All women, whatever be their position, should demand political equality as a means of a freer life and one calculated to yield rich blessings to society.
Clara jetkin
In the wake of a forthcoming International Women’s Day, a seemingly innocuous event announcement in my alumni WhatsApp group took an unexpected turn, unveiling layers of gender bias and misogyny lurking beneath the surface of our supposedly progressive society.
It all began with the circulation of a poster promoting an Entrepreneurs Conclave organized by my college on International Women’s Day. However, the arrangement of speakers on the poster raised eyebrows, as all the male speakers were prominently listed in the first two lines. The accomplished female speakers were relegated to the last line. Despite pointed remarks from alumni regarding this blatant discrepancy, the organizing committee remained indifferent, exposing the entrenched biases that continue to shape our societal structures.
As discussions unfolded, what ensued was not just a reflection of oversight, but a manifestation of pervasive misogyny. The atmosphere quickly deteriorated as tasteless jokes and disparaging remarks about women permeated the conversation. Men and even some women steeped in patriarchy and misogyny joined in, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and reinforcing gender-based discrimination.
The situation escalated when a senior member of the group began sharing irrelevant and scientifically dubious claims about gender differences, further exacerbating the toxicity of the discourse. Attempts to dismiss these remarks as harmless banter only served to underscore the normalization of sexism in our society.
In response, I spoke out against the condescending and irrational conversations, condemning the public display of superiority and urging for introspection. I highlighted the need to confront the prevalent discrimination and exploitation faced by women, emphasizing the importance of empathy and awareness in fostering an inclusive and equitable society.
However, resistance to change was evident as voices of dissent emerged, advocating for the cessation of Women’s Day celebrations under the guise of equality. Such rhetoric, while seemingly progressive, only serves to trivialize the historical struggles and ongoing challenges faced by women. Moreover, the dismissal of empathy and solidarity among women further perpetuates divisions and undermines efforts towards gender equality.
The incident served as a stark reminder of the enduring presence of misogyny and patriarchy in our society. Despite progress in various domains, the underlying biases and discriminatory attitudes continue to persist, necessitating a collective effort to dismantle entrenched power structures and foster a culture of respect and equality for all genders.
The incident within my alumni group serves as a microcosm of broader societal challenges, highlighting the urgent need for meaningful dialogue, introspection, and concerted action to address gender bias and discrimination in all its forms. Only through collective awareness and advocacy can we hope to build a more just and inclusive world for the future.
Those who do not move do not notice their chains.
Rosa Luxemburg
Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without.
While we women perceive to have the choice to manage either the household or a paid job or both, in real terms, it has become assumed responsibility for us to take care of the household nevertheless. So, it is just not external, even women think that they need to do it. We seldom draw a boundary because we presume the people with a boundary are not nice. Multitasking is glorified, and sacrifice is glorified, especially self-abnegation. We as women are so used to nurturing the world that we forget to nurture ourselves. So, we need to step back and focus on self-nurturing and self-care.
Globally, Women perform 76% of All Unpaid Activities in the Health and Care Sector: WHO Report.
One of the most troubling aspects of the ongoing discourse surrounding gender equality is the tendency of some women to dismiss the existence of female enslavement. It raises critical questions about the parameters and justifications for enslavement, and what exactly constitutes this oppressive condition.
What exactly do we mean by enslavement? What criteria must be met to acknowledge discrimination based on caste, gender, religion, or colour? Can some individuals remain oblivious to these issues due to their detachment from global politics, thereby dismissing them as non-issues?
The truth is, regardless of the societal structure, there are always marginalized groups, including women, queer individuals, Dalits, people with disabilities, and children, who fall victim to various forms of oppression. It is a harsh reality that cannot be ignored or brushed aside.
Furthermore, the notion that ‘women are enemies of women’ only adds fuel to the fire. In a previous article, I delved into the enduring role of women in perpetuating patriarchy, highlighting the infiltration of casteism and religious animosity in familial and socio-political dynamics. This internalized oppression only serves to perpetuate the cycle of discrimination.
