March 8 marks the day when 129 women working at a textile mill in the New York city of USA lost their lives. While March 8 is celebrated as a day where women shout out for their freedom in rebellion, women's rights come to the fore with great events all over the world. 8 women from 8 countries told Mesopotamia Agency (MA) what March 8 means for them.

 

GERMANY 

 

Maria Hartmann, a member of Transnational Feminist Solidarity in Germany, stated that feminist struggle is the struggle with the highest potential to trigger all other struggles, and said that women's struggle permeates all areas of life.

 

Hartman said: "The struggle of women is essential in the struggle against capitalism, in body politics and in every field. The women's struggle is about how the state controls our bodies and people. So it has incredible potential. That is why I see feminist struggle as the basis of all struggles. And I realize this is happening right now in Germany. Feminist struggle has enormous potential to become the core of freedom."

 

PALASTINE

  

Abeer Abu Khadir, the Representative of the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, stated that their primary struggle in Palestine is the establishment of the Palestinian state and the release of women, men and children prisoners held by the invaders.Khadir said: "Our aim is to create a society in which all forms of discrimination come to an end and to get rid of the social heritage that promotes gender-based violence." 

 

Khadir stated that Palestinian women made a distinctive mark in the history and the cause of the people with their participation in the national liberation struggle.

 

'A MILITANT DAY'

 

Stating that the Palestinian feminists and feminist institutions are also working for pressuring the government into signing binding agreements that protects the women from all kinds of violence, Khadir said: "On International Women's Day, we recall the feminist struggle against racial discrimination and the humiliation and robbing of women of their most basic rights, especially in light of the political conditions that Palestinian women suffer from the violations of the Zionist colonialism that affect their right to life. However, every year, we considers Women's Day as a militant day to assert our national and social rights. In this year, despite the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are working on organizing a day full of rallies in support of women and holding events, conferences and exhibitions for women's products, and seminars to stand on the issues of female prisoners, working women and the poor."

 

MESSAGE FOR MARCH 8 

 

Khadir said: "We, in the Union of Palestinian Women Committees, on the March 8th, the International Women's Day, affirm the continuation of our struggle for the legitimate national rights of our people as part of the Palestinian national movement, and we affirm the need to lift all forms of discrimination and injustice against women in Palestinian society and to strengthen true partnership. Palestinian women celebrate the International Day of Women and reinforce their national and social struggle to all freedom fighters in the world, as we consider this day a day of struggle to consecrate rights, equality and social justice as a day to reinforce the common struggle in all forms of oppression and poverty."

 

SPAIN

 

Trans woman Veronica Arauza, one of the founders of Colectiva DisPuta in Spain, stated that she has been actively involved in the fight against the discrimination of the trans individuals and colonialism since 2000, said: "It is very valuable to see how different social groups struggle and develop in different parts of the world. So is learning from the revolution on the other side of the world and making connections and relationships that will bring down the patriarchal system. The problems I see in my country right now are about how political thoughts are being questioned."

 

WOMEN'S BODY IS THE FIRST THING THAT WAS COLONISED

 

Underlining that the female body was the first thing that was colonised in history, Arauza said: "The problems I see now in my country in relation with the 8M movement are how it is questioning political subjects, that from Jineology philosophy are accepted as natural, from the Jin, the life, the woman as the first colonized body, and how from this first colonized body they have colonized other alternatives that could have constructed... questioned the patriarchal hegemonic axis that makes the man the proprietor of everything... the androcentrism."

 

ÖCALAN'S PHILOSOPHY 

 

Pointing out that she believes in Jineology, Arauza said: "I think it's good to understand, questioning how we are being educated sociopolitically to reproduce these patriarchal structures. There are places in the world that are experiencing the women's movement. The Kurdish movement is the most important movement that realizes that the women's movement has a structural importance for freedom, that the system is patriarchal and that this situation alone destroys many rights and has internalized it. Öcalan also talks about this, but how do we defend a philosophy that was spoken by a man? However, this philosophy speaks of women. What I hope and wish is to internalize this philosophy. A feminism in all its diversity is possible. We must not divide the political forces involved in this diversity."

 

CHILE

 

ending a message from Chile in the South American continent, Maria Basura is one of the two founders of the Fuck the Fascism project launched in 2016. Stating that the most important problem they face in their country is inequality, Basura said, “Because this is a dictatorship and we are faced with very severe police and state pressure. And now people are taking to the streets to fight, to throw stones. Millions of women and opposition organizations are on the move across the country. It is not possible for us to be 8 million people on the streets without our migrant sisters, trans comrades, all oppressed minorities and intersectional feminists. We are here together."

 

GREECE

 

Dina Reppa, a member of the Administrative Council of the Teachers' Union "Aritsotle" in Greece and also a member of the Athens City Council, explained that women in Greece are faced with many problems due to the pandemic, just like the women in the rest of the world.

