Intl Women's Day

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

RADICAL ROOTS ARE ALMOST FORGOTTEN

By Stephen Wilson

 

            

Unless you are under the spell of an 'urban trance', you can't fail to notice women carrying either a bouquet or more often, a solitary flower. It is inescapable. And it it not even International Women's Day which occurs on 8th March, but the 5th, 6th or 7th of March. On those days Moscow is engulfed by a a sea of solitary flowers.

            

There is a pathos about this as if the inner loneliness of so many women suddenly surfaces. But if you look more attentively you'll notice not only the women carrying single flowers, but women embracing each other and giving either flowers and gifts.

            

On this day not only do some employers feel obliged to hand out flowers to their employees or men shower women with gifts, but women give each other flowers. And some women don't receive anything at all. So the distinct impression might be that International Women's Day is a Russian version of either Mother's Day or Saint Valentine's Day. Instead of being a profound protest and affirmation of the rights of women, it is often reduced to a gift giving ritual. In deed, many Russians are unaware of the historical roots and the original purpose of this day. This day has largely become a chance to promote a brand or for speculators to sell over priced flowers at staggering prices. The price of a rose can either double or triple.

            

A rose that usually costs 50 rubles can fetch 100 -150 rubles. This day has been so commercialized that you can forgive people for becoming almost indifferent or cynical about it.

 

            ORIGINS

 

            Perhaps it is no surprise to find that the original radical vision enshrined in International Women's Day is neither remembered or affirmed. It is ghost which the government would prefer to exorcise but can't. Despite the appeals or rituals of priests, the ghost keeps returning to haunt the government. For International Women's Day represents a fearless protest against all forms of oppression against women demanding they be treated as equals and

acknowledged with true respect. Its historical roots can be traced back to America, Denmark and Russia. For some time American women who were protesting against unfair conditions and poor pay in factories wanted to lay aside a special day where they would gather to not only remember the past struggle of women, but to affirm and strengthen the existing fight for emancipation. This meant equal pay, an eight hour day and decent working conditions. The American Socialist Party proposed such a day. This event was also a day of remembrance following a horrific fire which killed as many as 146 immigrant women at the Triangle Shirtwaist company on March 25th, 1911. In 1910, in Denmark, the Second International agreed to accept a resolution by Clara Zetkin to found International Women's day. In 1911 it was being celebrated in Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. But the most profound impact of this day came in Russia where women gathered to protest against the price of bread, on the 23rd of February and sparked off the Russian Revolution of 1917. It is true that women gained some rights from the revolution such as better rights to marriage and divorce, better access to education and care for their children. But women are still oppressed by the double burden of being expected to hold a full time job and look after the children. 

And in more recent years their rights against abuse and violence have been eroded. In 2017, first time violence against women was decriminalized after Putin signed a bill defining it as non-criminal if the violence was 'harmless'! This led to an huge escalation in violence against women. According to official figures, as many as 12000 women are murdered each year by men. Most women who are in prison for murder were often acting in self-defense against abusive

husbands. In a word, they should not be in prison.  So the legacy of this day is something much more meaningful and profound. It is a call for a genuine and deep improvement in the quality of life of all women. It is a demand to end all forms of abuse and cruelty against women. More positively, it is an appeal to treat women  with full respect and dignity so they can feel happier. This is not as difficult as it sounds. You can learn to listen better as well as encourage and support their aspirations for self-realization.

           

 

            WHAT SOME WOMEN WANT

 

            The great Austrian Father of Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud once confessed, "I have never been able to establish what Women actually want". Perhaps it makes more sense just to let women speak for themselves. Second City

Teachers decided to ask some women two questions: "What do you think of International Women's Day? and "What could be the best present you could get? " The answers were often unexpected. I asked a shop assistant in a games shop in Moscow, at the Baby shop center, what could be the best present. Yelena answered: "The best present would be a car, but I understand my daughter and my man can't afford it because of the pay they earn. But I think any present, no matter how small, should be appreciated by women."

            

I found that not all women wanted flowers because they died so quickly or were awkward to carry about after work. Some women prefer to receive plants or are happy to just get a day off work. For a woman tortured by insomnia the best gift

someone could grant her would be sleep! If only we could grant the right gift!

 

            I asked Olga, a young mother of two children and a philologist from Bulgaria, what she thought. "We don't celebrate this day much in Sofia. The best thing I could get would be non-material things. I prefer an exciting experience and the emotions that go with it. I would like a voucher or a ticket to an exhibition or music concert. I think we need emotions and not gifts. My husband likes to give gifts to me and both my daughters so he makes it a special day for us."

 

            A Russian artist Svetlana Wilson told me: "During the Soviet period we did not take this day seriously. It was a day that the government used to promote its own propaganda. Men never gave me gifts. I do remember that once my husband bought me flowers on this day from a trader on one occasion. I also remember that in one factory I was working an old and bald employer handed out a single flower to each of his employees. I thought this was very sad. But I think this day was given back to me by my daughter who started to give me presents and made me a special card with her own hands. It was a gift from the soul. So it has become a special day for me!"