Feminist Initiative (Sweden) Explained

Feminist Initiative
Native Name:Feministiskt initiativ
Native Name Lang:sv
Abbreviation:FI
Spokesperson:Agnes Lundgren and Luis Lineo
Founder:Gudrun Schyman
Foundation:[1]
Headquarters:Stockholm
Membership Year:2017
Membership: 5,500 [2]
Ideology:Feminism
Equity feminism
Position:Left-wing[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
European:European Feminist Parties Coordination Board[8]
Europarl:Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats[9]
Flag:Flag of Feminist Initiative.svg
Youth Wing:Young Feminists
Colours:Pink
Seats1 Title:Riksdag
Seats2 Title:European Parliament
Seats3 Title:County councils[10]
Seats4 Title:Municipal councils[11]
Country:Sweden

Feminist Initiative (Swedish: Feministiskt initiativ; abbreviated FI, Fi, or F!) is a radical feminist political party in Sweden. The party was formed in 2005 from a pressure group of the same name,[12] and has since taken part in every election to the Riksdag and the European Parliament. The party won its first elected representative in 2014, with Soraya Post taking one seat in the European Parliament.[13]

Fi received 3.1% of the vote in the 2014 general election, the best result in its history, and won seats in thirteen municipalities in the 2014 municipal elections – including in Sweden's largest cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm, where it became part of governing "red-green-pink" coalitions.[14] [15]

Support for Feminist Initiative dwindled, however, and the party only managed to obtain 0.4% of the vote in the 2018 general election, making it the largest political party without representation in the Riksdag.[16] The party lost four seats in the municipal elections, and did not gain any county council seats.

In October 2018, party co-founder Gudrun Schyman announced that she would step down as leader of the party at the next party congress.[17]

In 2023 Agnes Lundgren and Luis Lineo became co-leaders of the party,[18] succeeding Teysir Subhi.[19]

History

Pressure group

The original pressure group was presented at a press conference[20] in Stockholm on 4 April 2005. The announcement was preceded by a large number of rumours of a new feminist party; these were concerned, in particular, with the growing feminist movement around Gudrun Schyman, a former leader of the Swedish Left Party and at that time an independent member of the Riksdag.

Schyman is one of Sweden's most prominent political feminists, and had attracted attention when she in 2004 asked how society and men would take responsibility for the violence against women. This question came in the form of an investigation, which was dubbed "man tax" by Swedish journalists, for they assumed that was how the problem would be resolved.

At the press conference the founding members stressed that Fi was not yet a political party. The question on whether or not to stand for elections was postponed until further notice. In 2008 it was stated that the organisation was a political party that would stand in elections. In 2009 Feminist Initiative stood for the European Parliament election and got 2.2 percent. In 2010, it stood in the national, regional and local elections.

Political party

Following the introduction of the pressure group, things happened quickly. Six days later the Fi website announced that the association now had more than 2500 members. Regional and local groups of Fi were announced on the website regularly. Fi's first annual national conference was held in Örebro on 9–11 September 2005, and some 200 motions were submitted.

The inaugural assembly gathered some 350 members (still lacking a formal structure, the participants choose to regard themselves as independent members rather than delegates from regions or local groups). The agenda included three major decisions: the establishing of a political party, formulation of a party agenda and organisational matters (notably a decision on chairperson). On 9 September 2005 the decision was taken to organise as a political party and stand for the parliamentary general election in 2006. The party's first executive committee included Ann-Marie Tung, Anna Jutterdal, Cecilia Chrapkowska, Gudrun Schyman, Helena Brandt, Lotten Sunna, Maria Jansson, Monica Brun, Monica Amante, Sandra Andersson, Sandra Dahlén, Sofia Karlsson and Tiina Rosenberg.

Media also focused attention on what came to be called "the decision to campaign to abolish marriage" and the current state-recognised cohabiting partnerships, and instead introduce a new Cohabitation Act (Swedish: sammanlevnadsbalk) which would encompass a new legal status for private relationships between more than two people, irrespective of gender, thereby raising the possibility of legally recognising polygamy. In the event the decision was to enlarge the marriage law so as to include any form of voluntary cohabitation.

