The Visible and Invisible Role of Women in Czech Dissent During the 1970s and 1980s

Sa？etak In Czechoslovakia, similarly to other socialist states in Central and Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century, various opposition/dissident groups were acting with the aim to contradict and subvert official – communist – regimes (dissidents engaged, for example, in publishing and distributing samizdat literature or organizing protests and petitions). With the help of twenty-one interviews with women from Czech dissent, this paper reflects on the basic gender relationships and possible stereotypes and hierarchies within the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia during the 1970s and mainly the 1980s. It confirms the supportive, “invisible” role of women in this sphere, but also draws attention to their active participation in dissident activities