The idea of an
International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the
century, which in the industrialized world was a period of
expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical
ideologies.
Following is a brief chronology of the most important events
:
On 8 March 1857 women working in clothing and textile factories
(called 'garment workers') in New York City, in the United
States, staged a protest. They were fighting against inhumane
working conditions and low wages. The police attacked the
protestors and dispersed them. Two years later, again in March,
these women formed their first labour union to try and protect
themselves and gain some basic rights in the workplace.
On 8 March 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City
demanding shorter work hours, better pay, voting rights and an
end to child labour. They adopted the slogan "Bread and Roses",
with bread symbolizing economic security and roses a better
quality of life. In May, the Socialist Party of America
designated the last Sunday in February for the observance of
National Women's Day. Following the declaration of the Socialist
Party of America, the first ever National Woman's Day was
celebrated in the United States on 28 February 1909. Women
continued to celebrate it on the last Sunday of that month
through 1913.
An
international conference, held by socialist organizations from around
the world, met in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1910. The conference of the
Socialist International proposed a Women's Day which was designed to be
international in character. The proposal initially came from Clara
Zetkin, a German socialist, who suggested an International Day to mark
the strike of garment workers in the United States. The proposal was
greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from
17 countries, including the first three women elected to the parliament
of Finland. The Day was established to honour the movement for women's
rights, including the right to vote (known as �suffrage�). At that
time no fixed date was selected for the observance.
The declaration of the Socialist International had an impact. The
following year, 1911, International Women�s Day was marked for the
first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The date was
March 19 and over a million men and women took to the streets in a
series of rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public
office, they demanded the right to work and an end to discrimination on
the job.
Less than a week later, on 25 March, the tragic Triangle Fire in New
York City took place. Over 140 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish
immigrant girls, working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company lost their
lives because of the lack of safety measures. The Women�s Trade Union
League and the International Ladies� Garment Workers Union led many of
the protests against this avoidable tragedy, including the silent
funeral march which brought together a crowd of over 100,000 people. The
Triangle Fire had a significant impact on labour legislation and the
horrible working conditions leading up to the disaster were invoked
during subsequent observances of International Women's Day.
As part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War I, Russian
women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday
in February 1913. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the
following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to
express solidarity with their sisters.
With 2 million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again
chose the last Sunday in February 1917 to strike for "bread and peace".
Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went
on anyway. The rest is history: Four days later the Czar of Russia was
forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the
right to vote. That historic Sunday fell on 23 February on the Julian
calendar then in use in Russia, but coincided with 8 March on the
Gregorian calendar used by people elsewhere.
Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new
global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike.
In December 1977 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution
proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women�s Rights and International
Peace. Four global United Nations women's conferences have helped make
the demand for women's rights and participation in the political and
economic process a growing reality.
