|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
Macedonian Agenda A Study Of Women Activists In The Macedonian Community Malina Stankovska This paper was written in 1991 as part of a Graduate Diploma in Community Development. Introduction The number of Macedonian women who have worked in Macedonian As there is so much scope to improve the rate of participation by
women, I was interested in learning those factors which have enabled
activists to become involved with the Macedonian community so that
these factors could be duplicated, thus inspiring and empowering other
women to become active. This was the primary motivation for the research,
as well as the opportunity to learn of the consciousness of fellow
women activists, their experiences, trials, successes, etc. The research was conducted by means of an informal group session
to which five women activists were invited. The participants were
familiar with each other and this facilitated frank, open discussion
which proved very fruitful in response to the research question. The outcome of the discussion was that motivations for community
participation stem from a number ofinternal factors such as an expressed
need to be involved, as well as external considerations such as the
benefit which they felt they could bring to the community. One of the most significant findings of the research was the importance
of the establishment of the activists' identity as Macedonians - people
had to contend with this before they could become involved. (Appendix
1) The research enabled me to realize that to encourage the long term participation of women in this community, an educational program would be needed, both for men and women, so that their value as potential contributors to the community can be realized. Literature Review and Conceptual Framework The research undertaken had a participatory framework and used a The aim of participatory research is "to develop critical consciousness,
to improve the lives of those involved in the research process and
to transform fundamental societal structures and relationships ...
" (1. p3) According to Patricia Maguire, it is a process of social
investigation, education and action in order to share the creation
of social knowledge with oppressed people so that their social reality
can be transformed. This approach has some overlap with the feminist
approaches which also seek to generate action and social change arising
from the recognition of oppression and the identification of power
inequalities. The feminist premise of the personal being political is embraced
and the focus of the project is experiential, conforming to the feminist
view that "personal, direct experience underlies all behaviour
and action"."(2. p165) Stanley and Wise have suggested that "our consciousness is
always the medium through which research occurs; there is no method
or technique of doing research other than through the medium of the
researcher." (2. p157). I accept the position that every researcher
is a social being who brings his or her values into the research process.
My position is as both researcher and participant. My participation in the project leads to an introspective method
which is also relevant and conforms to the view of the naturalists
who believe that "reality should be represented as it is experienced
and lived, that is, for those people themselves to present their own
analytical accounts of their own experiences." (2. p167) With regard to the content of the research, A Framework of Participation
in Community Organisations by Abraham W andersman provided the most
useful tools for breaking down the elements which encourage participation.
Wandersman identifies environmental, ecological and social characteristics
of community as antecedents of participation. The most relevant to
the study of Macedonians is the social characteristics category which
refers to factors such as social networks, norms, traditions, race,
class and homogeneity. These factors will be discussed in relation
to the material derived from the group discussion. In relation to the participation of women of non-English speaking
background in community affairs, the source I referred to was Italian
Migrant Women, Participation and the Women's Movement by Anne 63 Sgro,
Pieria Stefania and Mima Risk. The most relevant point in this book
was that a history of participation in their country of origin can
work as an impetus to participation in Australia. Other theoretical works briefly referred to are Three Worlds of
Inequality Research Question To investigate the motivations, experiences and constraints of women
activists in the Macedonian community. Purpose Of Research The purpose of the research was to learn of factors which enabled
Macedonian women to participate in Macedonian community affairs as
well as to provide a forum where activists could be encouraged to
recognize their own and their peers' roles and contributions to the
Macedonian community. This exercise had the additional purpose of
clarifying the conditions which are conducive to participation so
that the involvement of a greater number of Macedonian women could
be encouraged. Objectives 1. To undertake the first research project on Macedonian women's
involvement in the community. 2. To produce a credible document to be published within Macedonian
community circles about Macedonian women. 3. To gain recognition within the community about the contribution
of Macedonian women to community affairs. 4. To raise community awareness of the potential of Macedonian women
to make a more effective and substantial overt contribution to the
community. 5. To enable Macedonian women activists to recognize their role in
challenging social norms. 6. To provide a basis for further investigation into reasons for
the lack of involvement of Macedonian women in the community. Aims To encourage Macedonian women activists to relate their experiences
in working with the community so that they can identify the importance
of their contribution and be aware of the social implications of their
activities. Accountability Accountability will be to the discussion group who will receive
a copy of the research document on its completion and will be consulted
before it is made public. Methodology The methodology I adopted was to hold an informal meeting of Macedonian
women activists, including myself, at my home. I had contacted nine
women by telephone, explaining the reason for the discussion and inviting
them to attend. Five agreed to attend and together with my involvement,
the group comprised six women. The women were all known to each other
but with varying degrees of familiarity. The sample was limited by
the specificity of the research question. My role was to facilitate the process- and I use the term "facilitate" * What are the areas and capacity of your involvement in the Macedonian
community? * What factors motivated you to become involved in Macedonian community
affairs? * Did you encounter any barriers/constraints to your involvement
and what were they? * Did you overcome these and how? * What factors made your involvement possible? * How do you see your role in the organizations you have been involved
