Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent

OWAAD
Formation1978
Dissolved1982
PurposeFeminist activism
HeadquartersLondon

The Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) was an activist organisation that focused on issues affecting Black and Asian women in Britain. It was the first national black women's organisation in the United Kingdom.[1] Founded in 1978 by key figures in the British black women's movement Stella Dadzie and Olive Morris, it was active until 1983.[2] Its aims were to organise and respond to political and social injustice, to issues of racism and sexism, and it aimed to highlight the presence and contributions of black British women, and bring a black feminist perspective to contemporary political thought.[3] OWAAD has been called "a watershed in the history of Black women's rights activism".[4]

OWAAD was a broadly socialist, non-hierarchical national umbrella organisation. It held four annual conferences from 1979 to 1982, the first leading to black women's groups being formed nationwide. OWAAD held a sit-in at Heathrow Airport to protest virginity tests being carried out on Asian female immigrants to test their residency and marriage claims.[5]

OWAAD disbanded in 1982 for a variety of reasons.[6][7]

  1. ^ Miller, Milo (27 November 2023). "Milo Miller introduces Speak Out!: The Brixton Black Women's Group". London School of Economics. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  2. ^ Scafe, Suzanne (2013). Donnell, Alison (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. London and New York: Routledge. p. 227. ISBN 9780415862509.
  3. ^ Thomlinson, Natalie (2016). Race, Ethnicity and the Women's Movement, 1968-1993 (PDF). Palgrave. pp. 7, 72–73.
  4. ^ Predelli, Line Nyhagen; Beatrice Halsaa (2012). Majority-Minority Relations in Contemporary Women's Movements: Strategic Sisterhood. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-137-02074-1.
  5. ^ Chohan, Satinder (2013). "black women's movement". In Peter Childs; Michael Storry (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Contemporary British Culture. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-134-75554-7.
  6. ^ Boles, Janet K.; Diane Long Hoeveler (2004). Historical Dictionary of Feminism. Scarecrow Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-8108-4946-4. Ethnic differences were the major factor in the demise of the OWAAD, but the gay/straight split and tensions between those interested in advancing women within Britain and those stressing global feminism played roles as well.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).