International Women's Day
Last Saturday thousands of women around Australia and internationally marched to mark International Women's Day. It is a tradition which began with a strike by women garment workers in 1908 for better pay and working conditions, and with demonstrations and protests calling for the vote and political and economic rights for women. This militant tradition continues with demands today including abortion rights, child-care, equal pay, freedom of sexual expression and more.
Historically, International Women's Day has provided a focus for women to organise. It was initially proposed that it become an international event at the second International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen in 1910. In 1911 IWD, according to Alexandra Kollontai writing at the time, "Germany and Austria ... were one seething trembling sea of women. Meetings were organised everywhere ... in the small towns and even in the villages, halls were packed so full that they had to ask [male] workers to give up their places for the women."
In March 1917 in Russia, a protest by women workers on IWD began days of food riots, political strikes and demonstrations which launched the first revolution.
In 1975 IWD in Cuba was chosen to launch a new campaign against macho male attitudes and a new marriage code which made housework the equal responsibility of men and women. In 1982 women in Iran discarded their veils on IWD.
The first IWD in Australia was held in Sydney in 1928. It called for equal pay for equal work, an eight-hour day, the basic wage for the unemployed and annual holidays on full pay. Since then marches, rallies, meetings, dances and other events have been held to celebrate IWD and raise political demands.
The marches and protests continue to provide an important focus in raising consciousness around demands for women's rights, and enabling women to organise. Every year we see the evidence of this as women take part in the events organised around IWD. Even some of the establishment media recognise the significance of the event.
In the past year, attention has been focused on the misogyny of judges and discrimination against women in the legal system, the victory of the women involved in the Jobs for Women campaign against BHP, the particular needs of indigenous women, the devastating effects of the recession on women, and the family.
In 1994 as we continue to be active in defence of our rights — single mothers, lesbians, divorced women, widows, married women, women escaping domestic violence, women survivors of childhood sexual abuse, indigenous women, migrant women, women in prison, women students, young and old women — the challenge remains: to bring about a peaceful, creative and equitable society for all. In the tradition of IWD, organise.
By Kath Gelber