The first International Women's Day!

One man's wife or daughter is another woman's freedom fighter. Off on a recognition quest Clara Zetkin, head of the Women's Office for the Social Democratic Party in Deutschland, at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen Denmark in 1910, came with the idea of an International Women's Day. Indeed, Clara Zetkin was a woman who always attracted media attention for her willingness to voice strong opinions as she was very passionate about her quest to achieve equality for women all over the world. There were over 100 women from approximately seventeen countries at the conference representing unions, socialist parties and working women's organisations and they all unanimously approved Clara's proposition for an International Women's Day.  The date chosen for the celebration was 19 March and not 8 March, as it is today, because it was on that date in 1848 that a revolution took place in Austria and the Prussian King acknowledged the sinew of the people which moved him to make concessions and among them was the promise of giving women the vote which he cowardly failed to endorse. Certainly, Women's emancipation in term of obtaining political rights and equality was not an easy quest as they were denied many privileges that most women these days in the western world take for grantee. Indeed, at the beginning of the last century women in Great Britain could not elect their government representatives and it was the bravery of a devoted band of women which fought long and hard to change public opinion. Having said that it was her splendid help to the war effort that won women in Britain the right to cast their vote in general elections in 1918 at the end of the First World War. These days women in Britain have equal rights and not so long ago the United Kingdom elected his first female Prime Minister.

P. Figueras