March 8 International Women’s Day: You are not alone, we are together!

Each year, the 8^th of March is celebrated and remembered as International Women’s Day almost everywhere in the world. Drawing attention to women’s rights with a different theme each year, the theme of the day in which the success of the women is celebrated is ‘’I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights’’ (1). Shall we take a look at how this day we now all know very well started?

What is The Story behind March 8?

The appearance of March 8 Internatıonal Women’s Day coincides with the fight for labour rights. The reason for it was that women workers were forced to work in very hard and unappreciated conditions. The majority of the ones who said no to this system that lasted for years were again women. The majority of the ones who said no to this system that lasted for years were again women. This awakening, before the protests to defend and enhance the women rights, started as women were thinking about the women workers rights and realized the injustices were present in other parts of the society and that all of them were connected. On August 1910, in the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, women rights advocate Clara Zetkin (from the German Social Democrat Party) proposed to determine a date to enhance women’s rights and set new goals. March 8 comes from the women’s rights movements done by women workers in Russia in 1917. The date of the protests was 23 February because of the Julian calendar. This date is equal to March 8 in the Gregorian calendar and that’s why it is said that Women’s Day is celebrated and remembered on this day.

Show the Success!

Sometimes as we running into difficulties, we think that these happen only to us and feel like we are alone. This situation may discourage us and prevent us from seeing the solutions. Whereas when we share our problems, we can see the solutions we couldn’t before because we were down.

Either in school or work and social life, women who support each other can cope with problems they encounter better with confidently and hopefully. And for the new generation to see this support and hold them up as an example will be a useful outcome for everyone.

For the children who hold the future of the society, the importance of cooperation and everyone to join the social and work life without sexism come into the surface when they become adults.

It is important not only for Turkey but also for the world to teach them that women rights are human rights and to raise them with the idea of every woman is free regardless of their social economic and political situations.

As the Twig is Bent So Grows the Tree

The reason to give successful and economically independent women as examples to children is simple. When we are kids, we are deeply affected by the people we hold up as examples regarding our behaviours and dreams. We like to do what the adults we like (sometimes our peers) do and speak what they speak. In this case, if we show the lives of successful women to children and the new generation, that can bring out new success stories. This way, it may be possible to show the little girls that there, in fact, isn’t a standardized lifestyle, but as many possibilities and lifestyles as there are people. Thereby we also teach the children empathy and to respect people whose lives are different from ours. Promoting positive examples and introducing them to many children as possible would be of great help to goals we want to achieve that started when the Women’s Day was accepted as a special day in the beginning.

‘’Two heads are better than one!’’

ATATÜRK’s Contribution to Women’s Rights

On 20^th March 1930, women in Turkey were entitled with the right to elect and be elected in municipal elections. The right to elect and be elected in village headman elections was given in 1933. On the date of December 5 1934, the right to elect and be elected as a member of parliament was given to women The founder of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK was also a leader in terms of women rights giving them these rights.