International Working Women’s Day March 8
Did you know? - Before 1975, “International Women’s Day” was a day of action known as “International Working Women’s Day” (IWWD). Read more about the history of IWWD and how you can participate in this day of action with your community.
Click first image for slideshow. Image credits and info below:
Read more about the history of IWWD and how you can participate in this day of action with your community.
Images:
Slide 1 - Veracruz, Mexico tenants strike, led by sex workers. Source: Working Class History.
Slide 2 - German socialist Clara Zetkin, who proposed the idea of a day of action for women’s rights in 1910. Source: Socialist.ca
Slide 3 - Feminists marching in 1960s. Source: Jacobin Magazine.
Slide 5 - Civil rights activist and communist Angela Davis at a rally. Source: The Guardian.
Slide 6 - Feminists at a rally in the 60s/70s. Source: Liberation School.
Slide 7 - Trans activists Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera at the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, 1973. Source: Reuters Graphics.
Slide 8 - Feminist activists at an abortion rights rally in the 1970s. Source: Canada’s History.[Image description: 10 images. All of them feature a watermark of the Democratic Socialist of Vancouver’s instagram.
Image 1: A black and white picture of Mexican sex workers leading a tenant’s strike in Veracruz. There is text on it that says “March 8th. International Working Women’s Day”. There is a logo of the Democratic Socialists of Vancouver.
Image 2: A black and white photo of Clara Zetkin with text that says “March 8th is known as International Women’s Day, but did you know that it started off as International Working Women’s Day?”.
Image 3: Black and white picture of three feminists at a rally with a sign that says “OPORTUNDADES EGUALES PARA LAS MUJERES EN EL TRABAJO Y LA EDUCACCIO”. There is more text that reads: “History of International Working Women's Day. 1910 - German socialist Clara Zetkin suggests an international day of action for women. 1914 - March 8th officially chosen to be International Working Women's Day (IWWD). 1975 - United Nations (UN) adopts the day as "International Women's Day", dropping the "working". Source: Cinzia Arruzza, 2020. https://bit.ly/3v4qCDY.”
Image 4: Text that reads: “Why does it matter? By removing the word "working" from "International Working Women's Day", the UN: Erases the radical history of the day, ignores how capitalism hurts women & non-binary people, turns a day-of-action into a day of general day of celebration*. *While we should celebrate the accomplishments of women, we must also take action to fight the barriers that prevent women's liberation.”
Image 5: A black and white photo of Angela Davis at the rally. There is text that reads: “How capitalism hurts women and non-binary people. Houselessness, Colonialism, racism, and classism work together under capitalism to make women & non-binary people houseless. See: Urban Indigenous Women Lead the Fight Against Colonization and Capitalism In B.C.’s Newest Tent City, Ashley Mollison, 2018. bit.ly/3ccnAVt. Women’s unpaid work in the house, Capitalism benefits from women doing free "reproductive labour" - caregiving and domestic work that keeps the workforce running. See: Caliban and the Witch, by Silvia Federici. Colonialism, Colonialism removes women & non-binary people from their lands, pushes colonial gender binaries, and more. See: Colonizing Black Female Bodies Within Patriarchal Capitalism, Akeia A. F. Benard, 2016. bit.ly/38h7JDS. And more, Capitalism works with other oppressive systems (e.g. racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism). There are more ways that women are hurt by capitalism.”
Image 6: A black and white photo of four feminists holding a sign that says “3rd world women, we cannot live without our lives.” There is text over the image that says “What can you do to make IWWD a day of action? 1) Donate time, money, and other resources to pro-feminist organizations. 2) Create strategies in your community on how you will fight sexism (alongside other oppressions).”
Image 7: A black and white photo of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Text on the image says “On this International Working Women's Day, Democratic Socialists of Vancouver are standing in solidarity with: Black & Indigenous women & non-binary people; LGBTQ+ women - This includes trans women, gay women, and individuals who don't fall into the gender binary; Working women & non-binary people - Including those who work in the sex trade and those who do domestic work; Disabled women & non-binary people; Women & non-binary people who face marginalization.
Image 8: A black and white photo of four feminists at an abortion rights rally, holding signs that say “free abortions on demand” and “free abortions on demand now”. Text on the image says “Take action on International Working Women's Day by supporting the following local organizations that uplift women and non-binary folks.”Image 9: A list of four resources in Vancouver. Text reads: “PACE Society - PACE promotes safer working conditions for sex workers by reducing harm and isolation through education and support. pace-society.org,@pacesociety. Trans Day of Remembrance - Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR)'s mission is to memorialize the hundreds of trans people who are murdered each year. vancouvertdor.com. Downtown Eastside Women's Centre - DEWC is a safe space within the Downtown Eastside exclusively for self-identified women and their children. dewc.ca, Facebook: @DowntownEastsideWomensCentre, Instagram and Twitter: @DEWCVancouver. WISH Society - WISH Drop-In Centre Society provides support to women who work in the street-based sex trade. wish-vancouver.net, Facebook and Instagram: @WISHDropIn, Twitter: @WISHvancouver.”