Groucho Marxism

I am a bit late with this as International Women’s’ Day was actually last Sunday. Regardless, I felt it important to post something on the historical significance of International Women’s Day and why we should celebrate it. The origins of International Women’s Day (IWD) can be traced back to the late 19th century. At that time political representation had yet to extend to women, so women were engaged in their own fight for suffrage both in Britain and elsewhere, and in this context the idea of an international women’s organisation was born. In the early 20th century, working class and socialist movements began sweeping across Europe and America. In February 1909 a ‘National Woman’s Day’ was first proposed by Theresa Malkiel, American labour activist.

This day officially became IWD in 1911, and in 1913 IWD was recognized in Russia for the first time. Women played a central role in the period leading up to the Russian Revolution. In 1917, female textile workers in St Petersburg went on strike demanding an end to war, Tsarism, and the shortage of food. The date when the strike commenced in the Gregorian calendar fell on the 8 March, which has since been adopted as IWD worldwide. The liberation of women formed a key component of the Bolshevik’s program and the revolution paved the way for subsequent gains by many women in the capitalist world. The UN officially adopted the day in 1977, with many countries now celebrating it as a public holiday.

Whilst the “historical defeat of the female sex”, as Engels phrased it, resulted from changes to society through the Neolithic Revolution, the oppression of women continues to this day. If anything, it is getting worse. A recent global survey garnering 23,000 responses across 26 countries indicated that as many as 31% of Gen Z men – that is, men born roughly between 1997 and 2012  – believe that ‘a wife should always obey her husband’, compared to just 13% of those aged 60 or over. Interestingly, 18% of Gen Z women also agreed. According to a recent report from the United Nations, women globally hold 64% of the legal rights of men, exposing them to discrimination, violence, and exclusion at every stage of their lives.

That is not to say that women have not continued the fight to overcome their struggles. The ‘second wave’ women’s movement of the 1960s and 70s developed alongside a radicalisation of society that saw of anti-war protests, the struggle for civil rights, student movements, the fight for gay rights, working class labour movements, and anti-colonial revolutions. The 2007-8 global recession and its aftermath led to protests in 2011 against victim blaming for violence against women and girls, and the #MeToo movement aimed to empower victims of sexual assault through a phrase demonstrating empathy, solidarity, and strength in numbers. But lack of a unified strategy has resulted in the fragmentation of the women’s movement and stifled its broader aim to fundamentally transform society.

The theme for this year’s IWD  is ‘giving support’, which has many interpretations. It can mean direct action, such that taken by women across Europe in 1914, who held rallies to campaign for the end of war and express solidarity with their sisters. It can mean pushing for legislative and administrative changes, for example by enhancing women’s roles within trade unions. It can mean setting up groups to address oppression of women directly, such as the Zhenotdel (women’s department) that was set up in Russia in 1919 to raise the consciousness of women and campaign to fully involve them in the building of a new society. Or it can mean women being a voice for their sisters, like Joeli Brearley, who launched ‘Pregnant Then Screwed’ in 2015 to give free advice and support for pregnant women in the workplace.

With increased numerical strength in the workforce, working class women have more opportunity than ever to take action in their own right. It is clear that women cannot rely on female capitalist politicians, who might make some legislative changes in favour of women’s rights, but ultimately will seek only to defend the interests of the capitalist class. Real and lasting change can only be made for women if the capitalist system as a whole is challenged – and this can only be achieved through revolutionary means. The struggle is not one of women against men, nor of women changing themselves, but women organising and uniting to end capitalism and bring forward socialism.  This is the real message behind International Women’s Day.