in and in the wider community? I informed the participants at the outset that they would be able
to reflect upon the processes and content of the discussion in an
evaluation at the end of the session. In fact, the session lasted
three hours and by that time we were all happy to finish. There was
no time to do the evaluation at the end of the session, but the response
of the women to what was done was very positive. Three of them expressed
the desire to hold informal discussions like this more often, and
one woman said she thought the process was excellent and the whole
idea was very interesting. Results of Group Discussion In order to put the data into context, it is important to note that
some of the activists interviewed had considerable direct involvement
with Macedonian community organizations, whilst others had been involved
predominantly through their professional work. They had experience
in a wide range of community fields such as education, welfare, drama,
business and academia as well as in students' associations, a teacher
organization, a folkloric group, and women's organizations. Most of
the women were university educated. In posing the questions, I found that we talked of constraints,
motivations, and factors that enabled our participation just by relating
our experiences, so these questions were answered simultaneously. When asked about the factors which enabled them to become involved
in Macedonian community affairs, the responses encompassed a wide
range of reasons. Firstly, there were practical reasons such as time
availability. In addition all the married women expressed the importance
of flexibility in their family situations - that is, they had support
from husbands in principle, as well as in terms of looking after domestic
concerns, children, etc. These same reasons were factors which had constrained the involvement Another constraint expressed by some of the women with younger children
was the guilt felt at dropping children at creche, or leaving them With regard to motivations for becoming involved in the community,
people expressed their personal and inner needs as reasons which seemed
to compel them to be involved. One woman expressed "the need
to belong". Statements such as "I needed to fill a void"
were common as was the need to learn about one's identity, ie "curious
about my Macedonian heritage". When this line of though was pursued,
it was revealed that there was not just the need to belong to a group,
but to actually affirm one's identity by being active in Macedonian
community affairs. There was also the view that it was time for women
to become more involved and this motivated one woman in particular. Two of the activists who are now teachers of Macedonian expressed Further, some of the women had grown up in environments where their
fathers had active involvement in the community and doing work of
this nature just became a part of life. This can be related to the
work done by Sgro, Pieria and Risk which suggests that Italian women
had a history of this type of involvement in their homeland and so
it was not strange that they became involved here. Apart from these personal motivations, there were reasons which focussed on the benefit and development of the community. One woman said she wanted the Macedonian community to have status in the wider Australian community and that she thought her involvement would improve the quality of the activities of the organization she joined. Another woman stated that the area of her involvement was necessary
in terms of trying to improve the profile, resources and development
of community struCtures so that Macedonians would be better able to
access the services offered here. The final question pertained to the role of the women in the community
and how they perceived their contribution. Generally, they perceived
themselves as educators - of their own children, of the community's
children, as educators to people in the wider community on Macedonian
matters such as history, language, identity etc. One woman articulated
her view of the importance of the academic work in presenting the
Macedonians' side of the story in order to offset the enormous amount
of misinformation in the wider community about the Macedonian community
and who we are. Another role was that of being role models to younger girls. One
activist mentioned her role as "mother" for the children
whose parents work until late and, because they are so tired, they
have little time to spend with their children. She says she tries
to fill some of the void left by training the children in the finer
skills which is known as "kultura". No word in English meets
the meaning of this, but it is a mixture of etiquette, culture, respect,
self esteem and skill in interacting. Discussion The most significant fact to emerge from the research was the struggle
of the activists to come to grips with their identity. This is indicative
of the lack of confidence felt by Macedonians as Macedonians. One
woman, from Aegean Macedonia, expressed her feelings of shame at being
Macedonian until a few years ago. She said that she had been frustrated
at their "backwardness" and had only in more recent times
been comfortable with her Macedonian identity. Indeed she had felt
a negative Macedonian identity until she had the opportunity to learn
of the history and background of the Macedonians - something which
had not been available to her before then. Her view was shared by a participant who had grown up in Skopje (in
the Republic of Macedonia) with the idea that they were more cultured
and of a higher class than other Macedonians because of the Serbian
influence. She said that in her younger years she was ashamed to be
Macedonian, that she was ashamed of her parents as they were so typically
Macedonian and that she did not want to be a part of that scene. She
told us an example of the "off the boats", a term referring
to the newly arrived Macedonians, and their different cultural position
which had served to alienate her from things Macedonian. It is interesting that these two people, from two different parts
of Macedonia, had the view that the Greek and Serbian languages, cultures
and peoples generally were superior to that of the Macedonian. The
reasons for this are very complex, suffice to say here that the eighty
year division of Macedonian territory and the resulting racial oppression
has taken its toll on the identity of the Macedonians. Both of these women admitted to previously having limited knowledge
about the partition of Macedonia and it is interesting to note that
their negative opinions of their identities turned positive when they·
were able to learn of their history. As one participant pointed out,
"Macedonia was divided nearly eighty years ago so what exists
is Macedonians growing up and living in totally different contexts
- that is, different countries, different political systems, different
economic structures and so on. And then we wonder why in Australia
we are not united and have to struggle to be one homogeneous group.