Despite constitutional guarantees of equality, the million-dollar question remains: are we truly being treated equally? The answer is clear: those who claim yes are often among the privileged sections of society, shielded from the harsh realities faced by marginalized groups.
To address these systemic inequalities, we must prioritize awareness, education, and empathy. Kindness is essential in gaining a holistic understanding of society from the standpoint of its victims. Without empathy, individuals will continue to form opinions based on their narrow worldview, oblivious to the struggles faced by others.
As we commemorate International Women’s Day, we must educate ourselves on its history and significance. This day serves as a reminder of over a century of struggle and activism by our ancestors and predecessors. It is a testament to their resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity.
However, our work is far from over. We must continue to strive for equality in tangible ways, addressing systemic injustices and dismantling oppressive structures. International Women’s Day serves as a rallying cry for change, a call to action to build a more inclusive and equitable society for all. It’s time to heed this call and work towards a brighter, more equitable future.
All about International Working Women’s Day
In 1975, the United Nations (UN) instituted March 8 as International Women’s Day, removing the worker adjective and ignoring the events of March 8, 1917, in Russia. In 1977 UNESCO declared March 8 as a tribute to the dead workers in 1857.
What made women’s labour particularly attractive to the capitalists was not only its lower price but also the greatest submissiveness of women.
clara jetkin
March 8 emerged as linked to the struggle for women’s vote and better working conditions for workers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Industrial Revolution, which incorporated women, girls and boys into production, meant for them the transition from the servitude of home that did not end to the servitude of the workshop or the factory. Women suffered long hours of work without rest, salaries in half that of men and were also victims of sexual harassment by employers.
1800s
Women workers had been fighting hard since the end of the 19th century for their labour rights. In March of 1857, the seamstresses’ union of the Lower East Side Textile Company of New York carried out a march demanding the reduction of their working hours. There, as a result of police repression, some workers were injured and/or killed. Ten years later, also in March of 1867, the strike of the ironers of collars of the small city of Troy, in the state of New York, took place.
1908
On May 3, 1908, at the Garrick Theater in Chicago, the Federation of Socialist Women of Chicago, took the initiative to call for a Women’s Day, with the central goal of campaigning for women’s suffrage. Great unrest and critical debate were occurring among women. Women’s oppression and inequality were spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
1909
Following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman’s Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on February 28. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.
1910
In 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. Clara Zetkin, Leader of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, tabled the idea of an International Women’s Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day – a Women’s Day – to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, and working women’s clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament greeted Zetkin’s suggestion with unanimous approval and International Women’s Day was the result.
1911
Following the decision agreed upon at Copenhagen in Denmark in 1911, International Women’s Day was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, hold public office and end discrimination. However, less than a week later on March 25, the tragic ‘Triangle Fire’ in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women’s Day events. 1911 also saw the women’s Bread and Roses campaign. The phrase is commonly associated with the textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, between January and March 1912, now often referred to as the ‘Bread and Roses strike.’ The slogan paired bread and roses, appealing for both fair wages and dignified conditions.
1913-1914
On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women’s Day on February 23, the last Sunday in February. Following discussions, International Women’s Day was agreed to be marked annually on March 8 translated into the widely adopted Gregorian calendar from February 23, and this day has remained the global date for International Women’s Day ever since. In 1914, women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women’s solidarity. For example, in London in the United Kingdom, there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of women’s suffrage on March 8, 1914. Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square.
1917
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for ‘Bread and Peace’ in response to the death of over 2 million Russian soldiers in World War 1. Opposed by political leaders, the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. On March 8, 1917, women workers took to the streets to protest against Russia’s participation in the war, inequality in working conditions and food shortages. Women decided to summon the public agitation and that popular outbreak carried out by the workers, put an end to the Romanov dynasty and spontaneously began the February revolution, the prelude to the October Revolution.
The Russian Revolution made huge advances in women’s rights, Not only were they the first to get the right to vote but the new workers and popular government that emerged in October ended with all vestige of legal inequality. They carried out measures to preserve and maximize the role of women in production and for their political participation, under equal conditions. Legalized abortion, tried to end the domestic slavery of women and socialize these chores setting up a network of public services. They also carried out a titanic struggle for maternity protection and to protect abandoned children.
