Mothers as Movers and Shakers: The Network of Mother Centres in the Czech Republic

Published as part of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)'s Building Feminist Movements and Organisations (BFEMO) initiative, this 13-page paper explores the formation of a women's civil society movement in the Czech Republic. This nationwide network of over 250 Mother Centres works to meet the practical needs of families with young children and empower women, while collectively working on a broader set of values meant to create public recognition of women's contribution to the social fabric of society. This vision positions the network in an advisory role to the national Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as to the European Union, in debates on equal opportunity programmes and on inclusive, "family friendly" social policy.

First, author Suranjana Gupta provides background for the emergence of the Czech mothers movement: political and economic transition in which grassroots women whose central identity was as mothers found themselves marginalised by the dominant feminist movement (where empowerment was associated with participation in the workforce) and impoverished by the transition to capitalism (where workers who were also mothers were particularly hard hit by the loss of social security). As Gupta explains, the movement has its roots in the Prague Mothers Group, an informal organisation of 20 mothers whose main concern was the poor air quality in Prague and how this was affecting the health of children. Having learned through a 1991 exchange visit with the German Youth Institute (DJI) and 5 Mother Centres in Munich, the Czech mothers created their first social space for women that allowed them to collectively fulfil their caregiving roles.

The women began to use posters, pamphlets, and letters to publicise their work. They also translated and adapted the Handbook of the German Mother Centres to disseminate their ideas. From the letters of inquiry they received, mothers would gather the addresses of women and organise workshops for them to learn how to start their own centres. Women also learned about the Mother Centres through other women while shopping or visiting hospitals, as well as through radio programmes. During this initial phase of expansion, the Czech Mother Centres participated in the German Mother Centres' Congresses in 1993 and 1996, where the entire network of German mothers came together to celebrate their accomplishments, reaffirm their goals, and plan for the future. In 1997 the Czech Mothers organised their first Congress; ironically, it was the absence of the German official who had initially accepted the invitation to attend the Congress that led to a barrage of media coverage on the Mother Centres. In the period that followed, there were several articles in the newspapers, along with radio and television programmes, that publicised the work of the Czech mothers.

"By bringing childcare and mothering into the public arena, the Mother Centres were making visible the ways in which existing policies and practices leave mothers socially and economically marginalized and isolated. In addition, by creating platforms that enable 'ordinary' women to participate in public decision-making processes, they were empowering women to act as citizens and agents of change. Over the next few years, a loose network of Mother Centres was established....As the individual centres and the network evolved, the need to partner with local government grew as the women pressed for child-friendly infrastructure, safe neighbourhoods for families, and participation in local planning processes. In 2001, the Czech Mothers were one of six women's empowerment organizations to participate in the Local to Local Dialogue, a...response to the needs of grassroots groups to organize and advance their priorities through dialogues with local government. The Mother Centres have continued to organize Local to Local Dialogues and...have also taken these Dialogues to the next level by organizing a series of regional Roundtable Dialogues, a step-by-step engagement strategy for creating more equality and mutual respect between Mother Centre representatives and public officials....[W]omen are not just demanding that local authorities solve their problems, but are bringing to the table their own solutions, strategies and resources."

To illustrate one such strategy, Gupta explores the network's campaign for a family-friendly society. Launched in 2004, the campaign challenged public and private sectors to actively demonstrate their commitment to supporting families and children in the Czech Republic. The Czech Mothers rewarded and recognised public facilities and businesses that create child-friendly spaces, childcare services, and flexible working conditions for mothers. In 2006 Petr Necas, Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, agreed to participate in the Family-Friendly awards ceremony; this was the birth of a collaborative relationship with the government. A failure of negotiations with the government over the legal status of the Mothers Centers led the Czech Mothers to realise that educating the authorities was a serious challenge, and that they had to systematically plan and design their advocacy strategy. Another milestone in the evolution of the Czech Mothers and their partnership with government officials was a bus trip to Stuttgart, Germany, in 1999. The Czech delegation consisted of 14 representatives from the Mothers Centres, 6 local government representatives, the Czech Ambassador of the Ministry of the Interior, and a representative from the Human Rights Department. The idea was to expose mothers as well as government officials to the regional network of German Mother Centres, which enjoyed the support of local and national governments.

Also in 1999, the Czech Mothers joined global networks with similar principles and values; they found that this strategy "served to amplify their message and make women feel part of a larger struggle beyond their own neighbourhood and nation. In addition, leaders of the Czech Mothers saw that linkages and exchanges with members of international networks advanced the credibility and impact of the Czech Mothers in their own country." At the annual assembly of Czech Mothers held in March 2001, Mother Centre leaders were given the mandate to set up an autonomous association called the Network of Mother Centres in the Czech Republic. As of this writing, the Network focuses on bringing parenting and child-rearing into the public domain, creating dialogue mechanisms that enable citizen-government engagement and collaboration, and promoting new forms of community development and infrastructure that reflect the needs of families with children.

Reflecting on this process, Gupta claims that the Network is vibrant and expanding, with a common vision of change. She asserts that the 252 Mother Centres currently federated and formalised empower ordinary women to: negotiate for public space, finance, and equal opportunities; organise centres and manage their activities; engage in self-help; dialogue with government officials; and seek systems that respect and respond to family priorities. ("This is a significant change from being identified as beneficiaries of state-run programs or clients seeking services of professionals.") She provides examples of ways in which the Network has found ways to communicate their priorities and plans to their communities and elected officials - thereby creating platforms for civic engagment, building democracy, influencing policy, and learning citizenship. "By creating a network of scale and impact, women can now tell members of the private sector, government, and other men how they want to balance their employment and career aspirations with family and children. Women are now able to articulate the economic and political resources and support needed for them to realize their aspirations....[T]he Mother Centres movement has propelled a bottom-up discussion of what constitutes 'equal opportunity,' pointing out that it involves much more than workplace issues. They have put family-friendly priorities on the social and political agenda and encouraged diverse, multiple perspectives."

Gupta concludes by outlining several lessons for feminist organising and movements. For example, she highlights "the role of global networks of grassroots women in sharing effective strategies, affirming and encouraging women, and amplifying the credibility and impact they have on policymakers." In short, the Mother Centres Network "breaks the class and gender biases against women as mothers by creating a critical mass of every day, ordinary women...who can articulate and demonstrate the value of their unpaid work, and create peer based knowledge-sharing and empowerment processes that women can manage themselves, while advancing public advocacy campaigns that force governments and the private sector to respond to their priorities. The Mother Centres movement is thus breaking critical new ground that the feminist movement has not been able to tap."