Glasgow and International Women's Day.

 

      International Women's Day (March 8) has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908
Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

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 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910
In 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named a Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.

1911
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.    Read the full article HERE:

   

      Here in our own city of Glasgow can boast an army of women who have fought not just to raise the profile and rights of women, but fought in that greater struggle, the struggle for justice and freedom for all. The early part of the 20th century through the hungry 30's Glasgow had battling heroes such as Mary Barbour, Helen Crawfurd, Agnes Dollan, Jane Hamilton Patrick, Helen Brown Scott Lennox, Ethel MacDonald, and Rita Milton. From then until now there have been many more. Our city and indeed the world, owe a debt to those women who stood and fought against the tide of the conventionalism, injustice and war. 

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WOMEN FACING ADVERSITY.

       The stories of all those who fight oppression, who struggle for justice for all humanity, should be recorded to add to the rich heritage that is the history of the ordinary people. From out of the ranks of the ordinary people have come giants that have faced oppression head on with a selfless courage, a courage that enriches the culture of the ordinary people, a courage that will one day bring a better world of justice, co-operation, mutual aid, a world free from oppression and deprivation.  

       On International Women's Day, this from Human Rights First:

        For years, the Russian police have targeted activist Anastasia Denisova because of her work to combat intolerance in the city of Krosnodar. She faced one bogus charge after another—from tax fraud to piracy. All charges were eventually dropped because of lack of evidence.

But the persecution has not stopped her from continuing her work. Forced out of her own city, Anastasia moved to Moscow. Today, she defends people like Anwar Yusupov, who faces a two-year prison sentence for defending himself from neo-Nazi attackers.

Across the globe, women have been at the forefront of the human rights movement—often risking their lives fighting for core freedoms. Anastasia is one of the brave activists that Human Rights First is honoring for International Women's Day and Women's History Month.

Learn their stories. Celebrate their achievements and draw daily inspiration from their courage.

We're proud to work with courageous women from all over the world who continue to push boundaries and make human rights truly universal. Please help us continue our partnership with women activists by giving a gift today.

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STILL MORE TO BE DONE.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!!!

THERE HAS BEEN PROGRESS,

BUT,

IT'S A CRIME WE STILL NEED IT???

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THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY.

          Let's celebrate  the contribution women have made to the struggle for rights, not just rights for women, but rights for all. March 8 is International Women's Day and here in Glasgow we have an army of women who through the years have been at the forefront of the struggle for rights. Theirs was a struggle to raise the dignity of all, to see all humanity as one, with nobody excluded from the rights others took for granted.  There are those women who have etched their names on recorded history but there are thousands of others who battled for those rights, but sadly their names have not been record, but their efforts have left a beneficial mark on the shape of our society today. Here are just a few of those women from Glasgow whose names were recorded and should be remember with pride; Ethel MacDonald, Mary Barbour, Helen Crawfurd, Jenny Patrick, Helen Lennox, but honour and gratitude  to those women's names we can't recall.

The following from Human Rights First

      Eleanor Roosevelt was the driving force behind the International Declaration of Human Rights, which the United Nations passed in 1948. Since then, women have been at the forefront of human rights movements—pushing for human rights to be truly universal.

Human Rights First is proud to work with courageous women from all over the world, and to commemorate Women's History Month and International Women's Day on March 8, we're highlighting their inspiring stories.

Some are women's rights activists and others are human rights activists who happen to be women. Whether it's promoting tolerance in Pakistan, democratizing Egypt and Bahrain, or fighting for LGBT rights in Russia, these women face unique challenges, from sexism to gender-based violence. Yet they refused to be silenced.

Check out their stories.

Sincerely,

Marc Jayson Climaco
Human Rights First

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2012.

          In spite of the fact that women are 51% of the world's population, they still seem to treated as the underdog in most societies. However women, rightly so, have never accepted that as good enough and have for generations fought to have equal rights in their society.  In most coutries they have come along way along the road to equality but still have a long way to go. It is surely unacceptable that the majority of the wold's population should treated as somewhat unferior to the minority, but then again, that seems to be the way that our societies are structure, the minority have all the priveleges and power while the majority have to struggle for a decent life. With men and women coming together to fight for equality we have the opportunity to put to rights all the inequalities built into this capitalist society by changing it so that we are all treated equally in a society that sees to the needs of all its people, not one that panders to a privieged few.

 

           This from International Women's Day.

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908
Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

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 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910
n 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named a Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.
Continue READING.

 International Women's Day what's happening in your area?

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2011.

“Women need not always keep their mouths shut and their wombs open.” Emma Goldman.

     

      March 8 is celebrated across the world as International Women's Day (IWD), a day when we can come together to honour women world wide. In 1910, the Second International held the first international women's conference in Copenhagen and an 'International Women's Day' was established. It was suggested by the German Socialist Clara Zetkin, although no date was specified. The first IWD was observed on March 19, 1911 in Germany.

       It is a day when we can pay homage to all those women who selflessly fought to improve the conditions of not just women, but all humankind. Women who struggled to improve working conditions, for justice, for peace, for unity of all ordinary people.

      Every country, every city, has its role of honour of such women, perhaps not publicly displayed but it will be there, in folklore, in song, in theatre and poem. Glasgow can be proud of its list of women who fought injustice where they saw it, some struggled away in obscurity, some in the limelight of publicity, all paid their part in improving our lives. Today more than ever we need our women heroes, we need the unity of all men and women to combat the savage onslaught against our living standards. Today more than ever people have to stand up and join hands in solidarity with all people's across the globe.

     Here are just a few of Glasgow's women from our recent past that are worthy of being honoured today.

Mary Barbour,   Ethel MacDonald,    Helen Crawfurd,    Agnes Dollan,    Jenny Patrick,  who would you add to this list, there are hundreds from which to choose. Where are our modern Mary Barbour's, where is today's Ethel MacDonald? Can you name them?

 

 
"It is not by changing ministers - such guilty men! - or issuing declarations that fascism will be conquered. The problem is more complex than that. We do not intend to add our voice to those who delude the workers that their 'leaders' will get them out of the mess. The problems need a complete transformation in the present attitude of the working class."  Marie Louise Berneri From; War Commentary, December 1940.

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