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Kajsa Ekis Ekman
Ekman in 2023
Born	1980 (age 44–45) Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation(s)	Journalist, author
Years active	2010–present
Awards	Robespierre Prize (2010) Lenin Award (2020)

Kajsa Ekis Ekman (born 1980) is a Swedish journalist, author, and debater. She is the editor-in-chief of the digital magazine Parabol, a cultural critic at Aftonbladet, and a foreign affairs analyst for the Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen. She also contributes bi-weekly chronicles to Dalademokraten. Her works have been featured in international publications, including Le Monde Diplomatique and The Guardian.

Ekman lectures internationally on topics such as capitalism, women’s rights, and trafficking. She has spoken at the French National Assembly, the Mexican Parliament, and on Australian television. She has received several awards, including the Robespierre Prize (2010) and Lenin Award (2020).

Biography

Kajsa Ekis Ekman was born in 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden. She became involved in the punk movement during her early teens, which ignited her passion for activism. Her initial efforts focused on animal rights and anti-fascist causes.

She actively participated in the European Council meetings in Gothenburg 2001, often referred to as the Gothenburg Riots, and has remarked on the decline in activist momentum that followed. Her engagement in activism extended to environmental causes, serving as the spokesperson for the climate action group Shut It Down, which used acts of civil disobedience to oppose the fossil-fueled power plant Värtaverket.

During an open house event at Dagens Nyheter, Ekman criticized the publication's lack of appeal to younger readers, prompting editor Viggo Cavling to invite her to submit her own work. This marked the beginning of her career in journalism and sparked her broader interest in writing. She later pursued university studies in literature among other subjects.

Ekman has founded several organizations, including the climate action group Klimax, anti-surrogacy network Feministiskt Nej till Surrogatmödraskap, and Nätverket för Grekland, which aimed to support Greece during its financial crisis.

Professionally, Ekman is the editor-in-chief of Parabol and contributes to major Swedish publications, including Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet. She has also written for international outlets like Le Monde Diplomatique and The Guardian.

Ekman lectures internationally on topics such as capitalism, women’s rights, surrogacy, and prostitution. Her speeches have been delivered at the French National Assembly, the Mexican Parliament, and on Australian television. She has received notable recognition for her work, including the Robespierre Prize in 2010 and the Lenin Award in 2020.

Recognized for her progressive stance, Ekman, "generally left-wing," continues to contribute to discussions on pressing social and political issues through her writing, public speaking, and activism.

Books

Ekman made her debut as an author in 2010 with the book Being and Being Bought, subtitled "Prostitution, Surrogacy and the Split Self". The book examines issues of prostitution and surrogacy, exploring their impact on individuals and society. It received mixed reviews, and her stance against surrogacy sparked debate. Maria Sveland described it as "one of the year's most important books" in Dagens Nyheter, while others critiqued its arguments. The book has been translated into several languages, including English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian. The ensuing debate led the Left Party and Feminist Initiative to take stances against surrogacy in Sweden.

In 2014, Ekman published Skulden: Eurokrisen sedd från Aten (approximately "The Debt: Eurocrisis perceived from Athens"), which examines the economic crisis in Europe and the Greek government-debt crisis from a Greek perspective. The book critiques stereotypes, such as the "lazy Greek" narrative, and highlights structural inequalities in EU financial policies. The book was well-received, with Andres Lokko of Dagens Nyheter describing Ekman as "efficient and pedagogical" in her ability to make complex economic issues accessible even to readers with no prior knowledge. Lokko praised her for elucidating the series of events leading from bankruptcy threats to EU policies and banks' decision-making, especially the German banks' roles. The book was translated into Greek under the title κλεμμένη άνοιξη (approximately "The Stolen Spring") by KEDROS Publications. For her work, Ekman was awarded the 2015 Swedish-Greek of the Year Prize by a governmental board for cultural cooperation between Sweden and Greece.

