Clara Zetkin

“In individual industries where female labour pays an important role, any movement advocating better wages, shorter working hours, etc., would not be doomed from the start because of the atti...”

“It is out of the question that the task of socialist women's activity should be to alienate proletarian women from duties as wives and mothers; on the contrary, it must operate so this task...”

“In the women's world, as well as in the men's world, there exists the class law and the class struggle, and it appears as fully established that sometimes between the socialist working women...”

“Social Democratic and trade union organs have approved of the illegal invasion of Belgium, of the massacre of suspected guerrillas, as well as their wives and children, as well as the destru...”

“Women's propaganda must touch upon all those questions which are of great importance to the general proletarian movement. The main task is, indeed, to awaken the women's class consciousness...”

“Bourgeois society is not fundamentally opposed to the bourgeois women's movement, which is proven by the fact that in various states reforms of private and public laws concerning women have...”

“We would, however, perform an injustice to the bourgeois women's rights movement if we would regard it as solely motivated by economics. No, this movement also contains a more profound spiri...”

“The bourgeois woman not only demands her own bread, but she also requests spiritual nourishment and wants to develop her individuality.”

“For reforms ameliorate the situation of the working class, they lighten the weight of the chains labour is burdened with by capitalism, but they are not sufficient to crush capitalism and to...”

“All women, whatever be their position, should demand political equality as a means of a freer life, and one calculated to yield rich blessings to society.”

“The proletarian woman fights hand in hand with the man of her class against capitalist society.”

“What made women's labour particularly attractive to the capitalists was not only its lower price but also the greater submissiveness of women.”

“The capitalists speculate on the two following factors: the female worker must be paid as poorly as possible and the competition of female labour must be employed to lower the wages of male...”

“What practical conclusions may we now draw for our propaganda work among women? The task of this Party Congress must not be to issue detailed practical suggestions, but to draw up general di...”

“The most disastrous phenomenon of the current situation is the factor that imperialism is employing for its own ends all the powers of the proletariat, all of its institutions and weapons, w...”

“Each reform, therefore, improving the economical and political situation of the workers proves to be an arm that increases the energy with which the proletarian struggle of classes is fought...”

“These interests of the workers, as the exploited and oppressed, class of society, are the same in all countries.”

“The machines, the modern mode of production, slowly undermined domestic production and not just for thousands but for millions of women the question arose: Where do we now find our livelihoo...”

“When the men kill, it is up to us women to fight for the preservation of life.”

“We are not making this demand for the sake of a principle, but in the interests of the proletarian class.”