Regarding the organisational matters, the conference decided to appoint three executive committee members as their spokespersons (Swedish: talesperson). So far it has, however, not been made clear to the public what the powers and functions of these spokespersons are. It was also decided that men could hold offices within Fi, whereupon two men were elected to the executive committee.

Professor Tiina Rosenberg was accused of plagiarism by political scientist Johan Tralau, citing a 2000 book review of Rosenberg's Byxbegär ('Wearing the trousers').[21] [22] After a review of the alleged errors in the book, Rosenberg's faculty at Stockholm University deemed the matter unnecessary to investigate further. Rosenberg left Fi in October 2005, citing media attention and criticism directed toward her research and person as the reason, claiming to be the target of a deliberate antifeminist campaign instigated by right-wing lobbyists.[23]

Some of the statements attributed to Tiina Rosenberg, such as "women who have sex with men are traitors to their sex" were criticized as too radical for the party by some other leading Fi members like Susanne Linde and Ebba Witt-Brattström as well.[24] This led to worsening personal conflicts within the party, with both Linde and Witt-Brattström distancing themselves from the party.[25] [26]

On 1 March 2006, Liberal People's Party's MEP Maria Carlshamre defected to Feminist Initiative, while remaining within the liberal ALDE group. She explained her defection by citing "a lack of consideration for feminist issues among her former colleagues".[27]

In 2005, Jane Fonda and Eve Ensler supported Fi by joining the election tour in Sweden.[28] Fonda also donated 400,000 Swedish kronor for the campaign.[29] In the days before the Swedish election on 17 September 2006, Fonda again came to Sweden to support the party's election campaign.[30]

Benny Andersson, one of the members of the group ABBA, donated one million kronor to the party in 2009 for its European Parliament campaign.[31]

In July 2010, the party burned 100,000 Swedish kronor ($13,000; £8,500) in a protest against unequal pay.[32] Fi wanted to draw attention to its proposal for a government fund for equal pay. The money that was burned had been donated by the advertising agency Studio Total, and the event got major publicity around the world.[33] In 2010, the Swedish electro group The Knife also donated money to the party.[34]

In July 2016, the party announced that it was officially supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.[35] [36]

In July 2018, Feminist Initiative member Oldoz Javidi was strongly criticized in Swedish media for anti-semitic remarks made during a Ship to Gaza voyage. Javidi stated in an interview that the Jews living in Israel should be moved to the USA, a remark that made journalists draw comparisons to deportations during WWII.[37] Javidi left the party following the criticism.[38]

Gudrun Schyman announced on 28 October 2018 that she would not seek re-election as party leader at the next FI party congress, although she remains on the voting ballots in case of a snap election. She will remain a member of the party.

Gita Nabavi, who was re-elected to lead the party with Farida al-Abani in 2019, said that the party is made up of a diverse range of people. She said this includes: people of immigrant backgrounds, people who are transgender (who are spokespeople within the party on cultural issues), and people who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Nabavi also said that the party is anti-racist and that the outlook was a "huge part of our ideology and our way of working".[39]

Spokespeople/leaders

Public support and election results

According to surveys made in 2005, as many as 10% might vote for the party. In the 2006 general election, the party received 0.68%. The reason for Fi's drop in popularity is believed by some to have been a result of increased radicalism in its platform and its activities.[40] A party needs 4% to get into the Riksdag (Swedish parliament). In the 2009 European elections, the party improved its result, getting 2.2% of the national vote. However, this was not enough to get a seat in the European Parliament. It has been speculated that one reason for the improvement was the one million kronor donation made to the party by former ABBA member Benny Andersson.[41]

In the 2010 election, Fi saw a slump in support, compared to 2006, falling from 0.68% to 0.40% of the vote.[42] Fi became the third-biggest party in the southern municipality of Simrishamn, with 8.9% of the votes, giving them 4 seats in the city council.[43]

