Journals

• Feminists Against Sexual Terrorism: FAST Newsletter, Bradford, then Manchester  

• Feminist Review, London  

• Lesbian Line Newsletter, Nottingham

• Nessie: Scottish Radical Feminist Newsletter, St. Andrews  

• Women and Literature, Birmingham

• Women’s Media Action Newsletter (AFFIRM), London

• Young Wimmin’s Magazine, London

Bradford / Leeds

• Bradford: A march is held to protest against the “Ripper” murders and other murders of women and the requests by officials that women in the area remain inside at night: 400 women held a rally to show our anger and grief at violent attacks on women by men.

“The police had changed our original route but we marched where we wanted to go anyway through the busiest area of central Bradford. Women responded very positively to our leaflet in which we called for a curfew on men and the right to defend ourselves.” (Leeds Women, 1979: 17).

• Feminist lawyer, Marguerite Russell, wins custody case for a lesbian mother at risk of losing her children due to her sexuality.

• Airedale Women’s Aid/ Refuge begins in Keighley

• Patriarchy Study Group, London/ Leeds/ various places

• Defend Sara Dixon Campaign, Bradford. Sara Dixon had been arrested during an anti fascist demonstration and charged with possession of an offensive weapon. (She had a pocket knife in her bag.) Resonating with the other issues in town surrounding a woman’s right to self defence, and the Reclaim the Night activities arising from the ‘Ripper’ fear, a defence campaign was launched. Marguerite Russell defended Sara, who was given a one year suspended sentence.

• Week of Action Against Violence Against Women (Women’s Aid, WAR.), Birmingham, Leeds

External sites cited on these pages:

~ Colquhoun, Maureen bio from Wikipedia
~ Goodman, Amy (1985) The Case Against Depo Provera, Multinational Monitor 6 (2/3)
~ Margaret ThatcherArchive
~ Orbach, Susie, bio from London School of Economics
~ Phillips, Angela (2004) Defending Women’s Right to Choose, Socialist Worker 1926, Vol 6 November 2004
~ Sutcliffe, Peter – overview of the “Yorkshire Ripper” case, from the BBC

Additional external sites of interest:

~ Cohen, Steve – Solidarity Not Pity, from Deletetheborder.org (Cohen defended Nasira Begum)
~ Coultas, Val (1981) Feminists Must Face the Future, Feminist Review, No. 7 (Spring, 1981), pp. 35-48
~ Fat is Still a Feminist Issue(2002) Shanghai Daily Star (Interview with Susie Orbach)
~ Harriss, Kathryn* (1989) New Alliances: Socialist-Feminism in the Eighties. Feminist Review, No. 31, The Past before Us: Twenty Years of Feminism (Spring, 1989), pp. 34-54
~ London Women’s Liberation Campaign for Legal and Financial Independence and Rights of Women* (1979) Disaggregation Now! Another Battle for Women’s Independence. Feminist Review, No. 2 (1979), pp. 19-31
Whittle, Louise (2004) Why Feminism? Worker’s Action 27
~ Women in the House of Commons

Organisations / Campaigns

• Agricapital Women’s Group, Sheffield

• Campaign for the Abolition of Prostitution Laws (a WFH group), London

• Campaign Against Depo Provera, London

• Defend Nasira Begum from Deportation Rally, Manchester

• Feminist Social Work Support Group, London

• Friends of Nasira Begum – Manchester created to defend Nasira Begum against forced deportation under racist and anti woman immigration laws

• Friends of Said Bibi – Rochdale created to defend a woman facing deportation to Pakistan

• Housewives in Dialogue (a WFH group), London

• International day of action against forced sterilisation and for abortion and contraception (International Campaign for Abortion Rights), London

• Maureen Colquhoun Action Committee, London

• Women Against Media Myths, (WAMM) Bristol

• Picket of Marylebone Magistrates Court during the trial of the ‘Soho Sixteen’, sixteen women who had been arrested during the London Reclaim the Night march.

• Protests against the Corrie Bill at the House of Commons leads to a ‘women’s riot’ outside the House of Commons and a few of the protesters are held briefly by the police.

• Re-covering of Susie Orbach‘s Fat is a Feminist Issue in bookstores after the publishing company issued a cover that suggested it was pro-diet!

• Patriarchy Study Group, London/Leeds/various places

• Scottish Women’s Defence Fund, Edinburgh

• Week of Action Against Violence Against Women (Women’s Aid, WAR), Birmingham, Leeds

* Athens or similar subscription may be required to view content in peer-reviewed journals
Feminist Archive North accepts no responsibility for content on external sites

Social Context / Legislation

• THE CORRIE ABORTION BILL
Corrie’s Bill raises the same issues as the unsuccessful Braine Bill in 1978. It proposes to reduce the upper time limit from 28 to 20 weeks. Abortions within that time frame would only be allowed if necessary to preserve the life of the mother, or if two doctors certify that the child would be born severely handicapped. The bill also proposes to widen the ‘conscience clause’ so nurses and doctors could refuse to do abortions for any reason, not just religious and ethical reasons. It also proposes to cut links between referral agencies and clinics.

