By REGINA GARCIA CANO (Associated Press)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Women worldwide will demand equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice, decision-making jobs and other essential needs during demonstrations marking International Women’s Day on Friday.
Recognized officially by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day is celebrated in different ways and to different extents in various places around the world. Protests are often political and, at times, violent, stemming from women's efforts to enhance their rights as workers.
Demonstrations are planned from Tokyo to Mexico City, and this year’s global theme is “Inspire Inclusion.”
Here is what to know about the March 8 global event:
International Women’s Day is a worldwide celebration — and a call to do something — marked by demonstrations, mostly of women, around the world, ranging from confrontational protests to charity runs. Some celebrate the economic, social and political accomplishments of women, while others urge governments to ensure equal pay, access to healthcare, justice for victims of gender-based violence and education for girls.
It is an official holiday in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine, Russia and Cuba, the only one in the Americas.
Like in other aspects of life, social media plays an important role during International Women’s Day, particularly by amplifying attention to demonstrations held in countries with repressive governments toward women and dissent in general.
While the concept of a women’s day originated in U.S. with the American Socialist Party in 1909, it was a German feminist who advocated for a global observation during an international conference of socialist women held in 1910 in Copenhagen. The following year, events across Europe marked the day, and during World War I, women used it to protest the armed conflict, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.
International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 after a massive protest in Russia on Feb. 23, 1917, that led to the country’s eventual withdrawal from the war. At the time, Russia had not adopted the Gregorian calendar — named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582 – and still used the Julian calendar – the brainchild of Julius Caesar and still used by Orthodox churches for religious rites.
“On Feb. 23 in Russia, which was March 8 in Western Europe, women went out on the streets and protested for bread and peace,” said Kristen Ghodsee, professor and chair of Russian and East European studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Demonstrators included widows, wives and mothers of men who died or were injured during the war. “The authorities weren’t able to stop them, and then, once the men saw that the women were out on the streets, all of the workers started coming and joining the women.”
The U.N. began commemorating the holiday in 1975, which was International Women’s Year, and its General Assembly officially recognized the day two years later.
It depends on the time and place.
In Eastern Europe, women have traditionally received flowers on March 8 and sometimes even had the day off from work. However, giving chocolates and candy can be seen as demeaning, as it shows a lack of understanding of the struggles that drive women to protest, especially in regions where protests have been confrontational.
In Turkey, women courageously defied an official ban on an International Women’s Day march in Istanbul last year, and protested for about two hours before police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and detain dozens of people. In Mexico City, numerous people were injured during a March 8 demonstration in 2021, as protesters clashed with police in the main square using rocks, bottles, metal poles, spray paint, and lit aerosol cans.
Meanwhile, online retailers have long used International Women’s Day as an opportunity to sell a variety of March-8-themed items, such as sweatshirts, greeting cards, sticker packs, cloth totes, jeopardy games, cupcake toppers, and many other purple-heavy products.
The internet also provides numerous guides for businesses to take advantage of the occasion, offering suggestions such as cupcakes and appreciation emails for employees, as well as product bundles and social media offers for current or prospective customers. However, companies have experienced differing levels of success with these efforts.
In 2018, McDonald’s changed its golden arches to a “W” on its social media accounts and even the sign at a store in California, a marketing stunt that was criticized online as a superficial gesture and led to calls on the company to focus on improving the working conditions of its employees instead.
Ghodsee stated that commemorating International Women’s Day is now more important than ever, as women have suffered setbacks in the last century, most notably the 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a nationwide right to abortion, which ended constitutional protections that had been in place for nearly 50 years.
She said, “I think women around the world before (Donald) Trump became president, — when Hillary Clinton was running for president, Sheryl Sandberg was writing “Lean In” and it was all girlboss feminism – we didn’t know how quickly all of that could be taken away.”
The U.S. decision on abortion has had a significant impact on Europe’s political landscape, reigniting the public debate in some countries at a time when far-right nationalist parties are gaining influence.
On Monday, France became the only country to explicitly guarantee abortion as a constitutional right, a historic move proposed by President Emmanuel Macron and celebrated by women’s rights activists worldwide.
The vote during a special joint session of France’s parliament earned a lengthy standing ovation from lawmakers.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told lawmakers in the lead-up to the vote Monday, “We have a moral debt to women.”