The 2014 European Parliament election proved to be the party's most successful election so far; it attracted 5.3% of the national vote in Sweden, with Soraya Post taking one seat as an MEP.[13] In June 2014, the party announced that its single MEP would join the Socialists and Democrats group in the European parliament.[44]

They appeared in the 2014 Swedish General Election on 14 September.[45] In its campaign, the party was supported by American recording artist Pharrell Williams[46] and by Benny Andersson.[47] Despite missing the electoral threshold, the Fi received by far the largest share of votes outside of parliament, with 3.12%. It also greatly increased its share of representation in municipalities, gaining seats in 13 municipalities.[48] [49]

In the 2022 Swedish municipal elections, the party was reduced to just three city council seats across the country.[50]

YearVotes%Seats+/–Notes
200637,9540.7 (#9)New
201024,1390.4 (#10) 0
2014194,7193.1 (#9) 0
201827,7170.4 (#9) 0
20223,1570.05 (#16) 0
YearVotes%+/–SeatsNotes
200970,4342.2 (#11)
2014204,0055.5 (#9) 3.3Best result to date
201932,1430.8 (#9) 4.7

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. The decision to run for election to the Swedish parliament was taken at congress, 9 September 2005.
  2. News: Sjunkande medlemsantal oroar inte Schyman . live . . 23 February 2018 . 27 February 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180226163952/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/sjunkande-medlemsantal-oroar-inte-schyman/ . 26 February 2018 . sv.
  3. News: Parties: Feminist Initiative . live . "The party originally said it was going to transcend the left-right political divisions. But early on, it began to show more of a left-wing profile." . Radio Sweden . 24 February 2006 . 19 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125227/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=792472 . 2 April 2015.
  4. News: Swedish feminist party launches in Oslo . live . "... the party is often criticized in Sweden as little more than a vehicle for Schyman, a maverick politician who combines radical left-wing politics with brilliant skills in self-promotion and debate." . The Local . 27 March 2015 . 6 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329073109/http://www.thelocal.no/20150327/swedish-feminist-party-launches-in-oslo . 29 March 2015.
  5. News: Feminist Initiative hopeful in election bid . live . Radio Sweden . 9 September 2014 . 19 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402133437/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=5959756 . 2 April 2015.
  6. News: Center-left holds on to lead in Swedish elections: SVT projection . live . . 14 September 2014 . 1 July 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924204457/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/14/us-sweden-elections-svt-projection-idUSKBN0H90VK20140914 . 24 September 2015.
  7. News: ABBA-Backed Feminists Poised to Make History in Swedish Vote . live . Bloomberg . 28 August 2014 . 7 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170307083620/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-27/abba-backed-feminists-poised-to-make-history-in-swedish-election . 7 March 2017.
  8. Web site: Europas feminister utmanar i EU . live . 7 August 2013 . 13 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140914024206/http://feministisktinitiativ.se/1001183/ . 14 September 2014 . sv.
  9. News: Fi till S-grupp i EU-parlamentet . live . Dagens Nyheter . 7 June 2014 . 7 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140610010449/http://www.dn.se/valet-2014/fi-till-s-grupp-i-eu-parlamentet/ . 10 June 2014.
  10. "2018: Val till landstingsfullmäktige – Valda ", Valmyndigheten, 6 November 2018
  11. "2018: Val till kommunfullmäktige – Valda ", Valmyndigheten, 6 November 2018
  12. Book: Charlotte Rosen Svensson. CultureShock! Sweden: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette. 15 November 2009. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. 978-981-4435-90-1. 29–. 13 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160617094136/https://books.google.com/books?id=RWSJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA29. 17 June 2016. live.
  13. Web site: Preliminary results of Swedish EU elections. 26 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140528100311/http://www.val.se/val/ep2014/valnatt/E/rike/index.html. 28 May 2014. dead.
  14. News: Så har Feministiskt initiativ styrt i Stockholm. SVT. 23 February 2018. sv. 24 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180224134341/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/val2018/feministiskt-initiativ-1. 24 February 2018. live.
