'An awful lot of women have joined the Labour Party, and not just to become card-carrying members. They've joined to play an active role. They are quite determined hey're not going back to be a kitchen-sink type of woman.
'We're portrayed by the press as left wing, boots-and-braces type of women. We're not. We're very ordinary; we love our husbands and we love our children. It's just that the strike has awoken in us the knowledge that even the simple things we walll Ill life we have to bloody well fight for. If that's what we're going to fight.
understand Common women feel. I heard it time and time again from stupid little men, commenls such as "I've read Greenham women, they're all lesbians."
what if they re all gay. those women are there for is so important to everybody. The fact is that there are cruise missiles in this country and they have been through hell and water to tryto stop them.
'The Greenham women have endured a lot, and they're still sticking it out. They ve even supported us. With the problems that they have, they've even found time to support us."
Margaret Vallins organised the Ateam and became a founder-member of WAG. too describes changes. 'The women's canvass team directed itself to trying to get past the men and talk to the women. Some of them stood there and just talked, about the school being closed down for example. Then they said: "We don't know anything atolE nolCs. we've got nothing to do with politics. » They didn't know what was happening to them and their children was polities.
'At the beginning of the strike women were concerned that their rent, that they had no money - not that in the future it was going to be that way lor evermore.
about their chiidren's La one muse oles.
Not only women, but istic, shall still have the it means, then over.
Greenham avi nese What see for a long time, 'Ine same thal they couldn't pay •Women now have got so involved, they' ve realised what politics is all about. They' ve realised that their little worry close education. children's jobs, their children's health, is has the strike awakened it's awakened men in this area. The mining industry's very chauvinalways has been. Now they realise that their women have kept this strike alive. Now we will work together. But we Action Group metings even though the strike is Women especially have travelled a long political road in the course of the miner's strike. The final word on the last historic 12 months must go to Toni. who said: 'If someone was to ask me what I'd seen out of this strike, that I'd wanted to quite simply I'd say I've seen socialism. It's what I've wanted that the POHT FA VICTOm Johnny Burrows, party president and Derby NUM treasurer
Socialist Action 22 March 1985
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I've seen it, and it's great." hoto: DERBY NUM