BY RUISEN
In the 19th century, with the rapid development of capitalism, the capitalists employed a large number of women workers to do the same work as men, but their wages were only 1/2 or 1/3 of those of men. The women workers work sixteen or seven hours a day, without rest days and labor security, and their situation is very tragic. On March 8, 1857, women workers in New York held a protest against the inhumane working environment, 12-hour working system and low wages, but were besieged and dispersed by the police. In March 1859, these women organized their first trade union. On March 8, 1908, 1500 women marched in New York City, demanding shorter working hours, higher labor remuneration, the right to vote, and the prohibition of child labor. Their slogan was "bread and roses"; Bread symbolizes economic security, while rose symbolizes better quality of life. In May, the United States Socialist Party decided to take the last Sunday of February as the National Women's Day.
In August 1910, representatives of 17 countries attended the Second International Conference of Socialist Women's Representatives. At the meeting, Clara Caitkin, the founder of the German Communist Party and one of the founders of the Second International, the universally recognized "mother of the international women's movement", and the secretary of the Second International, proposed to the General Assembly that March 8, when American women held demonstrations, should be designated as International Women's Day, in order to unite and mobilize the majority of working women around the world against war, oppression, and liberation. The proposal was unanimously adopted. At the same time, the conference put forward proposals to implement the eight-hour working system, equal pay for equal work, protect women, and protect child labor. Delegates at the meeting said that on March 8 every year, women in all countries will be determined to fight for the equal rights of all women and "fight for world peace at all costs and sacrifice".
In 1911, when the first International Women's Day was commemorated, working women in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Denmark, the United States and other countries held demonstrations to celebrate the first International Women's Day. More than 1 million women and men participated in various gatherings. In addition to the right to vote and hold public office, the assembly also demanded that women be granted the right to work, the right to vocational training and the right to end discrimination against women in the workplace. Russian women chose to hold strikes and demonstrations on the last Sunday of February 1913 to celebrate their first International Women's Day. Women from other parts of Europe also held a rally on or around March 8 of the following year to express their protest against the war or solidarity with "sisters".
The first time Chinese women commemorated the March 8th Day was in 1924. Under the leadership of the CPC, working women in Guangzhou joined forces with oppressed women from all walks of life to hold a memorial meeting. The conference clarified the significance of commemorating the March 8th Day, denounced the dual oppression of women by feudalism and imperialism, and called on women to rise up to the revolution. The conference put forward slogans such as overthrowing imperialism, overthrowing warlords, getting equal pay for equal work, demanding the protection of child labor, pregnant women, prohibiting child brides, prohibiting polygamy, prohibiting maidservants and concubines, abolishing the prostitution system, establishing a child protection law, and striving for women's liberation. A demonstration was held after the meeting. After 1925, the commemorative activities of the March 8th Festival were gradually carried out in major cities. In 1949, the Central People's Government of China decided to designate March 8 as Women's Day. On that day, women throughout the country had a half-day holiday, and various forms of commemorative activities were held throughout the country.
The United Nations began to celebrate International Women's Day in 1975, recognizing the tradition of ordinary women striving for equal participation in society. In 1997, the General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting each country to choose a day of the year to declare as the United Nations Women's Rights and World Peace Day in accordance with its own history and national traditional customs. The United Nations initiative has established a national legal framework for achieving gender equality and raised public awareness of the urgent need to improve the status of women in all aspects.
Post time: Mar-08-2018