Why is Women's Day celebrated?
March 8, 2022, is International Women's Day.
International Women's Day, which celebrated its 114th anniversary this year, began on March 8, 1908, when more than 15,000 American women workers gathered in New York's Lutkers Square to protest and demand "Give us bread and roses." It started.
Here, 'bread' means women's right to live, who suffered from lower wages compared to men, and 'rose' means women's right to vote.
Starting with this rally, on March 19, 1911, the first International Women's Day event was held in Europe and other countries to advocate for the right to suffrage, the right to work and the elimination of discrimination.
However, the fact that International Women's Day was fixed as 'March 8' was caused by a large-scale strike by Russian women.
In 1917, in the midst of World War I, Russian women workers went on a large-scale strike under the slogan of 'bread and peace' to dethrone Tsar Nicholas II of Russia within four days, and Russian women gained the right to vote from the Provisional Government.
In response, the Women's Conference held in Moscow in 1921 decided March 8, the Gregorian date of the start of the 'Bread and Peace' protest, as Women's Day, and from 1922 to March 8, the practice of commemorating Women's Day. has been established.
The wave of women's movement gradually spread throughout the West, and the United Nations designated 1975 as the 'International Women's Year', and since 1977 March 8 has been 'every year'.
What does International Women's Day look like today?
The theme for International Women's Day 2022 recently announced by the UN Women's Organization is "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow".
UN Women's Organization held an online conference on the topic on March 8 local time and held an event under the theme of #BreakTheBias in the meaning of dreaming together "a world free from prejudice, prejudice and discrimination".
In addition to a single event, many countries have designated International Women's Day as an official national day.
In Italy, mimosa flowers are given to women as a gift, and some companies in China even offer vacations to female employees to celebrate Women's Day.
In Korea, starting with women's organizations in 1985, this day has been officially commemorated.
In fact, in Korea, the first women's rights activists Na Hye-seok and Park In-deok in the 1920s, during the Japanese colonial period, celebrated International Women's Day, but the pulse was cut off due to the Japanese oppression. As the women's competition was held, the tradition was restored.
After that, on February 20, 2018, some amendments to the 'Basic Law on Gender Equality', which designate Women's Day as a legal anniversary, passed the National Assembly, and March 8 was officially designated as 'Women's Day', a legal anniversary in Korea.
Why is International Women's Day Necessary?
Last year, many women leaders were born around the world to promote women's rights, but on the other hand, women's rights have retreated in many parts of the world.
Last August, Afghanistan's Taliban government banned girls from accessing secondary education, and pressured many women to keep them from returning to work.
COVID-19 has also taken a serious hit on women's rights.
According to a study by the UN Women’s Organization last year, in 13 countries around the world, one in two women (45%) said they had personally experienced or know of a woman who experienced domestic violence or hate violence against Asians or blacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. I did.
Yesterday (7th), the Korean Women's Phone also released a report on women's rights in Korea.
As a result of analyzing the cases reported in the media from January to December of last year, it was found that on the 1.4th of last year, one woman was killed or at risk of being killed by her husband or lover.
According to the report titled 'Gage of anger in 2021 - Analysis of the murder of women by men in close relationships seen through media reports', at least 83 women were killed last year by their husbands or lovers, At least 177 women survived.
That means at least 260 women were killed or at risk of being killed by their lover or husband.
To remember the human rights retreat of many women and to promote gender equality, the United Nations has established and commemorated International Women's Day.
International Women's Day, a day out
Meanwhile, there is also 'International Men's Day'.
Although not a new concept, every year on November 19th is International Men's Day, which celebrates "the positive impact men have on the world, their families and communities."
Although it is not an official day established by the United Nations, 80 countries, including the United Kingdom, celebrate International Men's Day.
Last year's theme for International Men's Day was "Improving the relationship between men and women". These days, when gender issues are becoming a hot topic and problem, how about spending a day to respect each other as much as today, March 8?
This is a 'news pick'.
(Photo = Yonhap News)