We do not celebrate, we go on asking for gender equality. We remember the past, we study history and me demand equality.
The official International Women’s Day website, gives us the real story of this day. During the International Conference of Working Women in 1910, Clara Zetkin a german political activist, proposed that a day be set aside every year across the world to celebrate women and reinforce their demands. It was accepted and recognized first in Germany and Europe. Years after, the whole world celebrates the date.
On International Women’s Day in 1917, Russian women demonstrated for bread and an end to World War I, and sparked a revolution that forced the czar’s abdication. After the Bolshevik Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and his newly appointed commissar of social welfare, Alexandra Kollontai, declared International Women’s Day an official holiday in the Soviet Union.
The early socialists yearned for a world where men and women were equal. They were able to see misogyny and sexism that underlay patriarchal cultures.They decided to recognize women with a special day to called attention to the obstacles women face the other 364 days of the year.
The world has evolved, but misogyny is still present in our days. Hope that, in future days we will be able only to celebrate, instead of have to go on pushing for respect, security and opportunities.
Source: NYT, NBC, CafeVirtual
