A Short Note on the Historical

Legacy of International Womens

Day

Despite the
original intention to mark the inspirational struggle of women against gender based
oppression at the workplace, today that key radical message and the political character
appear forgotten in a commercially driven society. Gender based oppression at the
workplace continues. Hence, this occasion provides an excellent opportunity to look at
the origins of the movement, and assess the historical progress so far made and
possible future directions of the international womens movement for salvaging its
real significance.
by Dr Lionel Bopage
Introduction
( March 8, 2015, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the West, International Womens Day
was first observed as a popular event after 1977 when the United Nations General
Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for womens
rights and world peace. Its theme for 2015 is Make It Happen with a dedicated
hashtag for social media. Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it! is
the Days UN theme for this year. Womens Day is a day of international solidarity. In
the recent past, womens equality to men and womens participation in government
and politics were highly debated issues. There had been many struggles against ruling
elites in many countries, who did not want to accept the rights of working women.

International Womens Day is also a day for revisiting the strengths and challenges
working women currently face. It is a day to honour womens advancement and to
remind the need for continued vigilance and action in the march towards equality in all
aspects of womens life. This is important because societys thoughts about womens
equality and emancipation have significantly shifted. Undoubtedly, womens status
quo has improved significantly ensuring the availability of genuine choices for women.
Hence, the focus of the International Womens Day has shifted from being a reminder
about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.
Womens current status
Many of the Generations Y and Z believe that there are no more battles that they have
to fight for. In many advanced capitalist countries, womens social position and their
rights have improved. With greater equality being legislated for women, increased
management and leadership roles occupied by women, and with an increased visibility
of women as impressive role models in all aspects of life, it is not surprising that they
believe so.
Unfortunately, in some parts of the world the situation of women has got worse. More
than one billion people live in poverty worldwide. According to Oxfam, 70 percent of
those living in poverty are women. According to a World Bank report, in 2011, women
accounted for forty percent of the worlds paid labour force, but only held one percent
of its wealth. The World Bank also notes that in places where womens paid work has
increased significant contributions to overall poverty reduction have been achieved.
Ruling elites in many countries do not have solutions to crises in their economies.
Structural reforms to disadvantage working care including cuts to welfare benefits,
education and healthcare, privatisation of state assets and services, have produced a
depressive atmosphere against the rights of the working people, particularly of women.
In many areas of employment, women have not achieved equality. They are still paid
less than their male counterparts in the same field[1], the number of women in
business or politics is still small, and womens education and health and violence
against them are still worse. In many countries women face increased poverty, violence
and sexual exploitation as economies collapsed. Their regimes have slashed childcare
and public services, jobs have disappeared and societies have become fragmented. In
many fundamentalist religious scenarios, girls and women face oppressive laws
controlling their sexuality and behaviour.
To carry on the tradition of the International Womens Day many parades,
demonstrations, conventions and festivals are held worldwide, apparently to celebrate
womens achievements. The focus of these events vary from general celebration of

respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for womens economic,
political, and social achievements. In some countries, especially those of the former
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, International Womens Day is still an official
holiday. In other countries, it is not a public holiday, but is widely observed
nonetheless. Several countries including former republics of the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe have gone back on womens rights. International Womens Day in
these countries has lost its political character. Now it is celebrated like something in
between Valentines Day and Mothers Day. Yet, the political and human rights theme
the United Nations has designated to International Womens Day remains influential
in creating political and social awareness of the struggles women have carried out
globally.
Despite the original intention to mark the inspirational struggle of women against
gender based oppression at the workplace, today that key radical message and the
political character appear forgotten in a commercially driven society. Gender based
oppression at the workplace continues. Hence, this occasion provides an excellent
opportunity to look at the origins of the movement, and assess the historical progress
so far made and possible future directions of the international womens movement for
salvaging its real significance.
Historical legacy
International Womens Day is a continuation of a tradition that began over a hundred
years ago. It is a celebration and a recognition of achievements and accomplishments
by women worldwide irrespective of their national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural,
economic or political differences. It is important to remember the fact that this
international occasion emerged as a result of the activities of the early twentieth
century North American and European labour movements. Its origin was socialist and
feminist, specifically calling for the celebration ofworking women and the mobilization
of all workers to fight for womens social, economic, and political equality. In 1908,
female garment workers protested against their working conditions[2]. It became a
focal point of struggles for better working conditions and pay, and a political voice for
working-class women internationally. It focussed on the oppression faced by working
women as subjects of sexual, industrial and political exploitation[3].
In 1909, the Socialist Party of America established a National Womens Committee,
whose first action was to declare the Womans Day. Among its first tasks was to
honour the movement for womens rights and to build support for women to achieve
universal suffrage. Despite this positive contribution by the left, it needs to be noted
that the left and the socialist movement has had its own share of sexism. Later on this
movement demanded rights to work, to vocational training and to an end to

