International Women's Day celebrates the achievements and contributions of women to economic, social, cultural and political life and serves as a reminder of all those human rights that are still suppressed and contested. On this day, it is necessary to remember that we still live in an unequal society, we support gender stereotypes, sexism, homophobia, we do not react to discrimination, and we have difficulty accepting respect for diversity. Will we really leave such a reality to our descendants?
Historically, the idea of celebrating International Women's Day emerged during a period of rapid industrialization and economic growth, when women protested against poor working conditions and low wages. Women employed in the textile industry publicly protested on March 8, 1857 in New York. Protests continued later, and in 1908, about 15,000 women protested demanding shorter working hours, better wages, and the right to vote. The first Women's Day was marked on February 28, 1909 in the United States with a declaration adopted by the Socialist Party of America. An important historical moment that inspired the fight for women's rights and better working conditions is associated with the fire in a textile factory in New York in 1911, in which 123 women and girls tragically died. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly called on member states to declare March 8 as the official UN holiday for women's rights and world peace. Since then, the UN and numerous member countries celebrate International Women's Day and each year choose a theme and area of a more intense campaign. This year's campaign is about inclusion, the equal inclusion of women in all areas of life, regardless of their skin color, religion, belonging to a certain group or locality, and is called "Inspire inclusion".
All available data show that many more years of commitment will be needed for women and men to be equal participants in creating a better, fairer and more progressive society. For example, we are still, just like 100 years ago, talking about the violation of women's labor and social rights. In Croatia, women still receive lower wages for work of the same value as men, are exposed to sexual harassment in the workplace, have difficulty advancing to better-paid positions, agree to fixed-term contracts, take care of children and elderly household members for more time than their partners, and when they reach retirement, they live below the poverty line, so we are talking about the feminization of poverty. Poverty has a female face because women make up 70% of all the poor in the world. In addition to all this, every third woman is exposed to some form of violence during her lifetime, and the issue of her reproductive rights is decided in political decision-making positions where men are in the majority.
In such circumstances, only through joint efforts can we change society. Reactions to inequality must always and every time, regardless of ideology or political views. We have a history of struggle and won rights that we can refer to and on which we can build the future that we leave to our descendants.
