Comrade Woman: The Socialist Women’s Asso ciation and Women’s Political Participa tion in theSocialist Party, 1938–1968

This paper examines the role of women in leftist politics and activism in Iceland in the mid 20th-century, focusing on their involvement in the Socialist Party (1938–1968) and highlighting the challenges they faced within the male-domin ated political field of the time. While socialist women worked to carve out space for themselves in political decision-making processes, they were often met with indifference by their male comrades, who failed to fully grasp the urgency of so called women’s issues. This lack of understanding and support led to growing frustration among female socialists. The paper also explores the activities of the Socialist Party’s women’s commit tee (Kvennaráð), founded under central leadership to promote women’s participa tion in all branches of the party. The committee argued that gender equality was not just a women’s issue but one that affected society as a whole. Despite these efforts, women still struggled to gain influence within the party. A lack of genuine commitment to equality on behalf of male socialists led many of these women to form their own platforms to ensure their voices were heard, and to work closely with cross-political and more bourgeois women’s rights associations. In 1939, the Socialist Women’s Association (Kvenfélag sósíalista) was estab lished to promote its members on the boards of other women’s associations as well as to raise political awareness among women, encourage their active partic ipation in social movements, and secure their votes for the Socialist Party. The association took strong stances on international issues, including opposing Ice land’s NATO membership, while advocating domestic reforms such as improved social welfare for single mothers and more robust support systems for women engaged in both paid and unpaid labour. While debate ensued about whether separating women into their own orga nization would help or hinder their cause, the Socialist Women’s Association endeavoured to advance specific issues facing women. In addition, it served as a space where women could speak freely about political matters amongst them selves while also putting pressure on their male comrades in power to engage with the issues women were fighting for. Despite the challenges they faced, socialist women remained committed to the belief that advancing gender equality was inseparable from the broader struggle for workers’ rights and social justice.