Socialists and the fight against rape culture, misogyny and women's oppression

These are very useful contributions to the discussions in the women's movement.
I completely agree with Lisa that the struggle against women's oppression and for emancipation has to be absolutely central to socialist politics today for the movement to advance. This has been the case for some time now, but one could argue that today, to compromise or to under-estimate the importance of this question, is a huge political error.
This includes the struggle against violence against women (VAW). It's becoming more and more apparent, in very practical ways, that the struggle against VAW is a part of the struggle against the system. This ranges from violence in the 'private' to the public sphere. It's perhaps more apparent in the public sphere, with the super-exploitation of women's labor whether it be women garment workers in Bangladesh, to the 'export' of female labor from the Philippines as domestic workers, including illegal trafficking, to the institutionalisation of prostitution in the 'miracle' economies of Asia in the form of the 'sex industry'.
It's also apparent in that while governments sign up to every imaginable international treaty on gender equity (including the warlord-run regime in Afghanistan), and have laws against gender discrimination, the reality for women on the ground, and especially for poor and working class women, is starkly different. The gap between the rhetoric and the reality is enormous and is growing. As the system can't deliver, the rhetoric to cover this up, becomes even more fantastic.
While the class differences are sharp/ening, which impact on women of different classes and anti-imperialism is still a key aspect of feminist politics, nevertheless, the movement should be built around broad coalitions, encouraging maximum unity, around specific demands. This is still the best way to mobilize large numbers of women, i.e. working class and poor women.