  15. News: Fi siktar på riksdagen – Gita Nabavi ny partiledare. SVT. 24 February 2018. sv. 24 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180224141052/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/fi-siktar-pa-riksdagen. 24 February 2018. live.
  16. Web site: Röster – Val 2018. data.val.se. sv. 6 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181217125738/https://data.val.se/val/val2018/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html. 17 December 2018. live.
  17. News: Torén Björling . Sanna . Gudrun Schyman slutar som partiledare för Fi . live . Dagens Nyheter . 28 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181031171025/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/gudrun-schyman-slutar-som-partiledare-for-fi/ . 31 October 2018.
  18. https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/gotlandska-agnes-lundgren-vald-till-ny-partiledare Gotländska Agnes Lundgren ny partiledare för Feministiskt initiativ
  19. Web site: Teysir Subhi . 10 August 2022.
  20. Web site: Schyman launches "Feminist Initiative" – The Local . Thelocal.se . 6 December 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605084310/http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=1223 . 5 June 2011.
  21. Web site: Feminist professor accused of plagiarism – The Local . Thelocal.se . 6 December 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605034555/http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=2236&date=20051006 . 5 June 2011.
  22. Web site: Här är ju ännu fler plagiat, Tiina – Debatt . Expressen.se . 6 December 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070301074019/http://expressen.se/index.jsp?d=1180 . 1 March 2007 . dead.
  23. Web site: Hot mot genusforskningen tvingar mig välja bort Fi . sv . DN.se . 13 October 2005 . 6 December 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110830164426/http://www.dn.se/debatt/hot-mot-genusforskningen-tvingar-mig-valja-bort-fi . 30 August 2011 . live.
  24. Web site: Fi: "Kvinnor som ligger med män är könsförrädare" . Expressen.se . 10 September 2005 . 16 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140703005157/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/fi-kvinnor-som-ligger-med-man-ar-konsforradare/ . 3 July 2014 . live.
  25. Web site: Tiina om Ebba: "Hon ska ha en fet smäll" . Expressen.se . 27 September 2006 . 16 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924143713/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/tiina-om-ebba-hon-ska-ha-en-fet-small/ . 24 September 2015 . live.
  26. Web site: Avhopp från Feministiskt Initiativ . https://archive.today/20120525094314/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/avhopp-fran-feministiskt-initiativ_456213.svd . dead . 25 May 2012 . SvD.se . 12 September 2005 . 16 July 2014.
  27. Web site: Convicted Liberal defects to feminists – The Local . Thelocal.se . 6 December 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605094929/http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3165&date=20060301&PHPSESSID=09d79b177b573aa56fae61164f5ba868 . 5 June 2011.
  28. Web site: European Elections 2014: The Rise of Sweden's Feminist Initiative Party. Lydia. Smith. 21 May 2014. 1 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225717/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/european-elections-2014-rise-swedens-feminist-initiative-party-1449509. 3 March 2016. live.
  29. Web site: FI sätter hoppet till Gudrun Schyman. Dagens media. 1 January 2015. 26 May 2010. sv. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923223157/http://www.dagensmedia.se/nyheter/kampanjer/article152422.ece. 23 September 2015. live.
  30. Web site: Jane Fonda FI:s galjonsfigur för en dag. Metro International. 1 January 2015. 9 September 2006. sv. https://web.archive.org/web/20080228020707/http://www.metro.se/se/article/2006/09/15/13/5501-23/index.xml. 28 February 2008. dead.
  31. Book: Palm, Carl Magnus . Abba: Bright Lights Dark Shadows . live . Music Sales Limited . 20 February 2014 . 833– . 13 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160610143027/https://books.google.com/books?id=SufjAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT833 . 10 June 2016 . 978-1-78323-049-5.
  32. Web site: Swedish feminists burn cash in wage equality protest . live . . 6 July 2010 . 15 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130327143229/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10526907 . 27 March 2013.
