Thread by @Abortion_Rights

Do you know the story of how #InternationalWomensDay came to be? Make yourself a cuppa, settle down, and read on.

#IWD has been observed since the early 1900s. At the time the industrialised world was seeing a booming population growth alongside political turbulence.

In 1908, there was great critical debate happening among women. Oppression and inequality was leading women to organise and campaign for change. 15,000 women marched through NYC that year, demanding better pay, shorter hours, and the right to vote.

In 1909, in accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on February 28.

1910, an International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) proposed the idea of an International Women's Day.

She put forward the idea that every year around the world there should be a Women's Day to press for the demands of women. The conference approved Zetkin's suggestion unanimously. International Women's Day was born.

In 1911, #IWD was honoured in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than 1 million people attended rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, hold public office and end discrimination.

On March 25, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in NYC took the lives of more than 140 working women, mostly immigrants. This drew attention to working conditions in the US that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events.

1913, Russia observed its first #IWD . 1914, it was held on March 8 in Germany, and has since always been observed on that date around the world. Also in 1914, in London, there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of women's suffrage.

Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square.

1917, in Petrograd, Russian women textile workers began a demonstration covering the whole city. This marked the beginning of the February Revolution, which alongside the October Revolution made up the Russian Revolution. (Image: Creative Commons)

Women in Saint Petersburg went on strike that day for "Bread and Peace"– demanding the end of World War I, an end to Russian food shortages, and the end of czarism. Seven days later, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.

After its official adoption in Soviet Russia following the Revolution in 1917, the holiday was celebrated by the socialist movement worldwide. Communist leader Dolores Ibárruri led a women's march in Madrid in 1936 on the eve of the Spanish Civil War.

Around 1967, #IWD it was taken up by second-wave feminists. It became known as a day of activism, and is sometimes known in Europe as the Women's International Day of Struggle.

In the 1970s and 1980s, women's groups were joined by leftists and labour organisations in calling for equal pay, equal economic opportunity, equal legal rights, reproductive rights, subsidised child care, and the prevention of violence against women.

#IWD was celebrated for the first time by the UN in 1975. In 1977, the UN General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women's rights and world peace.

By the new millennium, there was little activity for #IWD in most countries. The day has increasingly been exploited by corporations for branding, and used to promote feel-good messages rather than radical social reforms.

That's why we wanted to remind everyone, ourselves included, that #IWD is rooted in a history of struggle, protest and solidarity, and is a movement that was begun by workers to campaign for material change.

Read about the Socialist History of #IWD in more detail here: tribunemag.co.uk/2020/03/the-so…

The best thing you can do to celebrate #IWD is to join a union, and do become a member of an organisation that is actively campaigning for the improvement of the lives of women.

Abortion Rights has a long history of resistance and campaigning. We were formed in 2003 by the merger of 2 long-standing and influential campaigns – the NAC & ALRA, which was instrumental in campaigning for the Abortion Act of 1967 in the UK.

Read more about our history here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_…

We encourage individuals & organisations – women’s groups, trade unions, political representatives, academics & students, healthcare professionals, minority ethnic, lesbian and gay and disabled people’s organisations and all others to get involved.

We are a membership-based organisation. In addition to individual members, we have the support of NUS and civil society orgs, as well as the TUC and national trade unions.

You can join us or affiliate your organisation with Abortion Rights here: abortionrights.org.uk/support-us/