What the “Women’s Day” celebrates and why the date of March 8 was chosen

The “Women’s Day” – which is actually recognized by the United Nations as International Women’s Day (International Women’s Day) – is sometimes lived as an opportunity for celebrate or receive flowers, in particular the mimosa. However, the anniversary of theMarch 8th It is not a real party, but one recurrence of political meaningwhich serves to remember the achievements of the feminist movement and to claim the rights not yet acquired by women. The celebration was born in the context of Feminist movement of the early 1900s And for many years it was a “part” celebration, recognized only by women of the socialist and communist area. In recent decades, however, it has been accepted by all political currents. In Italy the symbol of the day is the flower of the mimosachosen in 1946 byUnion Italian Women.

The origins of the International Women’s Day

The origins of the day must be sought in the years between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when in many countries they spread Movements for the claim of gender equality (then not called in this way) and, in particular, for the right to vote, that women were denied almost everywhere. The feminist movement was divided into Two large currents: that of the socialist and liberal area. The idea of ​​establishing a special day for the affirmation of women’s rights was born in the socialist area.

In 1909, the Socialist Party of the United States He established to dedicate a day to the struggles for women’s emancipation, in order to raise public awareness, and chose the last Sunday of February as the date. The following year, at the international conference of socialist women held in Copenhagen, the American delegates proposed to make the event international. The proposal was not fully accepted, but between 1910 and 1911 The celebration of the day spread to many countries. However, there was no single date. In France, for example, the first celebration took place on March 18, 1911, anniversary of the Municipality of Paris.

Instead, the thesis, very widespread, is not correct, according to which the celebration originated fromfire of the Triangle New York factorywhich on March 25, 1911 caused the death of 123 workers and 23 workers. The celebration had in fact been introduced two years earlier. However, the tragedy of the triangle favored the growth of feminist movements and, indirectly, facilitated the spread of the day. Instead, the legend that the date derives from a fire that happened on March 8, 1908 is completely unfounded: it never happened.

The choice of March 8 and the celebrations in the world

The first time when the women’s day was celebrated on March 8 was In 1914 in Germanybut the choice was random (it was a Sunday). The date was “officially” established in 1921 from the Conference of Communist Women, held in Moscow, in memory of the revolt in the 1917 in Pietrogrado (Today St. Petersburg), which had led to the reversal of the tsar. Among the rioters, women were very numerous, also because most of the men was engaged in the First World War.

On 8 March one remained for a long time “partisan” anniversarycelebrated only by women of communist and socialist ideology, but in the 60s and 70s, in correspondence with a new wave of struggles for gender equality, the celebration “extended” e involved women of all political memberships. Since 1977 the date of 8 March has been recognized by United Nations as a day of women’s rights.

Today the anniversary is sometimes emptied of its meaning And simply interpreted an opportunity to celebrate, but in many contexts it has lived as an opportunity for commitment to gender equality. In the West, female associations organize events and initiatives.

In countries in which the female condition is particularly difficult, the celebration is opposed by the institutions. This is the case ofIranwhere on some occasions the demonstrations were dispersed with the police. The anniversary of March 8 must not be confused with the World Day for the elimination of violence against womenintroduced by the UN in 1999, which is celebrated on November 25th.

March 8 in Italy and the mimosa symbol

The first March 8 Italian it was celebrated In 1922 On the initiative of the Communist Party, but the rise to power of the fascist regime, which occurred in October of that same year, ended both to the celebration and to the battles for female emancipation. The celebration of 8 March was again established after the Second World War on the initiative of theUnion Italian women, The feminist association of the SocialComunista area, which in 1946 also chose the symbol of 8 March, the mimosabecause it is a flower that grows spontaneously throughout the country.