Why is this day important for everyone, not just women? Because it reminds me that Freedom and rights are not given once and for all. It also teaches us that it is worth fighting for justice for any social group experiencing oppression from the stronger.
Women's Day is not only flowers and wishes, but above all, the story of the feminist movement that won for us the right to vote, education and equal treatment. March 8 it's a day to celebrate the way we like it — let it be sunny and flowery! But on this occasion let us remember history and the fact that the fight for equality is still going on. Feminists have achieved a lot for us, but there is even more ahead!
Women's Day has been celebrated since 1910 and has its origins in the movement of the Socialist Party of America. - women's emancipation movements were born from labor movements in North America and Europe. In 1910, the International Socialist Conference was organized in Denmark. during which German activists, including Clara Zetkin, proposed that Women's Day be made a day celebrated internationally. The idea of the movement was building social support for women, establishing universal suffrage for women, taking up public office, women's right to work and vocational training, and ending discrimination in the workplace. The conference was attended by more than 100 women from 17 countries, including three women elected to the Finnish Parliament for the first time.
In 1917, women in Russia took to the streets on strike with the slogans of “bread and peace” - the February Revolution was just beginning, which after a few days caused the Tsar of Russia to abdicate and women were granted the right to vote.
The importance of the law
The achievements of the feminist movements of the early twentieth century translated into legal declarations and acts establishing equality between women and men. In 1945, the first international document was created confirming the principle of equality of women and men - the Charter of the United Nations. The United Nations is implementing an advocacy agenda equal participation of women in the achievement of the goals of sustainable development, peace, security and full respect for human rights.
In history we have several significant legal changes that both contributed to the improvement of the situation of women in the world and significantly worsened it - so the history of these laws is not clear, although we can safely say that in relation to the past - our place as women has undergone a revolutionary change in the last century.
Let's look at some important moments in the history of women's rights:
Seneca Falls Declaration (1848, USA) - the first declaration of women's rights in the United States. The members of the convention discussed and finally adopted Declaration of feelings (Declaration of Sentiments), which described the unfair and unequal treatment of women and presented twelve “resolutions” calling for legal and cultural reform.
Women's Suffrage Act (1918) Poland was one of the first countries in the world to grant women the right to vote and stand for election. The first countries in the world to grant this right were Australia and New Zealand (late 19th century). Interestingly, in countries such as Switzerland and Liechtenstein, these rights were granted much later, in the 70s and 80s of the twentieth century!
Right to Abortion - Roe v. Wade (1973, USA) U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide Today, the issue of the legality of abortion and access to it is regulated at the state level - aborcja is no longer constitutionally guaranteed at the federal level and this happened after the decision of the Supreme Court in 2022. In Poland Judgment of the Constitutional Court (2020) further tightened abortion laws, eliminating the premise of severe fetal malformations (2020 CT ruling Tightened the 1993 regulations, eliminating one of the three legal grounds for abortion in Poland). IN 2020 of the year and Argentina, after numerous grassroots protests by women, women have gained the right to a safe, legal and free abortion up to the 14th week, regardless of the reason. Argentine women fought for more than 30 years to change this law!
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (USA) of fair labor standards, protects against gender pay discrimination.1 The Equal Pay Act (EPA) protects people of all genders.
Istanbul Convention (2014) - International Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women. In Poland it was declared in 2020, but formally Poland is still a party to it.
Labor Code - Article 11. Principle of equal treatment of workers
Workers have equal rights by virtue of the equal performance of the same duties; this applies in particular to the equal treatment of men and women in employment.
Statements on equality between women and men can of course also be found in Documents of the European Union such as: the Equal Pay Directive (2023), which introduces obligation to disclose the gender pay gap in companies with more than 100 employeesthe Equal Treatment Directive (2006/54/EC) Prohibiting gender discrimination in the workplace.
Wishes
On this special day, we wish every woman full rights, freedom from all gender discrimination, the normalization of what remains unregulated, as well as the strength necessary to achieve these goals. We also wish you peace and a well-deserved rest. We know how difficult it can be to overcome the so-called glass ceilings and face unequal treatment. Therefore, we desire a world where double standards do not exist, and mutual respect and goodness are the foundations of any relationship.
On this day, we also remember the women whose situation is extremely difficult in different parts of the world: the Afghan women whose rights have been almost completely taken away by the Taliban regime; the Palestinian and Ukrainian women who are experiencing the tragedies of war; the women trapped in violent homes and struggling with poverty. We are with you and we want to build a better and safer world for all of us together. Sources:
1. https://www.unic.un.org.pl/kobiety_rozwoj_pokoj/dzien_kobiet.php
2. https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/international-womens-day
5. https://sip.lex.pl/akty-prawne/dzu-dziennik-ustaw/kodeks-pracy-16789274/art-11-2
