Oral Histories of the Mujeres Libres

Italian historian and writer Isabella Lorusso presents her research on Spanish anarchist women whom she met and interviewed in Spain and France during the 1990s. These women were active in the Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI), but also established their own autonomous anarchist-feminist organisation, Mujeres Libres (Free Women), which had approximately 20,000 members. They fought Fascism and Stalinism while campaigning for abortion, divorce, education and sexual freedom, and challenging patriarchy among fathers, husbands and comrades. Isabella met founders including propaganda officer Pepita Carpena and Suceso Portales, as well as militia members Blanca Navarro and Cocha Perez, who fought at the front against the fascists. Her book “Fighting Women: Interviews With Veterans of the Spanish Civil War” was published by Freedom Press in 2020.