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Feature: International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on the 8th of March all over the world by honoring and acknowledging the achievements, roles in history, and value of women. According to Barrientos and Jeon, it is “typically a day for women from all different backgrounds and cultures to band together to fight for gender parity and women's rights.” This day serves as a good reminder for us to reflect on the progress we have made globally in striving for gender equality, which up to now, no country has achieved.
How is IWD celebrated?
IWD is recognized as an official holiday in more than 25 countries, few of which are Afghanistan, Armenia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Laos, Russia, and Vietnam. In other countries, it is a national observance. On this day, various women are invited to different events to hold seminars or motivational talks and conferences. Sometimes, there are also art exhibitions, festivals, parades, and protests for women’s rights. In some countries, International Women’s Day is celebrated like Mother’s Day wherein people give or send cards and flowers as tokens of appreciation to their female teachers, colleagues, friends, sisters, mothers, aunts and grandmothers.
BE HEARD. Women fight for equality on the streets. Photo Credit: https://hips.hearstapps.com/
Every year, IWD is celebrated with a different specific campaign theme which provides a direction to guide collective action throughout the year. In 2018, it was “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”, in 2019, “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”, and this year, it is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”.
When did this celebration begin?
In 1908, oppression and inequality pushed 15,000 women to rally in New York City and demand for shorter work hours, better pay, and voting rights. The first National Women’s Day was then observed on February 28, 1909, as declared by the Socialist Party of America. The following year, Clara Zetkin, a German Marxist feminist, proposed the idea of an international day to celebrate women at the Second International Congress of Socialist Women in Copenhagen, leading to what we now know as International Women’s Day.
IWD was then first celebrated on March 19, 1911 in Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland with over a million men and women rallying for “women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination.” Back in 1848, March 19 was the day that the Prussian king made a promise to introduce suffrage for women which he then failed to keep. In 1913, IWD was moved to March 8.
The United Nations (UN) held the first conference on women in Mexico City in 1975 and in 1977, their member states proclaimed March 8 as the UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace which aimed to help nations eliminate discrimination against women and to help women gain full and equal participation in global development.
Why is International Women’s Day important?
It is undeniable that women continue to face the overbearing weight of patriarchal social structures that affect and limit their opportunities, specifically in work settings. According to the UN, women earn 23% less than men and occupy only 24% of parliamentary seats worldwide. Women also continue to be victims of different forms of abuse, such as physical and sexual, and rape and domestic violence has been significant causes of disability and death among women.
International Women’s Day has been used by many to collectively call for change. Gender inequality has been present in our world for so long now, and has been a struggle for so many. In 1917, Russian women held a strike which later on led to the government granting women the right to vote. The power of unified collective movement can certainly move mountains and if we choose to take part in this, we’ll certainly get one step closer to our goal.
In an interview, Mae Paner, a Filipinio feminist, said, "We want an end to all the suffering given and experienced by women. There are deaths, impunity, there's injustice, corruption, there’s fear, and to all of that, the President has become the main source.”
"I believe it is only in unity that we can succeed to defeat the enemy," she added.
How is IWD celebrated in the Philippines?
Though IWD is not a holiday in the Philippines, in 1988, March was proclaimed to be Women's Role in History Month (Proclamation No. 227) with the first week to be known as Women’s Week and March 8 as Women’s Rights and International Peace day (Proclamation No. 244). Later on, in 1990, March 8 was declared to be National Women’s Day, in accordance with Republic Act 6949.
Last year, women’s groups, calling for empowerment, gathered in Luneta with various women speakers telling their stories wherein they were objectified, sexualized, treated poorly and unequally, or oppressed. The event opened with crude statements against women that the president said himself and aimed to empower Filipinas to join forces and stand up for themselves and for each other against women discrimination.
Aside from protests and demonstrations, agencies and non-government organizations also hold forums, workshops, lectures, contests and film showings. The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) also initiated the #JuanaSays Online Advocacy “providing a daily dose of inspirational quotes from Filipino women whose work and contributions have created positive changes in their respective fields”.
WOMEN STAND TALL. Women stand against misogyny on International Women’s Day. Photo credit: Sofia Virtudes
How do I participate?
Participating in the celebration of International Women’s Day isn’t hard. You can easily surf the net and search for events that will be held near you on March 8—you might find advocacy concerts, seminars, or art exhibitions to be held at a nearby mall. If you are unable to attend any, you can still participate by wearing purple which has become an international symbol for women that signifies justice and dignity. You can also strike the #EachforEqual pose and post a photo of you on social media along with your pledges and promotion of the big day with the hashtag #IWD2020.
#EachforEqual. A woman smiles as she strikes the #EachforEqual pose. Photo Credit: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/2020Theme
You can also visit the PCW’ss official site to find out more about the special day and upcoming events and activities at https://www.pcw.gov.ph/event/2020-national-women-month.
References:
Barrientos, S. & Jeon, H. (2020, February 2). Why International Women’s Day Is Celebrated on March 8. Retrieved from https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a26539742/international-womens-day-march-8/
International Women’s Day. About International Women’s Day. Retrieved from https://www.internationalwomensday.com/About
Philippine Commission on Women. 2019 National Women’s Month Celebration. Retrieved from https://www.pcw.gov.ph/WomenMakeChange2019
United Nations. International Women’s Day. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day
Virtudes, S. (2019, March 10). Rape jokes? These women aren’t laughing. Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/225382-rape-jokes-these-women-not-laughing
// by Rain Tiangco
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