Wasn't here yesterday, but still, Happy woman's day to the females (or shemales) among us.
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Wasn't here yesterday, but still, Happy woman's day to the females (or shemales) among us.
Who left this off all my calendars?
Doing a Google search returned thousands of hits for the magazine and one from the United Nations from 1997 about international Woman's Day.
Happy belated Woman's Day to all the ladies.
Happy International Women's Day to you. Women are great.
By the way, did you know that the Russian revolution began as a protest march on International Women's Day, demanding land, bread, and peace? Other slogans were "End to the war!", "End to the autocracy." The led to the abdication of the Czar, the establishment of a republic, and then around 9 months later, the seizure of power by the Soviets under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky.
I was gonna make a vulgar, sexist comment about presents on woman's day... but decided i would take the high road. The is a new sheriff in these parts.... and he is a mite touchy.
That's very nice of you Availor :) But to tell you the truth, I didn't know about it :o And why isn't there a Men's Day? All these special Days are meant for the weak and the 'put behind', so....:D
Hi Marcia,
As is the case with May Day (international labor day), International Women's Day originally commemorated women workers in America who were victimized by the largest industrial accident in New York's history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in 1911. American socialists called for this holiday, and it was adopted internationally by a number of labor organizations.
The Russian people suffered horribly during World War I (as did so many others, including your own country), and there was a large antiwar sentiment, as well as antiwar demonstrations. On International Women's Day in 1917, Russian women workers called an antiwar and pro land reform demonstration, which finally culminated a month later with the resignation of the hated Czarist dictatorship. A bourgeois democratic government under first Prince Lvov and then Kerenski came about.
This is one of the reasons that even today, after the fall of communism, Women's Day is so highly regarded in Russia, as well as many other parts of the world. It is a celebration of solidarity with women workers, who are still terribly and especially exploited in many parts of the world. That's why Availar says it is deeply rooted in Russian culture.
Those in the west who are younger may not realize the terrible conditions women lived under in the first part of the 20th century and before. For example, in the United States, women did not even get the right to vote in federal elections until 1920. Other countries that gave women the right to vote are the United Kingdom 1928, France 1944, and the first self-governing country do do so was New Zealand, 1893. Even the Soviet Union recognized the right of women to vote shortly after the revolution, in 1917. Western women had limited or no property rights or even the right to raise their children in the case of divorce until well into the 20th century, a plight of many women in many parts of the world today.
It's good to honor our foremothers for their courageous struggles of the past-- struggles which have played a significant part in making all our lives more tolerable today.
Okay, I'm dusting myself off and getting off the soap box now.
Thanks for your history upgrade Alan! And sorry for my stupid 'joke' Availor...
I guess I was in a joking and very sunny mood and not thinking when I wrote this anwer. Of course I'm aware of the struggle of women all over the world and especially in the 20th century (although I didn't know about their fight in Russia and this demonstration in 1917) So, I apologize for my disrespectful reaction.
I'm sure no offense was meant and no offense taken. There's nothing wrong with a sunny mood.
Perhaps I overreacted, as I have seen many young people who take a very narrow and even reactionary stand based on ignorance of recent history. We have lots of those here in the USA, where interest in history is seen as uncool. Unfortunately, ignorance of history often seems to reach into the highest levels of our society.
Regards,
Alan