Agendas
Over time, the agendas of women's movements have evolved, initially focusing on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, then shifting toward democracy, justice, and the right to live free from violence. However, these agendas have often faced tensions and contradictions. In South Africa, while women actively participated in democracy movements, they were frequently excluded from political processes. Crucial issues like reproductive rights and childcare were dismissed as "soft" political matters. The 2006 rape trial of Jacob Zuma led to significant backlash against women, with the ANC Women's League supporting Zuma instead of the victim.
In Australia, Indigenous rights movements prioritized equal pay for stockmen, land rights, and protesting Indigenous deaths in custody, often sidelining Indigenous women despite their involvement. The mainstream women's movement focused on rights like voting—granted to white women in 1901 but not to Aboriginal women until 1967—equal pay, and addressing violence. Yet, Indigenous women continued to be marginalized, even as they faced disproportionate rates of violence.
In Nicaragua, tensions arose between the women's movement and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) after the movement supported Zoilamérica Narváez Murillo in her 1998 sexual abuse charges against her stepfather, Daniel Ortega. Since then, Ortega and Rosario Murillo have shown hostility toward feminists, labeling them derogatorily.
Similarly, in other marginalized communities, there is reluctance to address women's issues to avoid betraying the broader cause. Media focus on the deaths of white women reinforces a narrative that certain women's lives—Black women, First Nations women, poor women, Dalit women—are less valued.