History of March 8

There is a fairly common version, according to which the story of March 8 began in 1857 with "march of empty pots" in NYC. March 8, 1857 workers of the textile industry marched through the streets of the city in protest against the difficult conditions of work and low wages. But this version does not find any confirmation.

Therefore, the history of March 8 begins in the XX century. August 27, 1910, the Second International Socialist Women's Conference was held in the framework of the Eighth Congress of the Second International. The conference was held in Copenhagen. It was at this conference that a proposal was made to establish an international women's day. The author of the proposal was Clara Zetkin.

Of course, the idea of ​​the holiday was not that,that on this day women receive flowers and gifts. Since Clara Zetkin was a well-known activist of the struggle for equal rights for women, it was understood that on this day women will be able to To attract public attention to their problems, arranging processions and rallies.

March 8 was not chosen as the date immediately. A year after the conference, International Women's Day was celebrated in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark on March 18. In 1912, in the same countries, he was noted on 12 May. In 1913 women from Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Hungary and the Czech Republic rallied on March 9, German women on March 12, and Russian women on March 2. So that The history of March 8 as an international women's day began in 1914.

By 1917, largely due to itsThe performances of women from Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland received a full or partial vote. And in Russia, the strike of women textile workers in Petrograd on February 28, 1917 (according to a new style - on March 8) was part of the riots that later developed into the February revolution. In memory of this demonstration on 2 nd Communist Women's Conference of 1921 decided to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8.

In 1966 International Women's Day in the USSR was recognized as a holiday and a non-working day. Gradually, this holiday lost its political coloring and became as we know it: the day of all women, in which it is customary to pamper the beautiful half of humanity with flowers and gifts.

On the world level, the International Women's Day began to be held since 1975: this year was declared by the UN International Women's Year, in connection with which the decision was taken on March 8hold an International Women's Day. Therefore, the United Nations timed all its events dedicated to the Day of Struggle for Women's Rights and International Peace on March 8.

Officially, March 8 is not celebrated in all countries of the world. It is celebrated in the countries of the former Soviet Union(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Latvia), the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro), some countries in Africa (Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau , Uganda, Eritrea, Zambia), as well as in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kiribati, Costa Rica, Cuba, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal. In China, March 8, though noted, but officially this day is a worker, and in Madagascar on March 8, only women do not go to work.

Of course, when we celebrate the International Women's Day, the story of March 8 is not so important to us - what difference does it make, why should women be given a good mood? But still it should not be forgotten that modern women are very much obliged to women activists for the equal rights of women, thanks to which we celebrate today on March 8.