History of International Women's Day
Billy I Ahmed | Sunday, 8 March 2009
THE idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialised world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies, actions by working women anywhere in the world.
Hundreds of women garment and textile workers went on strike in New York city protesting against low wages, long working hours, and inhuman working conditions. The event ended in violent struggles with police.
Following is a brief chronology of the most important events:
On March 8, 1857 women working in clothing and textiles factories in New York City staged a protest against inhuman working conditions and low wages which was attacked by the police to disperse the protesters. Two years later, again in March, these women formed their first labour union to protect themselves and gain some basic rights at the workplace.
On March 8, 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay, voting rights and end to child labour. They adopted the slogan "Bread and Rose", with bread symbolising economic security and rose for 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.
February 28, 1909, following the declaration of the Socialist Party of America, was celebrated in the United States as the first ever National Women's Day. Women continued to celebrate it on last Sunday of February until 1913.
In 1910, an international conference, held by socialist organisations from around the world, met in Copenhagen, Denmark. 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 welcomed with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, including the first three women elected to 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.
March 19, 1911, was marked for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland as International Women's Day. Over a million men and women took to the streets in a series of rallies for the right to vote and hold public office and seeking end to discrimination on jobs.
On March 25, 1911, a tragic fire in New York City took place. Over 140 workers, mostly young Italian 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 Lady Garment Workers Union led many of the protests against this avoidable tragedy, including the silent funereal march which brought together a crowd of over 100,000 people.
The tragic 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.
In February 1913, as part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War 1, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday of February in 1913.
Elsewhere in Europe, on or around the 8th of March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with their sisters. With two million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again chose the last Sunday of February in 1917 to strike for "bread and peace". Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on.
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. The historic Sunday fell on February 23, 1917 on the Julian calendar then used in Russia, but coincided with the 8th of March on the Gregorian calendar used by people elsewhere.
In December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming March 08 as United Nations Day for Women's Right 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 now a growing reality.
The writer is a tea planter, columnist and researcher.
Hundreds of women garment and textile workers went on strike in New York city protesting against low wages, long working hours, and inhuman working conditions. The event ended in violent struggles with police.
Following is a brief chronology of the most important events:
On March 8, 1857 women working in clothing and textiles factories in New York City staged a protest against inhuman working conditions and low wages which was attacked by the police to disperse the protesters. Two years later, again in March, these women formed their first labour union to protect themselves and gain some basic rights at the workplace.
On March 8, 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay, voting rights and end to child labour. They adopted the slogan "Bread and Rose", with bread symbolising economic security and rose for 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.
February 28, 1909, following the declaration of the Socialist Party of America, was celebrated in the United States as the first ever National Women's Day. Women continued to celebrate it on last Sunday of February until 1913.
In 1910, an international conference, held by socialist organisations from around the world, met in Copenhagen, Denmark. 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 welcomed with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, including the first three women elected to 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.
March 19, 1911, was marked for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland as International Women's Day. Over a million men and women took to the streets in a series of rallies for the right to vote and hold public office and seeking end to discrimination on jobs.
On March 25, 1911, a tragic fire in New York City took place. Over 140 workers, mostly young Italian 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 Lady Garment Workers Union led many of the protests against this avoidable tragedy, including the silent funereal march which brought together a crowd of over 100,000 people.
The tragic 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.
In February 1913, as part of the peace movement brewing on the eve of World War 1, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday of February in 1913.
Elsewhere in Europe, on or around the 8th of March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with their sisters. With two million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again chose the last Sunday of February in 1917 to strike for "bread and peace". Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on.
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. The historic Sunday fell on February 23, 1917 on the Julian calendar then used in Russia, but coincided with the 8th of March on the Gregorian calendar used by people elsewhere.
In December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming March 08 as United Nations Day for Women's Right 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 now a growing reality.
The writer is a tea planter, columnist and researcher.