1917
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.
1918 - 1999
Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes.(Source: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp)
Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes.(Source: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp)
In commemoration of International Women's Day, it could be fun to see how far the feminist movement has come since its noble and laudable beginnings. It started with a battle for equal rights, equal opportunities. It started with women questioning some accepted norms, asking awkward questions, breaking taboos (and quite a few window panes) in a quest for the same legal and social status as men. The fact that they didn't enjoy the same status is frequently blamed on 'men', as if 'men' throughout history had been a homogenous group or class whose members enjoyed the same rights and status as each other. They weren't and they didn't. Not by any means.
In western democracies, men had the vote before women (with certain exceptions), but not long before that and throughout most of the history of civilisation, very few men had any rights either. Before democracy, and in its infancy, power was concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite. Rulers were often - though not exclusively - men, but the real power structures were families whose wealth and power were hereditary. Inequality was - and still is - far more a distinction between haves and have-nots than between males and females. Inequality - whatever the basis for groupings and comparisons - is a social phenomenon. If someone is more privileged than you, it's likely to have more to do with wealth and social connections than gender. Otherwise men as a subset would be wealthier and more influential than women as a subset, which is not the case. Gender is simply not a realistic basis for a class distinction.
We have met the enemy, and he is....
Back then, there was something at stake. Back then, feminism had a legitimate claim and it kicked ass, winning the equal rights and equal opportunities that women had coming to them as citizens of society. For a while afterwards - it can be argued - social attitudes lagged behind, resulting in de facto inequality, despite de jure equality. And now? Do women not have the same opportunities as men? Do they take them? Do they have to? If the situation today is still de facto inequality - at least on certain fronts - and still as a result of social attitudes, whose attitudes are at fault here? Is it the men, wondering where all the female applicants and candidates have got to? The same men who've mastered all the domestic chores as well as their own traditional areas of expertise? Have we got a shitty, archaic attitude, keeping women down? It doesn't really appear to be the case, does it? If you're looking for a non progressive, unproductive attitude to blame, try focussing on women, still never really venturing into anything unladylike as long as they can get a man to do it.
EMMELINE PANKHURST: (turning in grave) I didn't break windows and go on hunger strike for these whiny dingbats. What the fuck went wrong?
PROFESSOR RON: They discovered a genie called 'socialism.' They'll rub that lamp till they've worn the fucker out.
EMMELINE PANKHURST: The lamp or the genie?
PROFESSOR RON: Does it matter? It's fucked up either way.
Perhaps feminism still has a role to play. It just doesn't have anything to do with men anymore. We've done our bit, held up our end. Now it's up to you. Sure there's a problem, if you've got a problem with things as they are. So deal with it. Grasp the nettle. Make your move. Stop trying to make your problem society's problem. The solution to a lack of independence is independent action, not the same old whining, until a man takes pity on you and once more comes riding to the rescue. That can't solve the problem, because that is the problem. But only if you've got a problem with it.
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
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