Irène Kaufer (26 February 1950 – 5 November 2022) was a Polish author, feminist and LGBTQ+ activist, and trade unionist.[1]

Irène Kaufer
Born(1950-02-26)26 February 1950
Died5 November 2022(2022-11-05) (aged 72)
Brussels, Belgium
NationalityBelgian
EducationUniversité libre de Bruxelles
Occupation(s)Activist
Trade unionist

Biography

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Kaufer was born in Kraków on 26 February 1950 to Jewish parents who had escaped the Holocaust. The family moved to Brussels in 1958.[2][3] In 1968, she studied psychology at the Université libre de Bruxelles.[4] On 11 November 1972,[5] she took part in the journée des femmes in Brussels, which began her feminist activism.[6]

A member of the lesbian community, she commenced her activism with the group Biches Sauvages, which was later renamed Homo-L.[4] She took part in the foundation of a women's house on Rue du Méridien 79 in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.[6]

After working for a cultural trade company for the majority of her career, Kaufer finished her career as a project manager at Garance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of gender-based violence and promotion of feminist self-defense.[7] She regularly contributed to the feminist magazine Axelle,[8] as well as occasionally to other publications.[9]

Irène Kaufer died in Brussels on 5 November 2022, at the age of 72.[10]

Bibliography

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  • Fausses pistes (1996)
  • Parcours féministes (2005)
  • Déserteuses (2015)
  • Dibbouks (2021)

References

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  1. ^ "L'autrice et militante féministe Irène Kaufer est décédée". RTBF (in French). 6 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Irène Kaufer". Academia-EME (in French).
  3. ^ "Irène Kaufer". Babelio (in French).
  4. ^ a b "Irène Kaufer : le féminisme lesbien". YouTube (in French).
  5. ^ "Pourquoi la Belgique fête-t-elle les femmes le 11 novembre?". VRT (in French). 11 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b Denis, Marie; Van Rokeghem, Suzanne (1992). Le féminisme est dans la rue, Belgique 1970-75 (PDF) (in French). Brussels: POL-HIS. ISBN 2-87311-009-0.
  7. ^ "Nos prochaines activités". Garance (in French).
  8. ^ "À propos". Axelle (in French).
  9. ^ "Irène Kaufer". La Revue nouvelle (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  10. ^ Hovine, Annick (6 November 2022). "Irène Kaufer, autrice et militante féministe, a rejoint son "dibbouk"". La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved 7 November 2022.