Women’s day was celebrated yesterday, the 8th day of March. Now, at the risk of sounding blissfully ignorant, I did not know about it; not until somebody wished me a happy Women’s Day. This was a pretty odd moment because common courtesy dictated that I say thank you for something that I was completely unaware of; and so I decided to carry out some research.
International Women’s Day was initially known as the International Working Women’s Working Day. It was first celebrated on 8th Feb, 1909, in New York and had been organized by the Socialist Party of America.
Eight years and a month late, on the same date, a demonstration of women textile workers swept through Russia, beginning in the city of Petrogard. They were demanding the end of World War 1, an end to Russian food shortages and the end of autocracy. This was a revolutionary day as it marked the onset of the Russian Revolution. The Tasrist autocracy crumbled during this revolution and the Soviet Union took its place. An autocracy is a system of leadership where one person has absolute power; where basically the ruler does not have a regulatory mechanism to keep him in check. This is what was taken down during that revolution that was sparked by the brave actions of those female textile workers.
A week after the demonstration, women were allowed the right to vote, and the 8th of March, declared a national holiday in Russia. This has since spread across the world, and is observed as a day to celebrate women.
The United Nations has different themes each year for this day, and this year’s theme is ‘Women in the changing world of work’. Celebrating women who manage to juggle between their work and their families, and still keep it together. The day might be passed, but let the culture live on. Appreciate the women around you.