“When female child is born, even the eaves are crying”. I often use this proverb to recall on the “bright” future there is to be for the women here. But the impact of the state, the church, the tradition maintaining patriarchy is on no more and no less from any other part of the world. What makes it maybe more specific and makes me more angry personally is the assimilation of women’ movement and women’ activism, turning them into the worse agent of capitalism and patriarchy.
The delusionist idea to copy-paste the capitalist model (and work), and within, the western women’ and feminist way of working and ideas, made the silliest pro-patriarchal mixture of hierarchical – mass – ex socialist - structure women’ organization and the new money making – project - so called feminist groups, grow as such, and prevent radicals and libertarians of finding and making the connection with the feminism itself.

Bit of his-story
Unfortunately his-story books mostly deal with facts like who won and who lost, and fortunately this makes women absent from these books. The first women organizing here that I am aware of is from the second world war, when they became a part of the partisan struggle. That part was of course mostly nursing and cooking, but the spirit of unity was drifting among the comrades. After the war, as all became members of the communist party, all women were also members of the one women’ organization. Being atheist country saved us from the church brainwashing, but after 90s revival of orthodox christianity, the general situation of transition, poverty and confusion, and the religious ignorance made many people swallow the church dogmatic stupidity.
But lets see what we inherited as a women’ organizing. One massive umbrella organization covering local groups all over the country, represented in a once a year general assembly by local presidents most obedient to the everlasting very authoritarian president of the whole organization. The purpose of these local groups was gatherings, best housewife competition, best cake competition, celebrating 8th of march together in a restaurant and so on. What follows, somewhere in the middle 90s was division in the organization and creating two separate networks. Very soon other local groups go out, new groups started to form. Following the national tension, two-national block division, a parallel network of Albanian women is born.
The refugee crises from Kosovo and the war conflict itself in Macedonia brought vulture foundations and “humanitarian” organization here. Money, projects, new ngos (this western term incorporated in our vocabulary like we have had it for centuries) were rising like mushrooms after rain. Integration of women refugees in the new environment, psycho-social support of women refugees, multi-national workshop…money made the cooperation between Albanian and Macedonian women possible. The “privilege” to witness all this happening in the very upheaval moments, from near distance, enabled me see all the fascist, homophobic, sexist, militarist, authoritarian behavior within the biggest network of women. Till that crucial moment of war conflict in Macdonia, money was successfully keeping their mouth shut, pretending to be the wall of peace. After that they became state soldiers. This type of organization involved within itself emotions, idealism, voluntarily work, even activism, but also very pro-statist, typical patriarchal model of thinking and working.
On the other side, the new professional women’ groups that appeared, focused on different women’ issues, gave another image of feminism (not necessarily want they want to be related to this name, in fact there is still a great deal of fear and disgust from it). They made women’s issues a job, the organization – a working place. Total alienation from the personal. This was just one of the benefits of the “democratic society” to which all started to call on.

Between illusion and delusion
Women’ groups in Macedonia are nothing more then the second hand of the patriarcha-capitalist system. Their definition of “empowerment” of women means total assimilation in the system, the same one that creates war, competition, sexism, oppression. The success of the patriarchy is not that it managed to subjugate woman, but to make her think and function as a “man”. Woman is not represented by some non-scrupulous “strong” owner of chain of shops, neither some politician who thinks that 50% women on power, or when she gets the parliament seat, will bring us the ultimate welfare, neither some police women that put herself in some kind of a film to look as most frightening as possible, in fear that she wouldn’t be taken “seriously”. Those models and values do not change the patriarchal system, but reproduce it.
Any feminism?
You can probably find some in the academic feminism, gender studies, but it all stays closely related to the theory, behind the classroom doors, in the books.
Feminism and queer issue were not questions that wanted or needed to be discussed among anarchists also. Sexism and homophobia were latently present. Till recently. Of course they did not disappeared, but they are talked about. The number of people, anarchist activists here is not bigger then 15, and only few women. Still, our presence and our aggressive attitude, make feminism and queer be significant part of anarchist activism here. What we are also trying is to organize as a women’s group inside the anarchist movement and focus on specifically anarcha-feminist actions. We are still very isolated from other women. The very mainstream approach of women’ organizations, even gay and lesbian organizations, and reasons that can be read before in the text, keep the distance from some cooperation, although we are considering them as an information source.