It takes time and knowledge to reach that state." The discussion seemed to focus on these issues of identity and the
women felt a need to relate their struggles in this regard. For some
of the women who had grown up in an environment where their Macedonian
identity was positive, the need was focused more on the need to understand
and explain the reasons for the negativity. As was articulated by
one activist, "Being Macedonian is a struggle and this becomes
a part of our identity." Although there was a strong expression of the need to affirm ourselves, our potential and our contributions in the community as women, this element took second place to the need to affirm ourselves as Macedonians. This suggests that the racial oppression we feel as Macedonians is felt more keenly and renders us more powerless than our gender oppression. Ramazanoglu has stated in her work that the oppression which men
and women face together is a bridging force which helps to unite them
in a common struggle. This is certainly true for Macedonians and this
has implications for the women's movement and its relevance to women
of non-English speaking background. As both males and females share
this form of oppression, relations between them are "not reducible
to sex oppression ... but [are] often characterised by solidarity
in resistance to racial oppression." (8. p266) Achievements The achievements of the women were considerable, and there was a
great deal of natural affrrmation of the contribution of the women
in their different areas of involvement. The teachers were able to
articulate that they had seen at their schools where the Macedonian
language and culture were taught a new confidence in the children
- they were proud to be "Maco". (Appendix 2) They felt that
"It's okay to be Maco and to have this culture." This differed
to the older students who had not experienced the Macedonian language
program from a young age. The positive identity was shared by Anglo-Australian
teachers. There was affirmation by the group at the enormity of this
development. The group realized that this was the frrst generation of Macedonians
who have a positive Macedonian identity and are proud of their heritage.
This is an historic achievement because, for all the racism of our
society in Australia, these children have the opportunity to develop
in a way that is still not allowed in their homeland. One of the most inspiring thoughts came from one of the younger activists
who said that "we survived 550 years under the Turks and we are
still surviving under the present divisions." There was the realization that before we can move forward as a community,
"we need to get rid of the illiterate enemy in our community".
This refers to the process of "conscientisation" which Freire
has maintained as relevant for oppressed peoples. As was aptly stated
by one of the participants, "za celi ima mesto, samo treba da
se nauci nekako ovaj narodot nas." This translates into "there
is room for everyone to contribute, but our people have to learn this
somehow." The general feeling was that the situation of the Macedonians can
only improve and that the work we had done had made a difference. The next most striking outcome was the very solid awareness amongst
us of the problems encountered as a result of our gender. There were numerous examples related by the women which illustrated
their feeling of being inferior. One activist shared with us an incident
regarding a meeting of about six men at her home. She placed drinks
and savouries on the table as was expected of her, but when she tried
to contribute to their conversation, she was told openly by one of
the men that she was a woman and that she should not speak. The group
participants were indignant, saying that on the one hand they were
expected to stand up as professionals and advocate for the needs of
the Macedonians whilst on the other hand they were told that they
had nothing to contribute simply on the basis of their gender. As
one of the participants said, "Our men have been conditioned
to think that our women have no intelligence" and "men are
ignorant of women and that is why a lot of problems exist- they simply
do not know any better." Many other instances were related illustrating perceptions regarding
the position of women in the community. (Appendix 3) Frustration was expressed with the culture in its imposition of rigid
sex roles. The group felt that "women have brains and can make
a contribution, but unfortunately, our culture does not recognize
this." One of the most powerful ways this manifested itself was
with inferences made about the moral status of women who were involved
in community affairs." To be fair, this is breaking down amongst
the more progressive organizations, but some sections of the community
still entertain such myths. An example which cannot go unmentioned is that of one of the activists
at a village meeting (Appendix 4) where she was one woman in a sea
of men. Having prepared a proposal as to why she wanted to be in the
all male committee, she attempted to speak to it. As soon as she mentioned
the term "Macedonian" (in a group which saw itself as pro-Greek
despite their use of the Macedonian language) she received a tirade
of abuse regarding her moral status and was literally shouted down.