 

Reppa said: "Long-term working from home meant an increase in the workload for women at home. While they were working at home, they had to take care of their children as they were homeschooled. This has had some implications in their personal work life. During the pandemic, many women were subjected to domestic violence and abuse. Violence against women, children and LGBTI + individuals, which has recently increased all over the world, is just the tip of the iceberg. There was a significant increase in domestic violence and many women did not have the opportunity to apply to protection institutions." Stating that women are struggling against policies against women in Greece, just like every women in every other country, Reppa said: "We are fighting for justice both in everyday life and in courts against a system that tries to silence women. Our message is one and it is strong. All of us, the people that demands freedom, women and men, we have to create a system and a society without exploitation, without violence, without oppression against women and LGBTI individuals." 

 

BRITAIN

 

Bethany Reilley, a journalist working with the Morning Star Newspaper, told that attacks against the gains of women in Britain increased with the pandemic and the existing problems were deepened. Reilley said: "For instance, like many other countries in the world we are seeing a pandemic of domestic abuse. A woman is killed every three days in ENgland and Wales by a partner or former partner. Calls to national helplines that support survivors of domestic abuse have skyrocketed as women and children are trapped at home with their abusers."

 

IMPUNITY FOR CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN

 

Noting that the issue that needs to be addressed urgently in the UK is the fight against the existing policies of impunity against rape crimes, Reilley said: "In 2019 and 2020 police recorded more than 55,000 rapes but there were only 2,000 prosecutions and around 1,500 convictions. This is far far lower than it was just a few years ago. Convictions are so low its led campaigners to claim that we are effectively seeing the decriminalisation of rape in this country! In addition we continue to face underrepresentation in senior roles across most sectors, falling even lower for women of colour."

 

WORK LIFE

 

Reilley said: "Pregnant women still face huge disctimination at work, being a mother is seen as an impediment in some workplaces - they are less likely to get a promotion, or even lose their job entirely if they request to go part-time to be able to juggle their responsibilities as mothers and working women. Considering half of the population are women, and many of us get pregnant, this should be accounted for in work places, and should never hold us back. Issues we debate include tackling sexism in the workplace and fighting for equal pay, because still in 2021 we do not have this! 

 

ABOUT MARCH 8

 

Sharing her  message for March 8 International Women's Day, Reilley said: "My message for international womens’ day from the UK is - this day reminds us of what international sisterhood has achieved, but also how far we still have to go.  And this year, with governments around the world using the pandemic as a pretext to roll back human and womens rights, we must struggle even harder against the stream. 

I just want to end by sending my solidarity to my Kurdish sisters, and all my sisters across the world! Happy international womens day!"

 

SLEMANI

 

Tevgera Azadi (Freedom Movement) Slemani Bureau Co-chair Şehên Mihemed stated that the preparations for March 8 are continuing and said, "Not only on March 8, but every day is a day of struggle and resistance for us women. Especially on the basis of women's freedom and achievement of women's rights. In this context, non-governmental organizations will carry out various actions and activities. Our demonstration to be held on March 5 is very important, and the time to defend women's freedom (Kat Katî Parastinî Jinî Azad û Komelgehê Azad e) will be our main slogan in this demo. We will celebrate this with the spirit of the resistance in Garê."

 

Stating that they will also express the women's problems in the Federated Kurdistan Region, Mihemed said, “Our call for all women in Southern Kurdistan is to participate in this demo and our activities with the spirit of the Garê resistance. I hope that the public will show great interest in this demo. Happy March 8, International Women's Day for women all over the world, especially Kurdish women ”.

 

IRELAND

 

Linda Coogan Byrne, member of the collective 'Why Not Her?' in Ireland, said: "Why not her is a  collective of women who have come together and are working towards gender parity and diversity across the media industry in Ireland, and indeed the UK, primarily focusing on Ireland. Now, we are trying to get gender balance on the airwaves across radio. At the moment it's 85% more male voices aired on Irish radio in the music scene."

 

Pointing out that as a collective they are trying to get gender balance on the airwaves across radios, Byrne said: "We are also working with political parties and women in politics in order to come together and make this change happen. So there's a saying in Ireland. That is "Ni Saoirse go Saoirse na mBan." and it basically means there's no freedom, until the freedom of women. And that's what we're all working towards. We are working with each other, we're working together because when we work together we rise together and hopefully it is time next year we will have some good news and we have a lot of positive change. Because we have to get that 85% Male Voice of the, the airwaves and the broadcasting sector in the media sector in Ireland, and we want to bring it more towards 40% 40% and 20% other. We've been a long way to go, but we're very hopeful that it will happen because we have never really been in a situation like this where so many collectives have joined forces, and are working together for the better good."

 

 

MA / Berivan Altan - Gözde Çağrı Özköse