discrimination on employment and was extended to include the right to vote and to
hold public office. The Charter of the United Nations (UN) signed in 1945 was the first
international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. A
central feature of the UNs efforts to address social, economic and political challenges
across the globe is to empower women. The UN agencies promote womens
participation as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace,
security, and full respect for human rights.
Right to life
Even today in election campaigns, abortion is used as a political football to gain power,
while women still suffer the consequences of illegal and botched abortions, and rape
and domestic violence. Every year about tens of thousands of women die due to after
effects of unsafe and illegal abortion. About half of abortions are carried out in unsafe
conditions by unskilled personnel. High mortality rate appears to be due to laws
prohibiting abortion and womens right to choose. In many instances these
prohibitions are religious based. Also limited access to contraception has led to
unwanted pregnancies, and difficulties in accessing affordable medical care.
Many struggles and mass movements worldwide have pressurised regimes to adopt
progressive changes in legislation. Some countries have changed their legislation to
legalise abortion, while some of these have gone back or restricted their laws. Womens
right to choose not only means the right of abortion on demand but also the right to
reproductive rights in general. It also includes their right to choose every aspect of
their lives including free access to education, medical care, employment with equal pay
and childcare. However, barriers such as money, dependence on family or husband,
stipulations by the state and/or religion restrict their options. Women face the
uncertainty of losing their jobs, houses, children and even their own lives.
Conclusion
Womens movements have now acquired a global dimension and become a rallying
point to build support for their rights and participation in political and economic
spheres of life. More importantly, it is a forward-looking opportunity for continuing
the journey towards ending discrimination against women and their full and equal
participation in socio-economic and cultural development. In this video entitled The
Journey of Womens Rights: 1911-2015: UN captures the key moments of the womens
movements globally. Global economic inequality is growing with a lack of economic
predictability or security. Issues of gender equity still remain a serious issue. Women
have gained certain rights, though still they face grave disparities in income,
occupation, and civil rights. In this environment, the founding spirit and objectives of
the International Womens Day remain relevant. The documentary reminds that
March 8 is not a day only to appreciate what women have achieved, but also to

appreciate the necessity to continue to demand and struggle for social, economic, and
political equality.
References:
1. Oppenheim J. 1910. Bread and Roses: A song. Downloaded on 7 March 2015

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.
7.
8.

fromhttp://unionsong.com/u159.htmland http://www.folkarchive.de/breadrose
.html
Kaplan T. 1985. On the socialist origins of International Womens Day. In
Feminist Studies 11(1), 163-171. Downloaded on 7 March 2015
fromhttps://libcom.org/files/International%20Women%27s%20Day.pdf
Kollontai A. 1920. International Womens Day: A Militant Celebration.
InMezhdunarodnyi den rabotnitz, Moscow. Downloaded on 7 March 2015
fromhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1920/womens-day.htm
Oxfam 2010. From Poverty to Power: Are women really 70% of the worlds poor?
How do we know? Downloaded on 7 March 2015
from http://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/are-women-really-70-of-the-worlds-poorhow-do-we-know/
Smith J. 2012. Womens Rights Current Global Issues Video Presentation.
Downloaded on 7 March 2015 fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mI9v38ywyvw
Wikipedia, International Womens Day. Downloaded on 7 March 2015
fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day
Women Watch 2015. History of International Womens Day. Downloaded on 7
March 2015 fromhttp://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd/history.html
World Bank 2014. Gender at Work: A Companion to the World Development
Report on Jobs. Downloaded on 7 March 2015
fromhttp://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Gender/
GenderAtWork_web.pdf

[1] International Labour Organisation analysis of 83 countries shows that women in paid work earn on
average between 10 and 30 percent less than men.

[2]. During one of the strikers parades, young girls carried a banner with the slogan: We want bread and
roses too. This inspired James Oppenheim to write his poem Bread and Roses, which was set to music by
Caroline Kohlsaat.

[3]. Theresa Malkiel eloquently put it: Though doing a mans work in the shop and the womans in the

home, her compensation amounts to but half of the mans wage. Though being the bearer, educator, and
often supporter of the future generation, she remains still powerless to have a say regarding its welfare.

Posted by Thavam