workingclasshistory: On this day, 11 August 1984, during the UK great miners’ strike, up to 25
workingclasshistory: On this day, 11 August 1984, during the UK great miners’ strike, up to 25,000 women marched in London against pit closures. Miners’ wives and others set up women’s groups to support the strike across the country, some of which formed a national organisation, Women Against Pit Closures. The strategy of the government was primarily to try to starve the miners back to work. So a central role played by women’s groups was fundraising for and collecting food and preparing meals for strikers and their families. Women also stood on picket lines, confronting a violent police force and scab replacement workers, and organise and spoke at rallies and events around the country. Without the women’s support groups, the striking miners would not have been able to remain out nearly as long as they did, which was just shy of a year by the time the strike was eventually called off. Participating in the strike had a transformative effect on the women involved, many of whom subsequently became activists, and got involved in other movements such as the feminist movement, peace movement and labour movement. In our podcast episode 13, we talk about the crucial part played by women during the strike: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/10/30/e13-women-in-the-miners-strike/ https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1782031098648699/?type=3 -- source link