Choir.

On behalf of the ICOR Women’s Coordination, an opening speech emphasized that imperialism condemns women to poverty, double exploitation, hunger and violence. Referring to the Epstein case, it was stressed that the imperialist-capitalist system not only produces economic and social devastation for working people, but also turns women and children into targets of brutal sexual violence, contributing to the overall brutalization of society.

“Contrary to patriarchal bourgeois historiography, it was those courageous women who turned the wheel of history toward women’s liberation: Clara Zetkin, Rosa Luxemburg, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Inessa Armand, Alexandra Kollontai, the socialist women’s movement, and all courageous women.”

The speech saluted the women fighting from Palestine and Kurdistan to Bolivia.

The women were called upon: “Let us learn together and expand the revolutionary struggle against imperialism for the liberation of women and of all humanity.”

Greetings from Gaza

Joining online, Palestinian women’s representative and active participant in the World Women’s Conference of Grassroots Women, Mariam Abu Daqqa, explained that the people of Gaza continue to live under the siege imposed by Zionist Israel. She drew attention to the systematic use of sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and called for solidarity with the Palestinian people. More than 9,000 Palestinians are currently imprisoned in Israel, including 190 women, three of whom are pregnant.

Mariam Abu Daqqa stated:

“All humanity must become part of the struggle against these colonial attacks. This is necessary to stop this genocide. There is only one way to confront imperialism and Zionism: unite our struggle. The Palestinian people are fighting to defend their land. We salute all those who struggle and resist imperialism.”

Also participating online from Gaza was Suhair Khader, Coordinator of the Palestinian Women’s Committees.

She explained that Palestinian women had consciously and politically decided to remain in Gaza as an act of resistance against colonialism. She warned that a women’s movement that ignores colonialism weakens itself.

“The struggle of women must, on an anti-imperialist basis, also be directed against colonialism.”

Khader emphasized that Palestinian women stand in solidarity with women around the world:

“The unity of women is of great importance. Let us develop the instruments of our common struggle. Let us organize campaigns with international impact. Let us envision a socialist future and fight for it. If we want to build a new world, women will be a decisive part of that process.”

A speech on behalf of the Latifa Tamalaah Women’s Committee of the Patriotic Democratic Socialist Party (PPDS) of Tunisia also stressed that the struggle of women must be part of the struggle of the entire working class and of the fight against racism.

It declared: “The freedom of women in Palestine and Kurdistan is part of the national liberation struggle of these countries. If we unite our forces and fight together, we will win.”

The European Coordinator of the World Women’s Conference of Grassroots Women presented the conference and called for preparations for the next European Conference of Grassroots Women in Paris in January 2027, as well as the next World Conference in Latin America in September 2027.

A message of greeting from ICOR’s Principal Coordinator Monika Gärtner-Engel was also read out. It stated:

“Women’s consciousness has awakened on a broad front and is growing stronger in the struggle against fascist forces and governments, against imperialist wars, environmental destruction, and above all against intensified exploitation, poverty and sexist violence against women.”

Monika Gärtner-Engel further explained that journalist Eva Maria Michelmann had regained her freedom through the joint struggle.

“Now the struggle continues for journalist Ahmed Polat.”

She also emphasized that reactionary fascists seek to confine women to the roles of “mother” and “protector of the family.”

Her message continued:

“Against every intensification of women’s oppression, we develop broad alliances across all currents of the women’s movement. At the ideological level, however, we also engage in debate with petty-bourgeois feminist forces which, by placing the gender struggle at the center, distance themselves from and isolate themselves from revolutionary movements. ICOR is a revolutionary world organization. We encourage women to stand up for the revolutionary perspective of socialism as the path to women’s liberation and to organize themselves accordingly.”

“Give Every Anti-Imperialist Struggle a Women’s Liberation Character”

In a speech by the magazine Socialist Woman, attention was drawn to the multiple crises of the capitalist system:

“This is a crisis of existence. For the bourgeoisie it is becoming increasingly difficult even to find temporary solutions or generate social consent. It can promise people neither social security, nor peace, nor a future worth living.”

Referring to the rise of fascism and religious reaction, the speech continued:

“These phenomena are all different expressions of the same systemic crisis. The historic bankruptcy of the bourgeois order is drawing ever closer.
At the center of this crisis also lies the contradiction of gender relations. Here the decisive question arises: How can revolutionary organizations strengthen both the struggle for women’s liberation and the struggle against imperialism? Our answer is clear: liberation from imperialism is only possible if the struggle against exploitation and every form of oppression is waged as a whole and succeeds through the struggle for socialism. The program of women’s revolution is an inseparable part of every social revolution and possesses a consistently anti-imperialist character. As long as capitalist and imperialist relations of domination exist, women’s liberation cannot be achieved. Likewise, no social revolution can realize its truly liberating potential if it does not place women’s liberation at the center of its program. Therefore, it is the task of revolutionary organizations and parties to give every anti-imperialist struggle a women’s liberation character.”

At the invitation of the ICOR Women’s Coordination, which had shared the solidarity statement with Cuba, the assistant to the Cuban Ambassador to France attended the event and expressed support for the resistance of the Palestinian people.

She pointed to the devastating consequences of U.S. imperialist policy against the Cuban people:

“Power outages in Cuba have reached dramatic proportions. They affect every aspect of daily life. The entire technological infrastructure has become a target of attack. There are severe shortages of medicines. In oncology and pathology there is no access to life-saving medicines. As a result, children are dying. We call on all our friends to oppose this imperialist aggression.”

The French ICOR member organization, the Marxist-Leninist Proletarian Union (UPML), also participated in the event. Its spokesperson, who is also an active organizer within the World Women’s Conference of Grassroots Women, delivered a speech emphasizing the strength of women and the necessity of resisting imperialist aggression.

Michele Abe of UPC-Manidem, participating online from Cameroon, also welcomed the conference.

During a joint discussion session, numerous questions were raised about ICOR’s work. Young participants in particular, who were not yet familiar with ICOR, showed great interest in its overall practice. Particular attention was drawn to the Al-Awda Solidarity Campaign.

It was emphasized that ICOR is a coordinating organization that enables people with differing positions to unite on the basis of common principles in the struggle against imperialism and for socialism.

The event concluded with a solidarity video dedicated to the victims of the earthquake in Venezuela.

 

 

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