Women Against Pit Closures and Women’s Liberation

During the miners’ strike of 1984-5 a huge movement, mainly made up of working-class women from coalfield communities, formed Women Against Pit Closures to support the strike in defence of Britain’s pits. Many activists from the Women’s Liberation Movement also got involved in supporting the strike. Relationships between the two groups were often positive, but there were sometimes tensions because of the different ways women understood gender equality and feminism. Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite and Natalie Thomlinson will be talking about their research into Women Against Pit Closures, and the lessons that we might draw for feminist activism today. You’ll hear clips from their oral history interviews with women involved, and there will be plenty of time for questions.

Visit the online exhibition to find out more.