  33. News: Olsson . Tobias . Fi! brände upp 100 000 kronor . live . Svenska Dagbladet . 6 July 2010 . 1 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210034520/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/politik/valet2010/fi-brande-upp-100-000-kronor_4958211.svd . 10 February 2015.
  34. Web site: The Knife skänker 50000 kronor till Fi . live . 1 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025046/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/val-2010/the-knife-skanker-50000-kronor-till-fi/ . 4 March 2016.
  35. Web site: Rasismen inom svensk polis kan förvärras. 13 July 2016. Sveriges Television. 13 July 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160717191638/http://www.svt.se/opinion/rasism. 17 July 2016. live.
  36. Web site: Black lives matter. 10 July 2016. F!. 13 July 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160808090500/http://feministisktinitiativ.se/black-lives-matter/. 8 August 2016. live.
  37. https://www.jta.org/2018/07/18/global/swedish-candidate-suggests-transferring-israeli-jews-to-us Swedish candidate suggests transferring Israeli Jews to US
  38. News: Fi:s Oldoz Javidi lämnar riksdagslistan . SVT Nyheter . 29 July 2018 . 31 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180731080137/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/fi-s-oldoz-javidi-lamnar-riksdagslistan . 31 July 2018 . live . Frisk . Sara .
  39. News: Isenson . Nancy . 14 February 2019 . Sweden's feminist party nudges mainstream to embrace women . Deutsche Welle (DW) . 8 September 2022.
  40. News: Swedish feminism put to the test. The New York Times. 20 September 2009. Ivar. Ekman. 20 October 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20130331044902/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/world/europe/19iht-feminism.html. 31 March 2013. live.
  41. Web site: Schyman kommer att göra skillnad. sv. 30 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20090722012526/http://www.dn.se/fordjupning/europa2009/schyman-kommer-att-gora-skillnad-1.885759. 22 July 2009. live.
  42. Web site: Val till riksdagen – Röster: Röstfördelning övriga partier. 16 July 2019. sv. Valmyndigheten. https://web.archive.org/web/20190904062146/https://data.val.se/val/val2010/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html#tabell_2. 4 September 2019. live.
  43. Web site: Alla siffrorna om valet 2010 – DN.se . 30 December 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100922033712/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/valet2010/valresultatet-kommun-for-kommun-1.1173528 . 22 September 2010 .
  44. Web site: Fi ska ingå i den socialdemokratiska gruppen i EU-parlamentet. 7 June 2014. Feminist Initiative. sv. 16 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190716113107/https://feministisktinitiativ.se/fi-ska-inga-i-den-socialdemokratiska-gruppen-i-eu-parlamentet/. 16 July 2019. live.
  45. Web site: Valprognosen: Feministiskt initiativ kan bli vågmästare. Aftonbladet. 12 September 2014 . 16 July 2019. sv. https://web.archive.org/web/20190716113105/https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/7ljBE4/valprognosen-feministiskt-initiativ-kan-bli-vagmastare. 16 July 2019. live.
  46. News: Orange. Richard. Pharrell Williams supports feminist party leader in Sweden. 15 September 2014. The Guardian. 14 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140914222111/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/14/pharrell-williams-support-feminist-party-leader-sweden-gudrun-schyman. 14 September 2014. live.
  47. Web site: Benny Andersson i Feministiskt initiativs filmserie "En röst från hjärtat". sv. 16 July 2019. Feminist Initiative. https://web.archive.org/web/20190716113110/https://feministisktinitiativ.se/campaigns/benny-andersson-i-feministiskt-initiativs-filmserie-en-rost-fran-hjartat/. 16 July 2019. live.
  48. News: Kommunerna där Fi tar plats . Anna H Svensson . 16 September 2014 . SVT Nyheter . . 1 January 2015 . sv . https://web.archive.org/web/20141107012202/http://www.svt.se/nyheter/val2014/kommunerna-dar-fi-tar-plats . 7 November 2014 . live .
  49. Web site: Val till kommunfullmäktige – Valda, Mandatfördelning per kommun . . 17 October 2014 . . 1 January 2015 . sv . https://web.archive.org/web/20180823041930/https://data.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/K/rike/valda.html . 23 August 2018 . live .
  50. Web site: 12 September 2022. Dystert val för Feministiskt initiativ. 13 September 2022. Aftonbladet.

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