In 2021, Ekman published On the Meaning of Sex: Thoughts about the New Definition of Woman, which critiques contemporary understandings of gender. The book received a polarized reception: some praised it for addressing important issues in feminism, while others criticized its arguments as exclusionary or controversial. Prominent feminists like Nina Björk and Yvonne Hirdman praised the book, but it also drew criticism from organizations like RFSL, which published a list of alleged inaccuracies in the book.

Activism and Advocacy

Early Activism: Animal Rights and Anti-Fascism

Kajsa Ekis Ekman has been actively involved in a wide range of social and political causes. Early in her activism, she participated in animal rights and anti-fascist movements and took part in the protests during the European Council meetings in Gothenburg 2001, often referred to as the Gothenburg Riots. Her activism has spanned across environmental, social justice, and feminist issues.

Environmental Activism: Värtaverket Protests

Ekman served as the spokesperson for the climate action group Shut It Down, which used civil disobedience to oppose fossil fuel reliance, including the operation of the Värtaverket power plant. She co-founded the anti-surrogacy network Feministiskt Nej till Surrogatmödraskap and Nätverket för Grekland, an initiative to support Greece during its financial crisis.

Högdalen swimming pool

In 2010, Ekman protested the privatization of public services by listing the bathtub of Stockholm's Municipal Commissioner for Sports, Regina Kevius, for sale on the online platform Blocket. She argued that selling public facilities, like the Högdalen swimming pool, was akin to selling personal property that belonged to the community.

Israel

Ekman argues that Israel as a state is "built on occupation, the displacement of people, and apartheid" and that this should be criticized.In the summer of 2015, she participated as an activist aboard one of the ships in the Ship to Gaza campaign to protest against Israel's blockade of Gaza. The ship was overtaken by the Israeli military, and she was subsequently detained for a week in Giv'on Prison in Ramla.

Illegal adoptions

In 2018, Ekman revealed in an article in Aftonbladet that children had been stolen from China for adoption when politician Ulf Kristersson had a tenure as chairman of the Swedish Adoption Center. He has since become the leader of the Moderate Party and further on Prime Minister of Sweden. Over thirty children were placed from orphanages involved in human trafficking. The article was followed up by a report in Dagens Nyheter in 2022, which showed that Kristersson was aware of the suspicions. Ekman expressed surprise that no investigating journalists had picked up the story.

Workers' Rights: Labor Market critique and Arbetarbloggen initiative

Ekman has also been active in advocating for workers' rights. During her tenure at the newspaper Arbetaren (The Worker), she initiated Arbetarbloggen, (The Worker's Blog) a platform for workers to share their experiences anonymously. Although the newspaper did not launch the project, Ekman later independently established the blog to encourage dialogue about workplace realities.

In several articles, Ekman has written about the class society and the growing social disparities. She has criticized, among other things, why work-related accidents involving workers do not receive any attention in the media, as in this article from 2020: "There are no online threads where hobby detectives try to figure out what happened. It doesn't become a political issue where parties try to outdo each other in who does the most. And companies are almost never prosecuted for causing the deaths of workers. It's as if the whole of Sweden silently accepts that our country should be built at the expense of sacrificing workers, especially Eastern Europeans."

Views on capitalism and robotization

Ekman has given a TEDx talk on capitalism. In her speech, she explains that she sees the past thirty years as a right-wing offensive, where capitalists have sought to recover the lost profits of the oil crisis through three strategies. First, by privatizing and infiltrating the welfare sector, second, by engaging in banking and speculative activities to a greater extent, and third, by lowering wages and/or relocating to low-wage countries. In the Swedish Television program Idévärlden in 2017, she states that capitalism is anarchistic by nature.

Controversies and Criticism

Ekman's work has frequently sparked debate, particularly on topics related to gender, feminism, and politics. Her 2020 book, On the Meaning of Sex: Thoughts about the New Definition of Woman, critiquing the contemporary understanding of gender, has been both praised and criticized. Some feminist scholars, such as Nina Björk and Yvonne Hirdman, supported her arguments, while organizations like RFSL (a Swedish LGBTQ advocacy group) issued detailed criticisms.

