This collection includes the recordings of 16 interviews carried out to mark the 50th anniversary of Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM) in 2020. For the occasion, the Women's Resource Centre (WRC) ran a project called 'Sisters Doing It For Themselves', funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to create a unique oral history archive documenting the testimonies of current and past leaders.
The Women’s Voluntary and Community Sector (WVCS) grew out of the Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM). The contribution of the WVCS in advancing women’s rights is largely undocumented. Many of the women who were involved in setting up women’s organisations and campaigning for change are now in their late 50s and 60s. Their struggles and achievements have remained largely invisible.
This archive illustrates the impact that the WVCS has had on the structural position of women, through campaigning and influencing. The archive will also provide insight into the impact on the lives of the women themselves as drivers of the movement.
The following women have been interviewed:
Rosalind Bragg - Maternity Action
Lee Eggleston OBE & Sheila Coates MBE - Rape Crisis
Sarbjit Ganger - Asian Women's Resource Centre
Esuantsiwa Jane Goldsmith - Healing Solidarity International Feminist Collective
Carolina Gottardo - Latin American Women's Rights
Vivienne Hayes MBE - Women's Resource Centre
Joyce Kallevik - WISH
Ranjit Kaur - Activist & Campaigner
Professor Liz Kelly - Child and Woman Abuse Studies, LMU
Marai Larasi MBE
Naana Otoo-Oyortey MBE - FORWARD
Pragna Patel - Southall Black Sisters
Mary-Ann Stephenson - Women's Budget Group
Dr Akima Thomas OBE - Women and Girls Network
The portraits of interviewees that accompany the interview recordings were taken by photographer Oluwatosin Wasi Daniju.
For more information, explore the project page.
