With tenderness I explained to my husband why I do not want flowers on March 8. Bashny.Net

Congratulations on International Women's Day It has long since turned into a sura. Let me explain. Manufacturers of various goods, marketers and ordinary people turned this day into a holiday of spring, beauty and harmony. But that's not true at all!



On the eve of such an important event, we consider it our duty to tell about the history of International Women’s Day. And we also suggest to speculate whether to celebrate this holiday at all.

On how International Women’s Day became such, I learned from my grandmother when I was still quite young. Ba told me a story. textile workers strike in New York. In 1908, women marched to demand better working conditions.

This holiday would not have happened if, at the end of the 19th century, suffragettes, activists and ordinary workers had not begun to fight for their rights. The Second International Conference of the Socialists of 1910 Decision on the annual celebration of International Women's Day. The proposal was made by Clara Zetkin, a German social democrat and women’s rights activist.



Instagram / @art_photo_bird Then the main goal of this community was to achieve universal suffrage for women in all countries of the world. Clara Zetkin was supported by more than a hundred women from 17 countries. However, the exact date of the celebration was not agreed. For some time, International Women’s Day was celebrated in different countries.

But already in 1914, Austria, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Switzerland and other countries celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8. So this tradition is over 100 years old. Why are there so many stories in the post-Soviet countries related to this day?



For example, there is a belief that March 8 is a traditional Soviet holiday. As you can see, that's not true. Although this day is really connected with the February Revolution of 1917. More than 128,000 workers went on strike to demand equality. After 4 days, the emperor signed a decree granting women the right to vote, but the revolution did not stop.

With the development of the Soviet Union, International Women’s Day lost its feminist essence. March 8 in the USSR began to congratulate all women, girls and even girls. It is clear that this tradition has migrated to modern Russia. So it turns out that now it is just a women's day, when beloved wives, mothers and mistresses need to please with flowers and other gifts.

The tradition of celebrating March 8 is preserved in the CIS countries. And often it comes down to wishing a woman to remain beautiful, because she has to decorate this world. But that's stupid! Women are not jewelry, and we should not objectify them.



Feminists in many countries around the world are still demonstrating on this day with slogans about solidarity and equality. Protests and other performances, holding various thematic events – all this is necessary to return International Women’s Day to its original meaning.

The trail left by the Soviet Union, in this regard, fell on Ukraine. There was talk that March 8 should be canceled in order to decommunize. There was also a proposal to replace the date and make February 25 the official day of the Ukrainian woman.



However, people opposed it. First, Ukrainians and Ukrainians freely voted for March 8 to remain a day off. Second, responsible feminists have begun to educate themselves about the meanings of International Women’s Day.

In addition, the Network began to criticize the proposal to introduce a day of Ukrainian women. The date is absolutely inappropriate, although February 25 is the birthday of the outstanding Lesia Ukrainka. Nevertheless, on February 24, all Ukrainians mourn, because it was on this day in 2022 that Russia launched a full-scale invasion.



This is a great grief for the entire Ukrainian people. It is very strange to have a national holiday the next day. Besides, the name itself sounds strange. After all, women of different nationalities live in Ukraine: Jews, Armenians, Rumunks, Crimean Tatars and others. So we are more than certain that the dubious idea will not come true from February 25.

Not all women consider themselves feminists. For some, the concept of feminism is twisted. However, we should not forget, thanks to whom we now have the right to choose: we can work where we want, receive money for this, participate in voting in elections, choose a partner and much more.



All this happened thanks to many years of struggle of activists who were not afraid to assert themselves and their rights. International Women’s Day is meant to remind people of this and to draw public attention to issues that are still relevant for women.

I wonder what you think about that?