A day of consolation for the working woman

When the eighth of March arrives, screens, social media, and storefronts repeat the same rote phrases. Women are declared to be "flowers," "angels," and the "most beautiful beings in our lives." Companies offer discounts through special campaigns and pretend to honor women with flashy messages. Yet, all this flowery rhetoric has no real concern for contributing to the struggle of women. The goal is to polish the reputations of brands, and by appearing to make a gesture toward women, to both console oppressed women and fuel consumerist frenzy.

However, the true meaning of March 8, International Working Women's Day, is very different from this.

The Forgotten History of March 8

The origins of this day date back to 1857. In New York, textile workers went on strike against long working hours, low wages, and harsh working conditions, and this resistance was brutally suppressed by police intervention. In 1910, at the International Socialist Women's Conference in Copenhagen, Clara Zetkin and her comrades proposed that March 8 be commemorated as International Working Women's Day to honor the struggle of female workers. And over the years, this day turned into a day of struggle all over the world where women demand equality, justice, and humane working conditions.

But what happened? The word "working" added to the name of this day was gradually attempted to be erased.

Removing "Working": A Tool to Make the Struggle Forgotten

Especially in recent years, in many countries and in Turkey, March 8 is commemorated only as "International Women's Day." The quiet disappearance of the word "working" is a result of an effort to erase the class-based and militant character of this day.

Thus, it is ensured that March 8 is reduced to a day that merely glorifies the grace, self-sacrifice, and motherhood of women. The voices of female workers, laborers, those working in precarious conditions, those left without unions, those fired when they seek their rights, and those subjected to violence and exploitation are suppressed.

True Celebration: Growing the Struggle

March 8 is not a day to be celebrated with gifts, campaigns, or fancy messages in advertisements. This day should remind us every year of the following:

Women still do not receive equal pay for equal work.

Women's labor continues to be viewed as precarious and cheap labor.

Women's domestic labor is ignored and remains unpaid.

Problems such as violence against women, harassment, and mobbing are growing every day.

The organizing and unionization of women are being made difficult.

That is why March 8 is not a day of celebration, but a day of struggle.

It is the duty of us all not to let this struggle be forgotten and to uphold it. We must remember and remind others of the true International Working Women's Day against those who try to erase the word "working" and those who attempt to turn March 8 into a festival of consumption.