Antwerp 2025

Topic: Artistic and strategic plan for the 2025 trajectory

Discussed issues:

• Feedback on the ‘Behind the Scenes’ video;
• Brainstorming on strategies to promote the international reach of the Second Tribunal in 2026, such as academic networks and venues;
• Update on planned artistic workshops, which will include: writing workshops, jam sessions, forum theatre and feminist photography;
• Update on the visual concept of the year: ‘Our Hands’;
• Dissemination strategies beyond our regular meetings, such as: public performances, recording the authorial songs in a studio session to promote them in public platforms; a video clip.
• Coordinate with the city of Antwerp to ensure proper organisation and support for the Second Tribunal, including partners.

Questions:

• How can we record and promote the creative material we have developed to be available after the performances?
• What strategies can we use to expand our community to strengthen the women’s rights movement in Antwerp and beyond?

This year we shall write the 2026 Hymn that we can sing together when we march in the 8M after the Tribunal. We, women from all over the world, take all our signs and sing; a song that everybody can sing.

The idea of women as predators is a very convenient myth that has been spread through centuries. The moment women start to assert themselves, patriarchy – at times through organised religious movements – quickly gets the word out, and then the women are damned.

Topic: Women’s health and the effect of patriarchal influence on medicine and healthcare

Discussed issues:

• Need of more research efforts to address gender-specific health issues like the lack of medication testing for women;
• Need for more gender-sensitive medical care, with a focus on issues such as heart disease in women, hormonal health, and gender disparities in medical treatment;
• The lack of understanding of female anatomy, including the clitoris, has been pointed out, as well as gynaecological violence and the cultural taboos that affect women’s experiences in healthcare settings;
• Campaigns targeting the taboo around menstruation in sports and advocating for better understanding in sports clubs and venues;
• Critique of the patriarchal foundations of modern Western medicine, where even female doctors are trained within a male-dominated system;
• Differences in the biological cycles of male and female bodies with a focus on menopause as an empowering phase, not just a medical condition;
• Impact of education about hormonal cycles, menstruation, and menopause for empowering women as it enhances their mental health, decision-making, and ability to advocate for themselves.
• Need for cultural sensitivity in addressing women’s medical choices, including respecting cultural preferences for female doctors or certain medical procedures.
• Importance of support networks to help women resist societal pressures, especially in the face of patriarchal structures, offering strength and a sense of empowerment.

All the guidelines, all the protocols are patriarchal. When a naïve woman starts her medical studies, she is drilled.

We need to go more to our creative to the power of our womb. That is where our strength lies as women!

We have to let women know that they are not alone. They do not have to be alone to go and fight.

Workshop: Creative writing with Valerie Himschoot

• The participants engaged with collective creative writing for the composition of new songs for the 2025 performance and the Hymn for the Tribunal26.

Workshops: Vocal and percussion improvisation

• Guided by our vocal coach Céline di Maccio, the group worked on the vocal improvisation to create new melodies for the soundtrack of our 2025 performance and the Tribunal26.
• The percussionist Sarah Van Impe proposed exercises for us to practice rhythm and tempo through body percussion.

Workshop: Poetry and songwriting with Cleo Klapholz

• Writing of collective poems inspired by the group talk to be used in the anthem of the Tribunal26 and song lyrics for our performance in Marseille 2025.
• The workshop dynamic mixes serious reflections on gender-based violence with lighter, creative exercises. The participants have emphasised the complexity of their emotional and physical experiences tied to womanhood.
• The group has explored the concept of being a woman and the double nature of this experience, where strength is coupled with vulnerability, exhaustion, and the burden of perfectionism. They develop the idea of rising after hardship, like a phoenix or a witch, highlighting transformation and the empowering aspects of struggle. They also incorporate the concept of the circle of women, with a focus on unity and connection.

Topic: A reflection on the last 50 years of Western feminist movements

This group talk was led by our guest, the scholar-activist Monika Triest.

Discussed issues:

• Monica shared her experiences in various countries and her involvement in the women’s movement, highlighting her contributions to consciousness-raising groups and her engagement with Our Bodies, Ourselves.
• The evolution of women’s health education, the progress and challenges in medical education, and the history of abortion laws and practices, emphasizing the role of women’s groups in providing safe abortion services before legalisation.
• The impact of far-right politics on women’s rights, and the need for unity and community support in continued advocacy for gender equality and civil rights.
• Critique of traditional and stereotyped gender roles, and the argument that both men and women need to change their behaviors to adapt to more equitable social structures.
• The prevalence of sexual harassment, the disproportionate impact of patriarchy on women, and the systemic challenges women face.
• The sexism inherent in language and the importance of neutral terms to promote gender equality. Different countries’ approaches to gender-neutral language were explored.
• The emotional power of art and how artistic contributions, such as music and dance, can raise awareness and impact public consciousness about feminist issues.
• A brainstorming of ideas and logistics for a project to honour forgotten women in the history of Antwerp, and highlight their contributions to science and arts.

I have been part of all the demonstrations on March 8 ever since I have lived anywhere, everywhere, and The Tribunal in 1976 was one of the most powerful ones.

Not everybody likes to read books; not everybody likes to write books. But the 2026WOMEN does something different, very creative and very exciting.

We were – and we are – part of the social resistance movement… We want one thing: liberation from oppression!

Workshop: Vocal improvisation with Céline di Maccio

• Musical work on the collective text created in the previous workshop. In two groups, the women started composing the melody and lyrics for a new song.
• Céline shared two original songs she is composing for the soundtrack of our 2025 performance and the Tribunal26.

Workshop: Forum Theatre with Giulia Ledda

• In group dynamics, we worked with three different Forum Theatre tecniques. Experimenting with words and movements, we explored the impact of gender-based violence in our lives. From news and advertisements to intimate emotions and self-judgemental thoughts, we have been able to sketch episodes of sexism and respond to them on stage.

Workshop: Singing with Céline di Maccio

• First rehearsal of the song ‘Bring Back the Goddesses’ with three voices. This song will be part of 2025 repertoire.

Workshop: Body Percussion with Sarah Van Impe

• In group exercises, we practiced ryhthm and tempo using body percussion. We started combining sentences with movements to help in the embodiment of the songs.

Workshop: Singing with Céline di Maccio

• We practiced the song ‘Bring Back the Goddesses’ with three voices, together with the newcomers.