For many women in Pakistan, from marginalised and remote areas, International Women’s Day remains elusive. However, the history and as a result the significance of this day pushed The Wayward to devote most of its segments to issues pertaining to women from femicide to complicating objectification of women in Bollywood’s items songs.
We see International Women’s Day not only as a celebration of women but a day of resistance for millions of women, from all backgrounds, living in this patriarchal setup in Pakistan and many other, globally.
The date of March 8 was officially chosen for International Women’s Day in 1921. This date was based on a historic strike in Russia in 1917.
The first International Women’s Day was held on March 19, 1911 in several European countries. In 1910, Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of International Women’s Day at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen.
On March 8, 1917, women in Petrograd, Russia protested food shortages, poor living conditions, and World War I deaths. These demonstrations were a key part of the Russian Revolution and helped secure women’s suffrage. The date of the 1917 strike became the official date for International Women’s Day in 1921.
Today, International Women’s Day is recognised in many countries as a day to acknowledge the efforts made to advance women’s rights. It’s also a reminder of the work that remains to be done to achieve equality for all women.
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.
Marked annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day is one of the most important days of the year to recognise women’s achievements, raise awareness about women’s equality, lobby for accelerated gender parity, and fundraise for female-focused charities.
The women of today are not only resilient in the face of injustices but also are penning their own stories or stories of other women with a sense of sisterhood prevalent as also demonstrated in the articles part of this issue of the magazine.
Let us all chant this March yet again, the age-old slogan in this day and age, that ‘We want bread and flowers’ as women of yesteryears did.