Her participation in events hosted by Women's Declaration International (WDI), which campaigns for women’s sex-based rights, led to criticism. Some media outlets have described WDI as controversial, although the group defines itself as protecting women's rights in international law.

In 2022, her tenure at ETC, a Swedish left-wing magazine and publisher, ended abruptly following the publication of an article in which Ekman critiqued The Kyiv Independent, alleging financial ties to foreign governments and connections to the Azov Brigade. Critics accused her of reproducing Russian propaganda during the Ukraine war, a claim she and the publication’s editor denied. The incident sparked a debate about freedom of speech and editorial responsibility.

In the same year, her appointment as editor-in-chief of Arbetaren faced significant pushback, resulting in her dismissal. Ekman challenged the dismissal in court and won, with the court ruling her termination unlawful.

Awards and Recognition

• 2010 – Robespierre Prize
• 2015 – Swedish-Greek of the Year, appointed by "Nämnden för kulturellt samarbete mellan Sverige och Grekland", an Governmental board för cultural cooperation between Sweden and Greece.
• 2016 – Sara Lidman Award
• 2020 – Lenin Award

Bibliography

• Being and Being Bought: Prostitution, Surrogacy and the Split Self (Varat och varan : prostitution, surrogatmödraskap och den delade människan. Stockholm: Leopard. 2010)
• Skulden : eurokrisen sedd från Aten. Stockholm: Leopard. 2013
• Texter 1998–2015. Perspektiv ; 1. Stockholm: ETC Förlag. 2015
• On the Meaning of Sex: Thoughts about the New Definition of Woman (Om könets existens – tankar om den nya synen på kön. Stockholm: Polaris, 2021)