It is from there that, in 1921, the Conference of Communist Women of the newly founded III International set March 8 as International Working Women’s Day.
1975
International Women’s Day was marked for the first time by the United Nations in 1975. Then in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, following their historical and national traditions.
1979
On International Women’s Day, 100,000 women and male supporters rallied at Tehran University. From the early hours of the morning, meetings were held in girls’ high schools and Tehran University. In protest against Khomeini’s decree making the veil compulsory for women in Iran, hundreds of thousands of women marched through Teheran on 8 March. These included women wearing Western clothes as well as some wearing the veil – but all protesting against the compulsory imposition of the veil. Women demanded equal rights, including the right to dress as they wished. Some of the slogans of the demonstrators were: ‘Freedom is in our culture; to stay at home is our shame’, ‘Liberty and equality are our undeniable rights’, and ‘We will fight against compulsory veil; down with dictatorship’. ‘In the dawn of freedom, we already lack freedom’, ‘Women’s Day of Emancipation is neither Western nor Eastern, it is international’. In several incidents, women demonstrators were physically attacked on the streets. The protests continued for several days, defying the religious fundamentalists who attacked the women protestors.
1996
The UN announced its first annual theme ‘Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future’ which was followed in 1997 with ‘Women at the Peace Table’, in 1998 with ‘Women and Human Rights’, in 1999 with ‘World Free of Violence Against Women’, and so on each year.
2000
By the new millennium, there was little mainstream activity occurring for International Women’s Day in most countries. The world had moved on and, in many spheres, feminism wasn’t a popular topic. Something was needed to re-ignite International Women’s Day giving it the respect it deserves and raising awareness among the masses. There was urgent work to do – battles had not been won, and gender parity had still not been achieved. There was a strong need to engage the mainstream masses and to encourage and support collective action.
2001
Following a year of planning and collaborative conversations with various women’s groups, charities and further organizations, The IWD website was launched in a pre-social media world as a helpful hub to inspire action. This was a time when the rise of women was still largely seen as the fall of men. The campaign theme, one of many around the world, provides a framework and direction for annual IWD activity and takes into account the wider agenda of both celebrations, as well as the call to action for gender parity. Campaign themes over the years have each focused on a specific and timely topic that, if more widely understood, may help advance women and forge a more inclusive world. IWD campaigns have included: #InspireInclusion, #EmbraceEquity, #BreakTheBias, #ChooseToChallenge, #EachforEqual, #BalanceforBetter, #PressforProgress, #BeBoldforChange, #PledgeforParity, #MakeItHappen, #TheGenderAgenda, and more.
2011
2011 saw the 100th year/ Centenary of International Women’s Day – with the first IWD event held exactly 100 years ago in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In the United States, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 2011 to be ‘Women’s History Month’, calling Americans to mark IWD by reflecting on ‘the extraordinary accomplishments of women’ in shaping the country’s history. The then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, launched the ‘100 Women Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls through International Exchanges.’
2020 and beyond
The world has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation may feel that all the battles have been won for women, while many feminists from the 1970s and beyond know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. Through our struggles, women have indeed won some rights and no doubt achieved some improvement in working conditions. But patriarchal attitudes, undervaluing women’s work, inequality in wages and opportunities and other types of discrimination continue to dominate across the globe even today.
Even today, Women are 47% more likely to suffer severe injuries and car crashes because safety features are designed for men. As per the UN, 33,000 Girls become child brides every day. Women in rural parts of Africa, spend 40 billion hours a year collecting water. At the rate we’re going it will take 108 years to close the gender pay gap. As of right now, only six countries give women equal legal work rights as men. Women are still banned from divorcing or aborting in many countries. Women still can’t vote in Vatican City and Afghanistan. Women are still kept from playing sports in certain African countries.
