“For me, March 8 is a day of struggle.” Christiane therefore does not have much time to give us when she welcomes us to her apartment in Lyon. This Wednesday, she will join the procession of the collective Womens rights du Rhône which organizes the mobilization in Lyon. “I remember the first demonstration we held in 1973. It was for the right to abortion. We were 50! “says this feminist of almost 80 years.
Christiane is one of the founders of a group of the Women’s Liberation Movement (MLF) of the 1970s in Lyon. His struggle began following the events of May 1968 and with the influence of what was happening in the United States. She was 25 years old. “We had to do something for women’s rights in France,” she says, adding that several groups were formed at that time. To further structure the movement, she decided with four friends from the 6th arrondissement to create “the Flora Tristan circle”. This name was chosen to “remind us that we are the granddaughters of women who had also fought in their time”, she underlines.
The fight for women’s rights is “a continuity”
The collective was interested in the conditions of housewives, “the housewives”. “We went to the markets, we held stalls, we held public meetings and we even went door to door. These are pretty much the same means of action as today, without social networks,” observes Christiane.
When asked why she got into this fight, she instantly replies: “To make things happen”. She did not hesitate, at the time, to organize clandestine abortions at home. Meetings between the members of the collective were also sometimes held at his home.
Even today, militant and feminist culture is present even within its walls. Alongside works by women writers, two pictures show women demonstrating. “This is the suffragettes,” she said, smiling. I put it next to a photo of one of our gatherings in the 1970s, to show that the fight for women’s rights is a continuity. »
A commitment of more than 50 years
“The private is political”, she slips with a wink. She says that her commitment has always gone further “than in the streets and in meetings”. “Militancy was part of our lives right down to the first names we gave our children,” recalls this mother. Her daughter and her granddaughter then inherited her feminism. “They come with me during the demonstrations”, does not fail to specify Christiane.
For more than 50 years, this former teacher has never stopped struggling. Even though, the Circle Flora Tristan, he has “run out of steam” after ten years of existence. “When the left won in the 1980s, the movement fell asleep a bit,” she recalls. I then joined anti-racist groups and then the association FIL, which specializes in welcoming, supporting and housing women victims of violence and their children. FIL then merged with VIFF and became VIFFIL since 2016”.
She adds: “Once we are launched, we are embarked and we continue, carried by the movement”.
“It’s part of me”
Christiane is aware that we must leave “room for young people” while emphasizing the importance of “transmission beyond the family”. “But in my head, I will never stop, it’s part of me”, breathes this woman of almost 80 years. And then, she emphasizes that “the fights are no longer the same” but that they “exist”.
“When I see what has been done, I have a feeling of accomplishment. The Veil law is the law of all women who fought for abortion. This right must be in the Constitution because it can always be taken away from us”, explains the Lyonnaise, quoting the words of Simone de Beauvoir “never forget that a political, economic or religious crisis will suffice for women’s rights are challenged. These rights are never acquired. You will have to remain vigilant throughout your life. »
She concludes: “So it is always necessary to fight for our rights. And I’m happy to see that many people are involved. In 2018, more than 8,000 people came to march against violence against women, it was unheard of in Lyon! »