Today is March 8, International Women’s Day. Few people know that this holiday, established to commemorate and expand women’s rights, came from resistance and revolution. Today, I take this opportunity to congratulate International Women’s Day and talk about the festival’s history and some opinions.
On March 8, 1857, women garment and textile workers in New York took to the streets to protest low hourly wages and poor working conditions. The same parade had held on March 8 for several consecutive years, which is the origin of the earliest March 8th Festival. The largest March 8 parade was in 1908 when 15,000 women took to the streets. Making March 8 a holiday was a communist initiative. In 1910, the “Second International” held its first women’s conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Clara Zetkin from Germany proposed to make this day International Women’s Day.
When this festival had first established, it was very revolutionary. The irony is that originating from the communist movement, the festival agitates for revolution and seems dislikes it the most in Russia and other countries this year. On March 8, 1917, female textile workers in St. Petersburg, Russia, launched a general strike against the war, leading many people to participate, directly triggering the Russian Revolution in 1917. Tsar Romano The husband’s dynasty fell.
When the communists created the festival, claiming it was to break the chains placed on women, today in a communist country, not only have those metaphorical chains been broken: low wages, no voting rights, poor working conditions, Work overtime, and other events. In 1989, an old book “Ancient Sins – Documentary on the Trafficking of Women” found that more than 48,000 women were sold to six districts in Xuzhou from 1986 to 1989 alone. Until today it had been 36 years, but we don’t know it’s been how large the number of women had been trafficking during the time.
Many of the anti-war rallies in Russia on March 6 were women who were not at risk of being knocked unconscious by sap, chained, or forced to give birth. They took to the streets for their sons and husbands to stop the disaster the war brought to the whole nation. They followed in the footsteps of women workers in St. Petersburg on March 8, 1917.
Today, eradicating gender inequality will lead to sustainable global development tomorrow. It is a tribute and recognition to women worldwide in terms of adaptation, mitigation, and response to climate change recognition for their contribution; they contribute to a more sustainable future, according to United Nations Secretary-General Gutierrez said in a video speech.
Last year’s theme was a bold choice to challenge gender inequality. Because when challenged, the individual, society, and the world will be on alert. As individuals, you and I are accountable for our beliefs and actions and can “choose to challenge sexism and injustice, and to explore and celebrate the achievements of women.” Together, we can gradually promote a more inclusive and equitable society.
There is in line with the 2019 theme of “collective individualism”; everyone’s efforts to fight for gender equality and the trickle of the stream converges into a lake.
In contrast, On March 8, 2022, Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine will continue for several days, and several peace talks have been unsuccessful. The festivals of some countries and United Nations agencies will be affected to varying degrees. The fighting has continued for days, and many Ukrainians have fled their homes, most of them women and children. UN figures show that as of March 8, the total number of people running Ukraine had reached two million.
For gender equality and its awareness, International Women’s Day on March 8 grew out of the soil of the European labor movement and has always had political genes at its roots. Therefore, there are always strikes or demonstrations in some places every year to protest against discrimination and injustice against women and raise public awareness.