She recounted her experience of standing up, stamping her feet and
shouting "Sakam pravina, sakam zbor" (which translates into
"I want justice, I want to speak"). She was given no such
opportunity and has had to live with being judged negatively by these
people since then. This activist received accolades from the other women in the group
about her courage in such a difficult situation, and her contribution
was affirmed. This incident is very powerful in illustrating that
issues of racial oppression, which manifest themselves in problems
with identity, are actually transformed into gender-related ones and
this diverts attention from the real problem. This requires far more
analysis on a psychoSociological level and is one which would be very
interesting to pursue. Discussion around the achievements of the women led to the conclusion
that the teachers were able to contribute a visible amount as they
have control over students. Those women working directly in the community
had no such control, nor status, next to the men. One woman said she
felt "abused" by the community and had withdrawn and felt
fulfilled in her withdrawal because she had turned to academic work
which analyzed the reasons for the failure ofthe community to develop.
As was pointed out however, "You can't reach the masses by putting
pen to paper." Another issue which emerged was that of a participant who related
her feelings of inadequacy when she was about to deliver a paper on
the contribution ofMacedonian women to culture at an academic conference.
She was not confident about the academic competence of her work -
whether it would be good enough and what the male academics would
think of it. This merely reflects the inferiority women face on traditionally
male turf. As one of the participants succinctly said "We undermine ourselves
[as Macedonians and as women] because we've been so oppressed, but
we have to keep telling ourselves that we are good, worthy ... we
must fight back." The final point worth mentioning is the support the women had given
to their husbands in the latter's community involvement by raising
and taking responsibility for children. This was acknowledged by the
group as a form of activism as it nurtured the culture and was seen
as fundamental to involvement by future generations. The meaning of
activism thus took on a new dimension, and if this meaning is accepted
the involvement of women becomes quite extensive. This becomes problematic
as it changes the entire meaning of the research from what was intended.
For that reason, I felt that it would be appropriate to acknowledge
the importance of this support work which is not recognized in the
mainstream of Macedonian community affairs, and also to name it as
basic for activism. Appendices Appendix One Despite the partition ofMacedonia in 1913 by the Treaty of Bucharest, the Macedonian people in all four parts of Macedonia are a nation with the same language, culture and history. Appendix Two A Macedonian language program where the Macedonian language and
culture are taught as part of the normal school curriculum from grade
prep through to grade six exists at Thomastown West Primary School
in Appendix Three At a Macedonian Conference in 1991 there were some fundamental problems
with the organization which reflected the marginalization of women. The first example of this was the lack of women speakers at the
opening ceremony. The next example was the scheduling of workshops.
There were workshops on human rights issues and community issues and
these were scheduled at the same time as workshops on women's and
aged issues, welfare and education. This served to inhibit the attendance
of women at the "male" workshops due to their involvement
professionally in traditionally female areas. In another incident,
female activists were not acknowledged appropriately at a social function.
The male activists were acknowledged by the positions held in their
organizations. The women activists were not. Appendix Four The Macedonians in Australia originate largely from villages in rural areas of Macedonia. In order to retain links with their village folk, many organizations have formed in Australia around these village identities. Bibliography 1. Doing Participatory Research - A Feminist Approach, by Patricia
Maguire, University ofMassachusetts, USA, 1987. 2. The Research Process, in Breaking Out, by L Stanley and S Wise,
RKP, 3. What is Feminist Theory?, in Feminist Challenges, by C Pateman
and E Gross, Alien and Unwin, Sydney, 1986. 4. An Overview of Feminist Research Perspectives, in Gender Reclaimed,
H Marchant and B Wearing eds, Hale and Ironmonger, Marrickville, 1986. 5. Feminist Research- A Voice of our Own, in Gender Reclaimed, H
Marchant and B Wearing eds, Hale and Iremonger, Marrickville, 1986.
6. Method, Methodology and Epistemology in Feminist Research Processes,
in Feminist Praxis, L Stanley ed, Routledge, London, 1990. 7. Italian Migrant Women, Participation and the Women's Movement,
by A Sgro, S Pieria and M Risk, in Second Women and Labour Conference
Papers, La Trobe University, Melbourne, 1980. 8. Three Worlds oflnequality- Race, Class and Gender, by C Jennett
and R Stewart, Australia, 1987. 9. Fish out of Water, by Anna Attard, Report of the Women's Ethnic
Network of Victoria, Melbourne, February, 1990.
Macedonian Agenda Copyright: 1995
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |