TW: Mentions of violence and women's suffering in Gaza

There will be a summary at the bottom of the post!

 

Where did it start?

It’s March 8th! It's International Women’s Day! We want to wish you all a happy International Women’s Day (IWD) and hope that everyone celebrates themselves and the women in their lives, and gives some attention to important causes that women have fought for and are still fighting for!

International Women’s Day was first organized as “Women’s Day” by the Socialist Party of America in New York City on February 28th, 1908. This marks the start of a wave of women’s rights demonstrations in the early 1900’s, with one of the most important and known being the Women’s rights demonstration in Russia, where women chanted “Bread and Peace” and started the February revolution, which together with the October revolution the same year makes up the Russian revolution.

In the late 1960’s the IWD celebration on March 8th was adopted by the global feminist movement, and it became a mainstream global holiday following its promotion by the United Nations in 1977! There are a lot of women to thank for leading the work that has positioned women where we are in today’s society. We wish to show you some examples of suffragettes* and suffragists** who have been important to women’s rights to vote, education and work around the world!

 

*suffragettes = The Suffragettes were part of the 'Votes for Women' campaign that had long fought for the right of women to vote in the UK. They used art, debate, propaganda, and attack on property including window smashing and arson to fight for female suffrage. Suffrage means the right to vote in parliamentary and general elections.

**suffragists = Many women who were denied the right to vote were in similar circumstances to these men, being rate-payers and subject to the same laws of the land. There was a growing sense of injustice and from the mid-19th century onwards groups of women joined together to campaign for the vote. They were known as suffragists.

 

Some notable feminists!

Emmeline Pankhurst: British suffragette known for her militant activism for women’s rights in Great Britain. You can read more about her: here!

Hilda Käkikoski: A Finnish politician who was one of the first nineteen women elected to the Finnish parliament in 1907. You can read more about her: here!

Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre: A violinist, feminist, nurse and writer who is perhaps best known for attempting to overturn legislation prohibiting women from wearing trousers, as well as challenging the precedent that only men participated in duels. You can read more about de Valsayre: here!

Hajia Gambo Sawaba: A Nigerian political activist and feminist who advocated against child marriage, forced labor and for the right to education for women. You can read more about Sawaba: here!

Nuzha Nuseibeh: Was a Palestinian women’s rights activist and organized the first civilian protest against the Israeli occupation in 1967. You can read more about her: here!

 

Focusing on Gaza

Access to sanitary products and medicine in war zones

As an estimated 500 million women, teen girls and trans men lack access to proper sanitary products due to humanitarian crises around the world, we wish to shine a light on how exactly this is affecting people in Palestine and more specifically the Gaza Strip. Access to sanitary products and medicine are some of the first things that disappear or get limited when a humanitarian crisis affects a war zone. 

In Gaza, the UN has estimated that about 700 000 women and girls are experiencing menstrual cycles with no access to basic hygiene products like pads, toilet paper or running water and toilets. Reports tell us that from early in the Israeli war on Gaza, women have been taking period-delaying medicines to avoid the consequences of having periods with no access to these products. Women in Gaza have now also resorted to shredding their tents to use the cloth for makeshift pads.

Pregnant and birthing women are forced to undergo labor without proper sanitary conditions, and women giving birth by cesarean are forced to do so without anesthesia. There are not enough hospital beds for mothers giving birth, so within an hour after a C-section, mothers are moved from the hospital beds to chairs, so the doctors can make room for mothers in need of the beds for their procedures. Infection rates are high and mothers recovering from giving birth are at a high risk of getting and perishing from disease.

 

Other important causes:

The gender pay gap! - Not only do women earn less than men on average for the same jobs, traditionally nurturing and caring professions (nurse, teacher, kindergarten teacher, etc) are generally paid less than professions catered to men.

Research on women's health! - There is significantly less research done specifically towards women’s health. This is despite the fact that women are far more likely to die from heart attacks and other acute illnesses, as well as contraceptives being given to women with the risk of serious side-effects (blood clots and the like).

Jin, Jiyan, Azadi! - A slogan used by the Kurdish independence and confederalist movement as a show of support for women’s rights in Iran, where women are oppressed and forced to wear headscarves against their will by the clericalist regime.

Rights to abortions! - Women’s rights to reproductive health procedures like abortions are under threat due to reactionary and conservative political movements in a lot of countries. Multiple countries have for the past years limited access to or criminalized abortion.

Women’s position in Afghanistan! - Afghan women are putting their lives on the line—facing surveillance, harassment, assault, arbitrary detention, torture, and exile—to oppose Taliban abuses. They deserve the international community's full solidarity in their struggle.

Health care rights to trans people! - Trans people experience systemic discrimination in the healthcare system, lack of access to specialized and correct treatment with hormones, and being prevented from accessing hormonal treatment, medical procedures and support sorely needed to ensure their quality of life.

 

SUMMARY:

• Today is international women’s day! It has been celebrated in one way or another since the 1908!
• An estimated 700 000 women and girls in Gaza face challenges getting access to necessary hygiene products for themselves and their children. This is not unique to Gaza, but a regular issue in areas facing humanitarian crises!
• Hospitals in Gaza don’t have access to anesthesia and sanitary conditions for mothers giving birth by cesarean! Women are forced to give birth in tents!
• We have provided a list of important causes to support the fight for to ensure women’s rights!
• We wish you a happy international womens day!

 

We still fight!

From the Inclusivity group