Every year dozens of countries celebrate the first holiday of the spring – International Women’s Day on the 8th of March. Shops and city malls are full of flowers, perfume, jewels and pink/red stuff. Men run all around to find presents for their beloved wives, daughters and mothers. People wish to young girls to be pretty, always smile and find their “female happiness”. We forget about the real aim of this day, which originally was not in gifts and wishes. I made a small research on this holiday and I am going to tell you a little about it.
On the 8th of March 1908, thousands of NYC’s women went out and marched for the first time. Their demand was in gender equality in the labour sphere. That time women worked for 14 hours and earned less money than men did for 10 working hours. At the same moment slogans about gaining of suffrage started wide spreading.
A year later, on the 28th of February, America’s social party declared National Women’s Day, which was celebrated on the last Sunday of every February. In 1910, Clara Zetkin and Rozalia Luxemburg suggested a Women’s Day to be held annually, it happened in the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
On 23 of February (old style) 1917, textile workers started a protest, local Bolsheviks joined them, they were protesting against harsh working conditions. In 1921, by the decision of the II Communist Women’s Conference, it was decided to celebrate Women’s Day precisely on March 8 in memory of the participation of women in the revolutionary movements.
After some time, enthusiasm decreased. Day, when women had to participate in a marsh, turned into the day, when beauty and tenderness are carolled. Only in 1966, Leonid Brezhnev signed a document, which says that 8 of March is an official holiday.
Since 1975 the UN supports this day and declared it as International Women’s Day. There is a subject or issue, which is discussed every year. In 2019, the topic was ‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’.
erverta 