Kvinneaktivistene
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Kvinneaktivistene (lit. 'Women Activists') is a Norwegian anti-transgender group that states that it campaigns for "sex-based rights"[1] and against "gender ideology."[2] It has faced protests and venue cancellations due to accusations of transphobia.[3] It campaigns against gender self-identification and other transgender rights, and for restricting the definition of "woman" to "biological women."[4] In its political platform, Kvinneaktivistene identifies as radical feminist, grounding its outlook in a biologically essentialist conception of women, and states that "we join (…) Reem Alsalem, who states that reproductive biological sex, and not gender identity, forms the basis for (…) the definition of woman."[1] An open letter co-signed by Kvinneaktivistene condemned "gender ideology" and said that "men are not women, and never will be" and "women are adult human females."[2]
Kvinneaktivistene has hosted a series of events opposing transgender rights and has been described as transphobic.[5] In 2023, Oslo's Kulturhuset canceled a Kvinneaktivistene event, accusing the group of transphobia.[5][6][7] Speakers featured by Kvinneaktivistene include Anne Kalvig, who supports Donald Trump's anti-trans policies,[8] on how she believes gender identity "conflicts with scientific thinking,"[9][10] and Susan Smith of British anti-trans group For Women Scotland on how Norwegian gender-critical activists could draw inspiration from the anti-transgender movement in the United Kingdom.[9][11] The event drew protests, leading to a police presence as a result of the ensuing "chaos."[3] Kvinneaktivistene said that "women's rights" are negatively affected by "gender identity ideology."[4] In 2025, Kvinneaktivistene called for a change in the law to recognize only "biological women" as women, claiming the move was needed to "save women" from "gender identity ideology."[4] An event organized by Kvinneaktivistene asserts that Norway is a "queer patriarchy".[12] Kvinneaktivistene has also organized a protest against "gender identity legislation" outside the Spanish embassy in Oslo.[13]
Kvinneaktivistene is gender-critical and is considered part of the anti-gender movement in Norway, with ideological ties to broader anti-gender currents internationally. Kvinneaktivistene has promoted anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and conspiracy theories associated with far-right discourse, including claims that "gender ideology" is a global threat[2] and that trans women are "pervos."[14] However it rejects the description as far right, claiming that there is a "campaign to brand women who defend their sex-based rights as far right."[15][2] It is one of two main gender-critical organizations in Norway, alongside Women's Declaration International (WDI), with which it shares some positions and members, although the organizations are independent of each other. In 2024, Anne Kalvig and Christina Ellingsen wrote that WDI and Kvinneaktivistene were the only groups in Norway that had protested the recognition of trans women and transgender rights, while accusing established women's organizations of "demonizing" them for their anti-trans views.[16] Kvinneaktivistene also condemned the government-appointed Extremism Commission for promoting "hate speech" and "disinformation" about radical feminism,[15] after the Commission highlighted self-identified radical feminist actors' role in anti-transgender activism.[17]
Kvinneaktivistene is a breakaway group from the Women's Group Ottar, itself with roots in the Women's Front. The Women's Front had roots in the Maoist Workers' Communist Party. Historically, the name Kvinneaktivistene was used for a 1991 breakaway group from the Women's Front which then became the Bergen chapter of the Women's Group Ottar. In the 2000s, transgender people became a significant point of contention within Ottar, who at times have promoted some gender-critical beliefs, but more hardline anti-trans activists were disappointed that Ottar refused to campaign against gender self-identification or make the struggle against transgender people a priority.[18] As a result, multiple splinter groups from Ottar and partially from the Women's Front were formed, including Women's Declaration International (WDI) and Kvinneaktivistene. Kvinneaktivistene in Bergen was founded in 2007,[19] while Kvinneaktivistene in Oslo was founded in 2021.[20]