Radical feminism - Research Paper Example

Their sentiments attracted men, women and children to a demonstration set to challenge the matter in court, Berkshire (Jaggar, 1994). The protestors were denied a national platform to debate their issues. This was because the court was supporting nuclear weaponry. The protestors camped outside the nuclear base and inspired people from other areas where nuclear plants had been built to do the same. In 1982, thirty thousand protestors encircled the Greenham Common airbase to disrupt activities in the plant.

Protestors dared fines and imprisonment for what was termed as disobedience to local authorities (Jaggar, 1994). The authorities had tried evicting the protestors, but they could not give in to intimidation and harassment. In the peace camp, Greenham Common women devoted themselves to non-alignment and non-violence. Protestors in the camp endured poor conditions that were very trying. They lived through adverse weather conditions including rainy and winter seasons. They put up with lack of running water, telephone services and electricity.

There were constant vigilante attacks and evictions launched at them by different groups and individuals, all in an attempt to derail their endeavor. Seeing that the protest was not going to end soon, the protestors were granted national debate on the issues. This anticipated the emergence of much protest across other major cities in Europe with the intention of stopping the use of nuclear missiles. The protest fetched success including blockading convoys leaving the base for nuclear weapons practice (Jaggar, 1994).

The ultimate culmination of the success of the protest was, of course, the removal of Cruise missiles from Greenham Common. This was instituted by the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty. The treaty highlighted protestors’ grievance over the hazardous consequences that nuclear weapons have on humanity. In this struggle, Greenham Common women adopted a non-violent philosophy. This was inspired by earlier feminist personalities that had protested wars. These prior feminist protestors revolted against wars because of its adverse consequences on people and the world in general.

Such notable feminists include Emily Hodhouse, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Bertha von Suttner, the Austrian Nobel Peace Laureate. Greenham Common women upheld the principles of justice, equality and liberty. The protestors gained support in the campaign towards nuclear disarmament (Jaggar, 1994). Their supporters included E.P. Thompson, Bertrand Russell, churches and unions. These supporters provided the protestors with material donations and encouragement. Participants in the protest took the personal concerns of their ordinary lives and applied them to the national issues that the government had overlooked.

This brought new dimensions to these issues with a focus on both the welfare of the protestors and those of the world at large. They constantly told their dreams and projected how nuclear weapons threatened these dreams. The protestors feared that if they did not resist nuclear policies, the repercussions would haunt them. Greenham Common women learnt an important lesson about media coverage. They noted that media coverage of their activities differed amongst journalists and media houses. They observed that, the information which reached the general public was filtered.

The degree to which the information was filtered depended on what stake the individual editor or journalist had in