References

1. "Vi som gör Parabol". Parabol Press (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 November 2024.
2. "Kajsa Ekis Ekman - Artiklar". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 November 2024.
3. "Search: Kajsa Ekis Ekman". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 25 November 2024.
4. "Dalademokraten - Kajsa Ekis Ekman". Dalademokraten (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 November 2024.
5. "Pourquoi les capitalistes n'ont rien à craindre de l'IA". Le Monde Diplomatique (in French). Retrieved 25 November 2024.
6. "Kajsa Ekis Ekman – Articles". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
7. "Kajsa Ekis Ekman on surrogacy at the French National Assembly". YouTube. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
8. "Kajsa Ekis Ekman at the Mexican Parliament". YouTube. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
9. "100% Women 100% Dangerous". ABC. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
10. "Leninpriset till Kajsa Ekis Ekman". Lenin Prize. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
11. ^ Lindh, Kristina (2 April 2021). "Kajsa Ekis Ekman: Feministerna är lurade". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
12. Rehnbergh, Rikard (3 June 2010). "Våldsam polisinsats vid miljöaktion". Arbetaren (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
13. ^ Färlin, Mårten (10 June 2016). "Kajsa Ekis Ekman: "Det borde finnas ett halvårs karantän mot mediedrev"". Resumé (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
14. Bornlid Lesseur, Marcus (14 May 2014). "En cigg i regnet med Kajsa Ekis Ekman". Lundagård (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
15. "Kajsa Ekis Ekman on surrogacy at the French National Assembly". YouTube. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
16. Erlandsson, Martin (28 January 2020). "Kajsa "Ekis" Ekman yngsta mottagaren av Leninpriset". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
17. Röstlund Jonsson, Christoffer (19 February 2016). "Kajsa Ekis Ekman: "Högdalens ägare är korkade kapitalister"". Stockholm Direkt.
18. Lindström, Linn (2012). Exploaterad surrogatmamma eller altruistisk värdmamma? En diskursanalys av den svenska debatten om surrogatmödraskap. Malmö högskola/Hälsa och samhälle. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
19. ""Being and Being Bought" at Spinifex Press website". Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
20. Larsson, Petter (27 August 2013). "Greker lata och tröga – eller?". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
21. Lokko, Andres (27 August 2013). "Kris i demokratins vagga". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 October 2024. Kajsa Ekis Ekman gör det väldigt effektivt och pedagogiskt... Även för en läsare utan ens de minsta kunskaper om nationalekonomi tydliggör hon händelseförloppet från konkurshot till EU:s och bankernas (i synnerhet de tyska) egoistiska och överlägsna beslut om Greklands direkta framtid.
22. "Klemmeni Anoixi". KEDROS Publications (in Greek). Retrieved 8 October 2024.
23. Wesslén, Andrea (16 December 2015). ""Sverige och Grekland har mycket gemensamt"". Dagens ETC (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 October 2024.
24. "100 fel i "Om könets existens"". RFSL. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
25. Lindh, Kristina (2 April 2021). "Kajsa Ekis Ekman: Feministerna är lurade". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
26. Rehnbergh, Rikard (3 June 2010). "Våldsam polisinsats vid miljöaktion". Arbetaren (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
27. Bornlid Lesseur, Marcus (14 May 2014). "En cigg i regnet med Kajsa Ekis Ekman". Lundagård (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
28. Thomsen, Dante (18 March 2011). "Hon säljer toppmoderatens badkar". Dagens Media (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
29. "Svenskana kvar i fängelset – Kajsa Ekis Ekman isoleras från de andra svenskarna". Aktuellt Fokus (in Swedish). 1 July 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
30. "Kristersson svek de stulna barnen". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 20 August 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
31. Sköld Patrik, Josefin (21 November 2022). "Ulf Kristersson fick larm om kinesisk barnhandel – adoptionerna fortsatte". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
32. Nesser, Johannes (21 November 2022). "Kajsa Ekis Ekman's new initiative lets workers tell their stories". Journalisten. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
33. Ekis Ekman, Kajsa (1 March 2020). "Arbetare dör på jobbet – men borgarna vill inte rädda deras liv". Dagens ETC (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
34. Kapitalismen är ohållbar – Kajsa Ekis Ekman | Idévärlden i SVT. Tidsintervall: 4.55–4.58. Publicerades den 13 februari 2017
35. "100 fel i "Om könets existens"". RFSL. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
36. Andersson, Elisabet (5 May 2021). "Kajsa Ekis Ekmans bok får hård kritik". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
37. "Swedish Launch of the Declaration of Women's Human Rights Campaign". Women's Declaration International. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
38. Tausz, Ben (13 September 2022). "Collaboration between transphobic feminists and the far right — some facts". Workers' Liberty.
39. Farran-Lee, Lydia (11 April 2022). "Dagens ETC bryter med Kajsa Ekis Ekman". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
40. Kadhammar, Peter (12 April 2022). "Det finns en särskild plats i helvetet för fega redaktörer". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
41. Nilsson, Madeleine (16 June 2023). "Kajsa Ekis Ekman vinner mot Arbetaren – uppsägningen ogiltigförklaras". Retrieved 16 June 2023.
42. Hamrud, Annika (4 February 2010). "Roy Andersson får Leninpriset". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
43. Weslen, Andrea (16 December 2015). ""Sverige och Grekland har mycket gemensamt"". Dagens ETC (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.
44. "Kajsa Ekis Ekman får Sara Lidman-priset". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 26 January 2016. ISSN 1101-2447. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
45. Erlandsson, Martin (28 January 2020). "Kajsa "Ekis" Ekman yngsta mottagaren av Leninpriset". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 May 2023.

External links

• Media related to Kajsa Ekis Ekman at Wikimedia Commons

• 1980 births
• Living people
• Swedish socialist feminists
• Swedish anti-capitalists
• Swedish feminists
• Swedish women writers