International Women’s Rights Day

International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8; this year, its theme is: “I am from the Equality Generation: Stand up for women’s rights”.

Worn by the United Nations, International Women’s Day was born in 1908 following the trade union movement where 15,000 women marched in New York to demand shorter working hours, better wages and the right to vote. The following year, the American Socialist Party declared the first National Women’s Day. This commemoration became international in 1910 thanks to the international conference of working women in Copenhagen where 100 women from 17 countries accepted the proposal of Clara Zetkin, teacher, journalist and German Marxist politician. The first celebration took place in 1911, in Austria , Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In 1914, women claimed the right to vote in Germany, in 1915 they demanded peace and in 1917, they demonstrated in Saint Petersburg, initiating the Russian revolution. On March 8, 1921, Lenin declared women’s day March 8. It has become a tradition since 1945 and in 1977, the United Nations formalized International Women’s Day, France did the same in 1982.

This year, numerous demonstrations took place around the world including in France and in Paris where an event initiated by the collective #Nous Tous, brought together thousands of demonstrators from the Place d’Italie. In addition, around forty Femen activists symbolically “cleaned up” the Place de la Concorde to fight the “patriarchal pandemic”.

Note that the collective #Nous Tous published the results of a survey on consent in sexual intercourse, carried out in France among 100,000 women: 9/10 women declared that they had already been pressured to have sexual intercourse, to 88% it even happened several times, 70% of the women questioned affirm to have accepted a sexual intercourse without desire, but “without pressure”, a quarter of them even blaming themselves for this situation …. 1/6 woman has indicated that the beginning of his sexuality was “through an unwilling and desired relationship”. “In 36% of these cases, this report took place before 15 years,” said Caroline de Haas, a spokesperson for #NousToutes. The latter also denounces the alarming number (at least 123) of women who died as a result of domestic violence in 2019 despite the national campaign for this cause launched in 1989. A report drawn up by the government, following the Grenelle of domestic violence, must be delivered next June by Senator Roland Courteau, to implement new measures.

The theme of this 43rd “Women’s Day” (formalized in 1977 by the United Nations) is linked to the new multi-generational campaign of UN Women, “Generation Equality”, developed for the 25th anniversary of the Declaration and the Program of Action Beijing (in 1995, a progressive action plan produced at the 4th World Conference on Women, marking the empowerment of women and girls around the world. This year, the international community will assess the progress made in terms of rights women since the adoption of the program.

On this day of commemoration of women’s rights, many events are organized all over the world including in Paris, a national call for a feminist strike: “We Stop All”. This strike movement is aimed at women who want to end all gender inequalities by saying: STOP! (precariousness, over-exploitation, low wages, discrimination, racism, insults, beatings, violence, harassment, rape, assassinations, feminicides …) On this occasion, a march from the square from Italy to the Place de la République was held including a giant picnic.

During the day of March 8, the city of Paris offers a program:

• Visit of the Pantheon – Tribute to deported women
• Conference “1 hour, 1 woman of influence” at mk2 Odéon
• Themed visit “Famous women of Père Lachaise
• Saint-Denis Basilica through its princesses and queens
• Exhibition at the Air and Space Museum, special pioneers in aeronautics
• “Women in Revolution” event at the Conciergerie
• Guided walk “The women who made Montmartre
• “Crazy Pastry” Weekend at Fou de Pâtisserie
• Motorcycle tour for the 10th anniversary of the association “Tous en Moto”

In the coming days, the 42nd International Women’s Film Festival will be held from March 13 to 22, 2020 and the music festival, “Women get involved” from March 21 to April 6.

At a time when the fight for gender equality is beginning to take hold in the world, there is still much to do so as not to regress. Thus, after 45 years of existence of the Veil law, the abortion is threatened in Europe and even sometimes contraception

Also as part of the day of March 8, the Zénith de Paris offered a show related to current events: “Debout Citoyennes”, an Eklore creation (association born in 2015 including more than 300 collective resonance circles releasing emotions and the intelligence of heart to work our humanity in societies and society) where we found 12 women (artists, entrepreneurs, mothers, activists …) surrounded by a hundred others to sing their call to the world to the rhythm of the dancers and their drums and testify to their unprecedented meditation experience and answer the question: “What world do you get up for in the morning?” Make social change a celebration! joy when the living gets involved! .. On this highly symbolic day, men and women, let us unite to pay tribute to these female Citizens who get up in the morning for a more human world, “said the organizer.

Last year Ariana Kah had produced a pilot screened for the first time around an exhibition on women in the presence of the mayor of the 17th arrondissement. Since then, she completes her work with new interviews.

On Saturday evening, a feminist night walk bringing together nearly 2,000 women took place in the Belleville district of Paris. Unfortunately, the situation worsened after 2 hours upon arrival in the Republic where the police charged the demonstrators and launched tear gas, several people were arrested.

At the other end of the world, in China, the female medical profession (doctors and nurses) was honored on March 8 because of its work in the fight against the epidemic of coronavirus which rages in the country since a few months., and this at the risk of their lives. Thousands of women, including 40,000 from other provinces, were on the front line to contain and control the epidemic. Other women have marked the history of China, including the scientist Tu Youyou, Nobel Prize in medicine 2015 for her research on malaria; Liu Yang, first female astronaut, tennis player, best world record, Li Na; Mai Ping, first woman commander of peacekeeping missions abroad. In addition, 95% (current global average: 87%) of Chinese companies have at least one female management position.

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VERONIQUE YANG

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