Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day.
This day is a staple in history and allows us to honour women. It’s been a rocky road for women, but it definitely started in a worse place. According to the UN, the day was designated to remember the 1908 garment workers strike in New York, where women who worked making clothes protested against the working conditions.
In 1848, however, was the first milestone in the U.S. Women were not allowed to speak at anti-slavery conventions so Americans, Elizbeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott brought a few hundred people for their first women’s rights convention in NY. They demanded civil, social, political, and religious rights.
The first province’s in Canada to give women the right to vote were Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Now there are organizations with support, resources, and movements for women around the country helping the drive feminism to great strengths
“In a national survey I conducted in partnership with the Environics Institute this past October, 57% of the women polled identified themselves as feminists, as did 40% of the men. Based on my polling more than two decades ago, the number of women identifying as feminists has increased in every age group, especially women aged 18 to 24, 70% of whom see themselves as feminist. A total of 60% of racialized women identified as feminists, as did a majority of women in every region of the country.” -Canadian Senator, Donna Dasko
Violence against women is a big topic on International Women’s Day, it can have great physicals, economic, and phycological impacts not only on women who have experienced it, but also for those around them
“Over a quarter of women aged 15-49 years who have been in a relationship have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.” -World Health Organization.
The U.N recognizes that there are seven categories of violence against women:
- Intimate partner violence
- Sexual violence
- Femicide
- Human trafficking
- Genital mutilation
- Early or forced marriage
- Online harrasment
For anyone in any of these situations, who need support and resources go to the Alberta Abuse Helpline page.
