09 March 2020 - International Women’s Day
The Radical Reason Why March 8 Is International Women's Day
Suyin Haynes (Time, 07/03/2019)
As people around the world celebrate International Women’s Day — an annual March 8 observance — countries from Kyrgyzstan to Cambodia officially honor women’s rights and achievements across the political, economic, social and cultural spheres. The day has been designated as an official United Nations observance since 1975, which was International Women’s Year, and is a national holiday in many parts of the world.
But the day’s origins go much further back than 1975 — and are more radical than what we might expect from a day so widely celebrated. Centering around the socialist movements of the early 20th century, here’s more on the history of how International Women’s Day (IWD) came to be.
International Women's Day 2020 around the world - in pictures
Matt Fidler (The Guardian, 08/03/2020)
A selection of images from events and protests across the globe to mark International Women’s Day, which has been held every year on 8 March since 1977, when the UN invited member states to declare a day for women’s rights and world peace.
Why I'm suffering Fashion Feminism Fatigue this International Women's Day
Emily Cronin (The Telegraph, 06/03/2020)
Fashion is just full of feminists, isn’t it? I know this because so many fashion people keep telling us what ardent feminists they are.
They tell us with slogan t-shirts. With campaigns that reorient the idea of female empowerment from, say, closing the gender pay gap to the right to pose in your underwear, whatever your size. With statement-making fashion shows, including one in Paris last week where massive neon signs reading “Consent”, “Patriarchy = Climate Emergency” and “When women strike the world stops” loomed over a platoon of pale, matchstick-armed teenaged models. (Attention Black Mirror writers: You don’t even have to make this stuff up!)
International Women's Day risks becoming 'corporate Mother's Day', feminists say
Alexandra Topping (The Guardian, 06/03/2020)
International Women’s Day is in danger of becoming little more than a corporate Valentine’s Day, with companies jumping on the bandwagon to whitewash their brands rather than promote women’s equality, leading feminists have said.
With International Women’s Day products on offer from red roses to hipster T-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as “Woman Up”, equal rights campaigners have called on companies to take action and donate to grassroots causes on International Women’s Day, which takes place on Sunday, rather than using it as a promotional opportunity.
Vivienne Hayes, chief executive of the Women’s Resource Centre, said: “This use of International Women’s Day by companies is part of the co-option of feminism and women’s equality into a much more mainstream position, that has led to the corporatisation of the advancement of women’s rights.