Neither Strivers Nor Skivers, They Will Not Define Us, 2021

artist’s book, published by The Bower, London

Neither Strivers Nor Skivers, They Will Not Define Us is based on Liberty or Death, a play by activist and artist Sylvia Pankhurst, written around 1913. It details the struggles for better living and working conditions, as well as the right to vote, of the East London Federation of the Suffragettes. The book documents meetings I held in women’s centres and community spaces in 2018 and 2019, through drawings and a series of moving dialogues between contemporary activist groups that campaign in ways similar to the protagonists of Pankhurst’s play. By applying their knowledge of political organising today, the groups bring forth aspects of the script that relate directly to their own experiences of campaigning against gender-based violence, benefit cuts, the asylum system, and for decent housing, among other issues. They outline the return of nineteenth-century conditions and attitudes, which for some is a direct result of the British Conservative government’s austerity policies – put into place since 2010 – and for others the notoriously racist ‘hostile environment’ policy adopted by the Home Office under Theresa May.

In 2018, Britain celebrated the centenary of full suffrage for (some) women. However, to what extent the situation has really improved as a result of access to parliamentary representation remains a pressing question. What we can learn from the words of both Sylvia Pankhurst and the contemporary women documented here, is that the vote was far from being an end goal for feminism, and was instead a step on the road to a much larger transformation of society which is still ongoing.