Dozens of women are killed worldwide every day. Women are exposed to physical and psychological violence at home, at work, on the street. But governments unite to protect men. Cooperation between the state and the judiciary kills more women. After the coronavirus outbreak, women become the first target in the labor force while they are at the frontlines in protests against exploitation and crises. Women, who created International Women’s Day, on March 8 with their resistance 164 years ago, become hope again today with their resistance.

SERPİL SAVUMLU

Istanbul- 164 years ago, on March 8, 1857, 40 thousand garment workers of a factory staged a strike demanding better working conditions in New York City, USA.  129 women died in a fire (Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire) started in the factory because the doors to the stairwells and exits were locked. More than 10 thousand people attended the funeral of the workers. This massacre became a tragic symbol of the historical resistance of women.

An international Women's Day was proposed at a conference in Copenhagen in 1910, held by socialist organizations from around the world. Clara Zetkin, a German socialist, suggested the idea to commemorate the strike of garment workers in the United States. The proposal received unanimous approval by over 100 women from 17 countries.

Clara's idea for an International Women's Day had no fixed date. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day in the International Women's Year, 1975. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women's rights and world peace.

First International Conference of Socialist Women

The Second International was an organization of socialist and labor parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at a Paris meeting in which delegations from twenty countries participated. At the congress, women’s lives in the factories, the evaluation and unification of local struggles, the international organization of socialist women, and how they could overcome the problems women faced were discussed. Clara Zetkin gave a much-acclaimed speech in which she demanded the integration of women workers into the Labor Movement. The congress was an important turning point in the organization of the women's struggle. Clara Zetkin also took an active part in forming unions for women. She helped to develop the social-democratic women's movement in Germany. From 1891 to 1917, she edited the SPD women's newspaper Die Gleichheit (Equality). Equality Newspaper played a great role in the organization of the socialist women's movement. Zetkin's aim was to organize the international socialist women's movement.

The First International Conference of Socialist Women was held in Stuttgart in 1907. 56 female delegates from 15 countries participated in the conference. The Conference adopted a resolution on women's right to vote (suffrage). Women discussed how to struggle for their right to vote. Aleksandra Kollantai was the only delegate representing Russia. At this conference, it was decided to establish a Women’s International Secretariat with Clara Zetkin from Germany as the person in charge.

Second International Socialist Women's Conference

The Second International Socialist Women's Conference was held in Copenhagen in 1910. One hundred delegates attended from seventeen countries. Women discussed women's suffrage at the conference. Aleksandra Kollantai attended the conference along with Clara Zetkin. An international Women's Day was proposed at the conference. A proposal was suggested that March 8 should be declared as International Women's Day and celebrated every year. The proposal received unanimous approval from over 100 women from 17 countries. Thus, March 8 was adopted as International Women's Day. Since then, International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8.

Women in Turkey celebrate International Women’s Day for 101 years

International Women’s Day was first secretly celebrated in 1921 under the leadership of Rahime Selimova, Cemile Nuşirvanova sisters, and Naciye Hanım, members of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). March 8 was first celebrated as a public celebration in 1975 by members of the Progressive Women's Association (İKD). Before the military coup took place in Turkey in 1980, members of the İKD celebrated the day by organizing activities every day. In the İKD congress held in 1976, the women decided to take action for March 8 to be declared as a public holiday by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. İKD tried to celebrate the day in mass and held its activities in big meeting halls. Women couldn’t celebrate International Women’s Day for four years due to the military coup that took place in Turkey in 1980 and the public gatherings were banned due to the declaration of the curfew. Women of the İKD decided to hold “White Scarf” actions.

Women wearing “White Scarf”

On March 8, 1980, women wore white scarves and took to the streets. The white scarf was used as a symbol to protest financial difficulties, the increasing prices, unemployment, and chaos in the country.  In every city of Turkey, tens of thousands of women wore white scarves while going to the workplace, shopping, or going for a walk. People stopped working in many factories. Thereupon, “the martial law commanders" prohibited wearing white scarves in some cities. Women began to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 1984.

Feminist Night March

One of the protests that mark International Women’s Day in Turkey is Feminist Night March. The first Feminist Night March took place in Turkey in 2003. But women decided to organize the march every year in 2005. Protests took place at Taksim Square in 2003 and 2004 inspired women to organize the march every year on March 8. Every year, more women joined the march and by 2020, it became a magnificent march gathering tens of thousands of women together.

Revolutionary women arrested

It is necessary to look at the history of Kurdish women to know how they celebrate International Women’s Day. Their determination to struggle has inspired many women. Kurdish women started this struggle in 1919. and today they have celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 by organizing protests, demonstrations, and activities participated by thousands of women. Kurdish women are at the forefront of the struggle for women and identity. The Association for the Rise of Kurdish Women (Kürt Kadınları Teâli Cemiyeti) founded in 1919 was the first organized struggle of the Kurdish women. Then the name of the association was changed into Union of Revolutionary Democratic Women (Devrimci Demokratik Kadınlar Birliği/DDKAD). DDKAD was the first Kurdish women’s organization to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. The members of the union were detained in Diyarbakır and jailed during the military coup of 1980.

First rally of Kurdish women

International Women’s Day was celebrated by Kurdish women for the first time in 1997. And the first rally for International Women’s Day was organized in 1998. The women gathering to celebrate by wearing their traditional clothes faced police violence. In 2001, women drew attention to the isolation in prisons. Kurdish women celebrated the day between 2002 and 2005 by shouting their different demands. The women flocked to the streets on March 8, 2006, with the motto, “For peace, a world without violence”. 

This year, Kurdish women will take to the streets on March 8 under the leadership of the Free Women’s Movement (TJA) with the slogan reading, “It’s time for women’s freedom”. Women dedicate International Women’s Day to Deniz Poyraz, who was murdered in Izmir, and Garbe Gezer, who died suspiciously in prison.