Unlike many commemorative dates that were created and encouraged by trade, International Women's Day has been celebrated for a long time. However, officialization by the United Nations (UN) only came in 1975.
Precisely because of the antiquity of the celebrations, there are indications that they started even before the 20th century, many stories about the origin of the date are known. Among them, the most famous is that of the 1911 fire in a factory in New York City, where about 130 workers died.
This is certainly an extremely important and relevant fact for the struggle of women, despite that, many other events culminated in International Women's Day as we know it today.
For this reason, Escola Educação traced the chronology of the main events, so that you can learn a little about the trajectory of this struggle, which is so important and relevant in society.
It is clear that during these years many discussions and many other events took place and also collaborated for the consolidation of women's rights and the consequent date that symbolizes the achievements. Here, we list the main and most cited by history.
1908
This year marked the celebration of the first National Women's Day. It was celebrated in the United States in May. On that occasion, more than 1500 women held a protest demanding equality in the country's politics and economy.
1909
About a year later, as early as 1909, a protest organized by the Socialist Party of the United States organized a protest and march with more than 15,000 women in the heart of New York. It was February 26, date that was made official as the National Women's Day in the country.
In the same year, but in November, due to a strike, around 500 North American factories were closed. At that time, the main demand was in relation to working conditions.
The women worked six days a week, often even on Sundays. Daily journeys often exceeded sixteen hours.
1910
Almost at the same time that US women were starting to fight for their rights, European women were starting the first movements. In August of that year, during a meeting of the Second International Conference of Socialist Women in Denmark, a movement aimed at women's struggle was proposed.
Another point discussed at the event was the creation of an annual date to celebrate Women's Day. The proposal was approved by representatives from 17 nations. Those were the first steps in the struggle for the institution of universal suffrage in several countries. With this, the first official Women's Day was celebrated on March 19, 1911.
1911
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A fact that is commonly associated with the commemoration date of International Women's Day is the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, located in New York City.
On March 25 of that year, as a result of the precarious safety conditions at the site, a fire took hold of the factory, resulting in the death of 146 workers, 125 of whom were women.
However, as seen below, despite a milestone in the history of women's work, the date would only be set six years later. Furthermore, the records of the first protests are prior to this date.
1917
Shortly after the fiercest female movements came the First World War, which lasted between 1914 and 1918. Amidst the military events, the year 1917 was fundamental for the milestone of the International Women's Day.
To understand the dates, it is necessary to know that at that time Russia used the Julian calendar. The Gregorian used by most countries would only be adopted by the country in 1918.
That said, on February 23 (March 8 of the Gregorian calendar), more than 90,000 female workers demonstrated against Tsar Nicholas II against the famine that ravaged Russia during the war.
The move would be the start for the Russian Revolution. After its end, the date would come to be known among the Soviets as the day of the “heroic and working woman”. It became official as International Women's Day only in 1921.
1945
Almost 25 years later, the UN signs the first international agreement that established the principles of equality between men and women, another milestone related to the achievement of women.
1975
This year, which was titled “International Women's Year” in recognition of the achievements, the UN recognizes and makes March 8 official the International Women's Day.
However, more than forty years after this recognition, women still have a lot to achieve in terms of gender equality. Even with basic rights, such as voting and the improvement of working conditions, women are still in management positions are a minority and often have lower salaries, compared to a man who occupies the same office.
For reasons like these, all over the world the date is still celebrated with many protests. Always remembering that there is still a lot that needs to be changed, not only legally, but also in people's mindsets.
There are still many issues to be resolved today, such as domestic violence, violence against women, high rates of femicide and many others. In short, it is a day to be celebrated, but it is always necessary to remember that the struggle of women is not yet over.
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