International Women’s Day: The battle for equality continues
International Women’s Day (IWD) is marked on March 8 every year to acknowledge the long-standing battle women have fought for rights and equality.
This year’s campaign theme is #EmbraceEquity, which aims to challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias and seek inclusion.
In Thailand, the day was marked by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry hosting an event to “celebrate the power of women in co-creating innovation and technology towards sustainable equality”.
At the event, an award of honour was presented to Thailand’s top female entrepreneur, Khunying Natthika Wattanavekin Angubolkul, along with 58 other outstanding women and organisations.
As a member of the United Nations, Thailand prides itself on having stuck by its commitment to focus on the role and status of women.
This focus has manifested in the form of laws, policies, measures against violence and moves to elevate women’s quality of life from various aspects.
How it all started
The battle for “liberty, equality, fraternity” first started during the French Revolution in 1789, when Parisian women took to the streets calling for women’s suffrage rights.
Then more than 60 years later, in 1857, women working in a garment factory launched a rally against inhumane working conditions and low wages.
Though the protesters were dispersed by police, this movement led to the creation of the first women’s labour union.
Some 50 years later, on March 8, 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City again, and this time also demanded shorter hours, better wages, an end to child labour and voting rights.
‘Bread and Roses’
Appalling conditions and rights abuses suffered by women were brought to the forefront by German Marxist theorist and rights advocate Clara Zetkin.
In 1910, during the Second International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen, Zetkin proposed that women’s rights be highlighted with a global “Women’s Day” celebration.
This proposal won overwhelming support from all 100 women attendees from 17 countries and the first IWD was marked on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.
On this day, more than a million men and women held rallies demanding not just the right to vote, but also to hold public office, work, vocational training and an end to discrimination.
Yet, less than a week later on March 25, the tragic “Triangle Fire” in New York City killed more than 140 working women. This event drew attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the US.
This year also saw the “Bread and Roses” campaign led by American suffrage activist Helen Todd, who appealed for both fair wages and dignified working conditions.
The following year, more IWD events took place in France, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Then in 1913, on the eve of World War I, Russian women observed their first IWD on the last Sunday of February.
In 1917, again on the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for “Bread and Peace” in response to the death of more than 2 million Russian soldiers in World War 1.
United Nations endorsement
IWD was officially recognised for the first time by the United Nations in 1975, with many countries adopting March 8 as a national holiday.
Though the movement picked up momentum, with the UN announcing its first IWD theme, “Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future”, in 1996, the spark had fizzed out by the new millennium.
There was little mainstream activity in most countries. The world had moved on and feminism was no longer a popular topic.
However, 2011 saw the 100-year centenary of IWD – with the first IWD event held exactly 100 years ago in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.
This historic landmark was commemorated in the United States, with then-president Barack Obama proclaiming March 2011 as “Women’s History Month” to celebrate the “extraordinary accomplishments of women”.
While there have been great advancements, women in many countries still continue fighting against poor working conditions and lower wages
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