Thread by @paddydocherty

I’ve been researching female agency in anticolonial resistance and it’s an extremely interesting subject… I’ll be publishing on this in due course but can’t help sharing some pics here… (ongoing thread)
#anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire

Firstly, Josina Muthemba Machel (1945-71), an important figure in the anticolonial struggle against the Portuguese in #Mozambique. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire #machel #josinamachel

In 1964, at 18 yrs old, Josina Machel fled the country with the aim of joining the FRELIMO resistance movement in Tanzania, but was arrested and returned to Mozambique. She was imprisoned for five months.
#anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire

She was released just as she turned 19 yrs old, and kept under police watch. A few months later, she managed to escape Mozambique again and after an arduous journey joined FRELIMO in Tanzania.
#anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire

Josina worked for Janet Mondlane, one of the founders of FRELIMO, at the Mozambique Institute. She then turned down an opportunity to study in Switzerland, in order to join the new FRELIMO Women’s Branch, where she underwent three months of military training. #femaleagency

By 1968 she was deployed to operations in Mozambique, where the Women’s Branch guarded supplies and logistics in liberated areas. It also developed into a social services provider, supplying health care and education. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire

In 1968, Josina was appointed a delegate to the Second FRELIMO Congress, where she argued strongly for the full participation of women in all aspects of the liberation struggle. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire

In 1969, Josina married Samora Machel (later the first president of independent Mozambique) and was appointed as head of the FRELIMO Department of Social Affairs. She was just 24 yrs old. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire

In 1970, Josina began suffering from stomach pains, and liver cancer was diagnosed. Declining to rest, she continued her part in the resistance struggle until too ill to carry on. She died in Tanzania in April 1971 at just 25 yrs old. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency

The day of her death, April 7th, was declared to be National Women’s Day in Mozambique and she is still celebrated for her contribution to the liberation of the country. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #empire

Also from #Mozambique, some female FRELIMO fighters (1972) as seen in the Göran Olsson film “Concerning Violence” (2014) #femaleagency #fanon #anticolonial #resistance

From what is now Zimbabwe, a pic of Mbuya Nehanda (left), a leader of the 1896 Shona rebellion against British settlement of Mashonaland. #femaleagency #anticolonial #resistance #britishempire #zimbabwe #feminism #otd

Pictured here in captivity, she was hanged by the British on April 27th, 1898, having refused to convert to Christianity. #femaleagency #anticolonial #resistance #britishempire #zimbabwe #feminism #otd

Resistance to the patriarchy is seen in the formidable, inspiring women of the YPJ, or Women’s Protection Units, the all-female force fighting against ISIS in Northern Syria alongside the YPG. #resistance #patriarchy #feminism #YPJ @defenseunitsYPJ @azadirojava

Shown here is Viyan Derazor, an Arab woman liberated by the YPJ who then joined the mainly Kurdish force. In her own words: “Like I was liberated, I will rescue oppressed women so they can have their rights.” #resistance #patriarchy #YPJ #feminism @defenseunitsYPJ @azadirojava

Asia Ramazan Antar, who fought under the nom de guerre Viyan Antar, joined the YPJ in 2014 at 16 yrs old, having escaped an arranged marriage. She set out to free the region from patriarchal oppression. #resistance #patriarchy #YPJ #viyanantar @defenseunitsYPJ @azadirojava

Viyan Antar was killed in August 2016 after fighting in the liberation of Manbij, in an attack by an ISIS suicide bomber. She was just 19 yrs old. #resistance #patriarchy #YPJ #feminism #viyanantar @defenseunitsYPJ @azadirojava

The YPJ is mainly composed of Kurdish women but has members from all Syrian groups, & some international volunteers. #resistance #patriarchy #YPJ #feminism @defenseunitsYPJ @azadirojava

Anna Campbell was a British feminist & anarchist who fought for the YPJ and was killed in Afrin in March 2018. #resistance #patriarchy #YPJ #feminism #anarchism @defenseunitsYPJ @azadirojava

Kathleen Cleaver, a leading figure in the Black Panther Party, pictured in 1968. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #feminism #blackpanther #blackpanthers #kathleencleaver

In 1966, Cleaver left Barnard College to work for the SNCC but after meeting Eldridge Cleaver, she moved to San Francisco in Nov 1967 to join the Black Panthers. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #feminism #blackpanther #blackpanthers #kathleencleaver

She became Communications Secretary, and was the first female member of the party’s cabinet. She married Eldridge Cleaver in December 1967. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #feminism #blackpanther #blackpanthers #kathleencleaver

Fabulous pic of Black Panther leader Kathleen Cleaver at home, 2777 Pine Street in San Francisco, 1968. #anticolonial #resistance #femaleagency #feminism #blackpanther #blackpanthers #kathleencleaver

The shotgun is a reminder that the Black Panther Party was originally established to patrol the streets of Oakland, armed with the weapons that the law allowed, on the lookout for racist violence and police brutality. #blackpanther #blackpanthers

Significantly, when black men armed with guns became a regular sight, California changed its gun laws... #blackpanther #blackpanthers #racism

By the early 1970s, well over half of the members of the Black Panther Party were women, although Elaine Brown (the first female chair of the organisation) quit in 1977 in protest at what she called its sexism and patriarchy. #blackpanther #resistance #feminism #femaleagency

Kathleen Cleaver is now a law professor, currently at Emory University School of Law. #kathleencleaver #blackpanther #blackpanthers #anticolonial #resistance #feminism #femaleagency @EmoryUniversity @EmoryLaw