From an Indian perspective, women’s rights to befriend people of their choice, choose and marry as per their choice, their right to dress and lead their lives as per their choice – are all under attack. Incidences of violence against women have increased. Within 17 years, India has fallen 17 places on the World Economic Forum’s economic gender gap, from 110th position in 2006 to 127 in 2023. Economic opportunities for women in India today are among the lowest in the world. According to the data released by the World Bank in 2020, India’s Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP) is 32.7% compared to 48.7% at the world level. 103 women die per 100,000 live births due to pregnancy-related causes in India, 17 of every 1,000 girls ages 15-19 gave birth in India in 2021. While 88% of girls lower secondary school in India as of 2022 data, only 69.1% go for higher education. For women in particular, asset ownership is a source of economic empowerment and protects in the case of marital dissolution or abandonment. There is increasing evidence that ownership of property by women has positive consequences for women’s empowerment, nutritional and health outcomes, and children’s schooling. While 53.5% of women do not own a house, only 23.6% of men do not own a house in India. In India, the share of women who have experienced intimate partner violence is greater than the world average and stands at 27%. 14.9% of seats in the national parliament were held by women in 2022 in India. Women represented only 16.2% of those employed in senior and middle management in 2022.
I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Since Clara Zetkin’s proposal in 1910 to establish the International Day for the Rights of Working Women, much has evolved. In numerous countries, women have gained voting rights, political participation, and access to divorce, and a minority have risen to become businesswomen, bankers, ministers, or even presidents. However, despite these advancements, millions of women worldwide still grapple with daily challenges including masochism, misogyny, foeticide, female infanticide, the burden of domestic and care work, labour and wage disparities, and even extreme poverty.
A century later, it remains critical to honour the legacy of those women who bravely revolutionized both their world and their own lives, advocating for a future free from exploitation and oppression. The persistent gender gap in political representation further emphasizes the ongoing struggle, with women significantly underrepresented in decision-making roles. Increasing female participation in politics and leadership positions is imperative to advance gender equality and ensure women’s voices are heard in policy-making spheres.
Despite some progress, the data underscores the necessity for sustained efforts to comprehensively address gender disparities in India and beyond. Achieving true gender equality demands coordinated action across various sectors including education, employment, health, and governance, to foster a more inclusive and equitable society for all genders.
However, amidst this historical context and the ongoing activism of countless women, International Women’s Day often faces commercial exploitation by corporations seeking to commodify the occasion. Nonetheless, it remains a poignant reminder of the enduring struggle initiated by our ancestors and continues to resonate with relevance today. The torch of progress must be carried forward with renewed vigour, advocating for justice, breaking down barriers of discrimination, and embracing intersectionality in the pursuit of equality for all.
Women’s freedom is the sign of social freedom.
Rosa Luxemburg
As women what bonds us together is the fact that we have to deal with the same biases on different levels. It is up to us to decide whether we want to perpetuate them or we want to demystify them.
References:
- https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/15586/The-history-of-IWD
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_Roses#:~:text=Helen%20Todd%20and%20her%20colleagues,greater%20income%2C%20and%20life’s%20roses.
- https://litci.org/en/international-working-womens-day-origin-and-current-lessons/
- https://cpiml.org/publications-english/international-womens-day-a-century-of-struggles/index-international-womens-day-a-century-of-struggles/history-of-international-womens-day/
- https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/in-full/benchmarking-gender-gaps-2023/
- https://genderdata.worldbank.org/countries/india/
- https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240082854
- https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/mar/01/only-six-countries-in-the-world-give-women-and-men-equal-legal-rights#:~:text=If%20you’re%20a%20woman,equality%20in%20laws%20affecting%20work.
About the author
Kavitha Pandian
Kavitha Pandian is working in an IT company in the USA as a practice manager. She runs many initiatives including the Save Tamilnadu Farmer, Our Village Our Responsibility, and Adopt a Village and extends financial support and scholarship to underprivileged children for education, and betterment of rural life and has supported the people of Tamil Nadu during major natural disasters including Gaja and Covid. She has received many awards including ‘The Women Achievers Award’ by FeTNA, USA, in 2022. She also was felicitated by the District Collector, Virudhunagar during the 75th Independence Day celebrations, 2022, for her work towards infrastructure.