• Margaret Thatcher becomes Prime Minister

Conferences

Regional

~ South West Regional Women’s Liberation Conference, Plymouth

~ Yorkshire Regional Women’s Liberation Conference, Sheffield

Socialist Feminist

~ Socialist Feminist Conference, London

~ North West Regional Socialist Feminist Conference, Preston (1)

~ North West Regional Socialist Feminist Conference, Bolton (2)

~ North West Regional Socialist Feminist Conference, Manchester (3) On: Socialist Feminist Strategy and Tactics

~ Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Socialist Feminist Conference, Leeds, on Women and New Technology

Radical / Revolutionary Feminist

~ National Revolutionary and Radical Feminist Conference, Leeds

~ Radical Feminist Conference, London

Sexuality / Sexual Politics

~ Women, the Law, and Sexuality (ROW), Sheffield

Violence Against Women

~ WAF(E) National Conference, Cambridge

~ WAF(E) National Conference, London

Workplace Issues

~ Maternity Leave and Workplace Nurseries (NALGO), London

~ National Homeworking Campaign Conference, London

~ Sex Discrimination Act and How to Use It (ROW), London

~ Women Artists Conference, Leeds

~ Women in Bookselling, Manchester

~ Women’s Conference: National Union of Teachers, London

~ Women in Education Conference, London

~ Women in Entertainments Conference, London

~ Women’s Liberation in Youth Work Conference, Nottingham

~ Women and Manual Trades National Conference, Leeds (1)

~ Women in Manual Trades National Conference, Edinburgh (2)

~ Women in Sport Conference, London

~ Women Working with Young People Conference, Nottingham

Reproductive Rights

~ NAC National Conference, Nottingham

~ NAC National Conference, Manchester

Other

~ Images of Women, London

~ Nice Girls Aren’t Naughty, Colchester

~ ROW Conference on Illegitimacy, London

~ Social Work Practice from a Feminist Perspective, Warwick

~ Women in Action National Conference, Birmingham

~ Women Against Racism and Fascism Conference, London

~ Women’s Centres Conference, York

~ Women, the Cuts and the State, Edinburgh

~ Women in the Fifties Conference, Birmingham

~ Women and Health Conference, Hempstead

~ Women in Iran Conference, London

~ Women and Ireland Conference, London

~ Women’s Issues and Television, London

~ Women and Science, Birmingham

~ Women and the State, London

~ Women’s Studies (WEA), London

~ Young Women’s Conference, London

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Feminist Archive North accepts no responsibility for content on external sites

Bradford / Leeds

• The Bradford Marxist/feminist reading group ends. Two of its members begin a feminist reading group for women in the Bradford area. This group runs for 12 years.

• Bradford Rape Crisis starts up
“This group arose from the Reclaim the Night events, and a desire to do something concrete for women who have been raped (Bradford WL Newsletter 1978, No. 3: 4)

• Other Bradford WL groups:
Women’s Discussion Group, women’s disco, women’s health

• Bradford Women’s Aid charity shop and Advice Centre/Women’s Liberation Centre starts up. Lasts briefly, and is set up again in another location in 1981.

• Leeds Animation Workshop completes its first film, “Who Needs Nurseries? We Do!”

• Leeds Rape Crisis starts up

• Feminists Against Nuclear Energy, London & Bradford

• Reclaim the Night Group, Leeds

• Women Against Racism and Fascism, Leeds

• The Corner Bookshop in Leeds, and the Fourth Idea Bookshop in Bradford (feminist/left bookshops), are attacked by the National Front.

External sites cited on these pages:

~ Additional Personal Allowance for wife’s incapacity, from HM Customs & Revenue
~ Association of Radical Midwives
~ Black Women for Wages for Housework
~ Bradford Rape Crisis
~ Bradford Women’s Aid
~ Feminist Archive South
~ Leeds Animation Workshop
~ Louise Brown’s 25th birthday, from BBC News
~ Women’s Studies International Quarterly

Additional external sites of interest:

~ Review of the ‘Household Duties’ Test listing from British Official Publications (BOPCRIS)

* Athens or similar subscription may be required to view content in peer-reviewed journals
Feminist Archive North accepts no responsibility for content on external sites

Journals

• Association of Radical Midwives Newsletter, Cambridge

• AWAZ (Asian Women’s newsletter), Middlesex

• Hunky Dory, Nottingham

• Link (Communist Party), London

• MsPrint, Dundee

• NOOL News, London

• Revolutionary and Radical Feminist Newsletter (Rev/Rad), Leeds

• Sequel, London

• Women Against Racism and Fascism Newsletter, York

• Working Class Women’s Liberation Newsletter, London

• Women ‘s Music Newsletter, Birmingham

• Women’s Studies International Quarterly (now Forum), London

• Women and the Visual Arts, York

• WIRES moves from Leeds to York

* Athens or similar subscription may be required to view content in peer-reviewed journals
Feminist Archive North accepts no responsibility for content on external sites