On March 8 of each year the world commemorates International Women’s Day, a date made official by the United Nations (UN) in 1977, and which was the result of a constant fight for different feminist movements during the 20th centurywho by then were demanding better working conditions, the right to vote and gender equality between men and women.
During this day, a series of historical events are remembered that marked the struggle of women in the world for equality and justice, and it is an invitation to reflect, discuss and visualize gender inequality in the worldvindicating women’s rights in various areas.
Today, when 45 years have passed since this date was declared an international holiday, although significant progress has been made in terms of gender equality in the world, there are still aspects that need to be worked on to ensure women a better life. full, in which each of their rights are respected.
Why is International Women’s Day commemorated on March 8?
The origin of the commemoration of International Women’s Day on March 8, is attributed to a series of historical events and social movements that marked a before and after in the fight for equal rights for women.
However, there is a legend to which the origin of the date is attributed, which was published by the Spanish writer and journalist Nuria Varela in her book ‘Feminism for beginners’.
This legend tells about a fire that occurred on March 8, 1908 in a textile factory in New York called ‘Cotton’, in which 129 women workers of the company died, after starting a strike demanding better working conditions.
Furthermore, the legend explains that the fabrics on which these workers worked were violet, which is why this color identifies the workers. feminist movements around the world.
Regarding this theory, different expert scholars on the subject have carried out in-depth research in historical documents of the United States, without finding any reference to this fact, beyond the well-known ‘New York shirtmakers’ strikewhich was carried out in 1909 with the objective of demanding better working conditions and a reduction in the working hours of the company’s workers.
Historical events that led to International Women’s Day
Below, we have prepared a timeline in which each of the historical events that led to the official proclamation of International Women’s Day on March 8 of each year.
Although the official chronology for the commemoration of this date begins on February 28, 1909 with the first celebration of “National Women’s Day” in the United States, other historical events that occurred before already awakened desires for equality. and respect for women’s rights worldwide.
Events such as the participation of women in French Revolution in 1789the demand for gender equality and the growth of movements that fought for the right to vote for women in the mid-19th century, were established as the first steps in the fight for equal rights Worldwide.
What motivated the fight for women’s rights?
Historically, women have been targets of advances and setbacks in terms of human rights and freedom. In ancient times, the female gender was strongly oppressed in the vast majority of everyday areas, so there were several activities and rights that were prohibited and were only intended for the male gender.
Gender inequality is an issue that has been a topic of discussion by different human rights organizations for decades, and even today there are certain aspects in which greater attention is required to guarantee compliance with women’s rights in the world.
Some of the main rights for which the fight for gender equality At a global level they were the following:
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Right to suffrage for women.
In ancient times, women did not have the right to elect rulers as this was a privilege only allowed to men. The labor movement for women’s rights, which began at the end of the 17th century, was one of the movements in favor of women’s suffragewhich little by little spread to other countries.
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Equal pay for working women.
Salary inequalities between women and men have been the subject of debate for years, because in many cases, the man received a greater amount of money as a salary, despite the fact that the woman had more occupations.
Even today, the figures on salary inequalities are very worrying, and according to a Published in 2018, Latina women in the US earn an average of 54 cents for every dollar a man earns.
Likewise, in the published by the World Economic Forum in 2019, indicates that it will take approximately 257 years to achieve economic equality for women in the world.
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Right to equality and non-discrimination.
Although today there are many companies in the world that have clear policies on gender equalityand in the vast majority of countries non-discrimination is a Law established in the main regulations of each country, in ancient times discrimination against women in all types of activities and sports was very common, limiting their functions to basic household tasks .
Currently, according to a of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO, there are many countries in which gender inequality still persists, especially in the school environment in Central Asian countries.
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Right to free information and education.
In the past, education was also considered a privilege that only men could enjoy. This idea was most of the time fueled by cultural and religious beliefssince in certain cultures they even considered “a sin” for a woman to receive an appropriate education.
Today this reality has changed significantly. According to figures from in 1975 the 70% of girls and women aged 15 to 24 were literatewhile for the year 2018, this figure reaches 90%.
Although of course the goal is 100%, unfortunately there are many other aspects that influence women’s lack of access to adequate education, such as poverty.
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Right to a life free of violence
Violence against women has been a global problem that even dates back to ancient Roman times. The right to a life free of violence was one of the main triggers of the fight for women’s rights in the 20th century.
Today this is one of the aspects in which great progress has not been made, since the figures of violence and sexual abuse in the world still remain highly worrying and, although it is a problem that also affects men, the female gender It is usually the main target.
According to the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, the 40% of adolescent girls in the world have been sexually abused at some stage of his life.
On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 1 in 3 women in the world has been a victim of physical and/or sexual violence.
The most worrying thing is that many of these cases tend to remain hidden due to the victims’ fear of comments from those around them, the feeling of shame and guilt that they usually develop, and the lack of knowledge of the means to which they can turn to .
The fight for women’s rights continues
While it is true that, compared to years ago, today women have much more power and presence in different areas such as education, politics and the economy, and progress has been made in the respect for women’s rights worldwideStill a long way to go.
There are many countries in which the female gender is still the target of injustices and situations that, far from guaranteeing them the right to life, health, equality and non-violence, turn them into figures of abuses such as sexual abuse.
International Women’s Day is a date to commemorate the achievement of feminist movements that made significant progress in the recognition of women’s rights and gender equalitybut it is also a call to action to work on those aspects that still threaten women’s freedom in the world.
At Yo Digo No Más we constantly work in the fight against sexual abuse as one of the main abuses that threaten the physical and emotional integrity of women, but we also provide our platform to empower all victims of abusehelp her heal these episodes and encourage her to follow her goals to achieve success.
You can also be part of this fight! and let’s work together to prevent sexual abuse in the world and for equal rights for all.