Frauentag 1914

Women's Day 1914 by Karl Maria Stadler

The first recorded 'Women's Day' was organised by the Socialist Party of America in Chicago on 3 May 1908, and attended by about 1,500 women demanding economic and political equality. A second event took place in New York on 28 February 1909, primarily focused on the right to vote.

On 18 March 1911, in line with a proposal agreed at the International Women's Conference by Luise Zeitz and Clare Zetkin in August 1910, the first International Women's Day was celebrated and over a million women across Europe took part in hundreds of demonstrations.

1914 was the last International Women's Day before the outbreak of the First World War, and they weren't held during the war period.

On 8 March 1917 (28 February in the calendar used in Russia at the time) a demonstration of women textile workers in St Petersburg was the spark that ignited to the February Revolution, the abdication of the Tsar, and led ultimately to the October Revolution.

In 1921, the Communist International, in recognition of the role of women in the revolution, committed to organising an annual International Working Women's Day on 8 March. This was taken up by socialists and communists, particularly in Eastern Bloc countries.

In the 1960s the new wave of feminists in Europe and America started to mark International Women's Day and the idea gradually spread across the world.

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Feminism as a social and political movement is often traced back to Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which argued for women’s equality with men. Wollstonecraft criticised the inbuilt discrimination women faced and called for equal access to education and other opportunities. However, long before the 18th century, women across cultures and societies actively resisted patriarchal structures through individual and collective actions, demonstrating that the struggle for gender equality has deep historical roots.

As a social and political movement, feminism has focused on achieving equality in various spheres of life. Key battles have included securing voting rights, property ownership, and access to education; advocating for equal pay and employment opportunities; challenging discriminatory laws and practices; and fighting for rights within marriage, reproductive autonomy, and bodily integrity. Feminists have also fought against sexual harassment, domestic violence, and gender-based violence.

Modern feminism is divided over a range of perspectives and approaches. While there are sometimes strong disagreements among feminists - such as debates over intersectionality, cultural differences, or strategies for change - there is broad agreement that patriarchal systems persist in shaping modern society. Feminists are still resisting patriarchy, fighting for a world where gender equality is realized for all people, regardless of their identity or background.