8 HEADLINES
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY March 1 - 15 , 2017
Tinig Migrante Marking International Women ’ s Day : Why We Celebrate It
By E . Maestro
International Women ’ s Day , originally called International Working Women ’ s Day , seems to have become more and more as just another event to do the obligatory offering of flowers or chocolates or the restaurant dinner to the women in our lives . The political character of this Day has been somewhat diminished because its celebration has been appropriated by commercial and other self-serving interests that deliberately ignore its radical origins .
International Working Women ’ s Day emerged from the many mass actions of the labour movement , from the militant actions of women workers worldwide starting in the early 1900s . This Day is rooted in the working class movement and in the anti-capitalist struggle , as witnessed by the 1908 strike of women garment workers , many of them immigrant women , under the banner of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union . It is also reflected in the tragedy of 1911 when over a hundred women workers were senselessly killed in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York , an example of the dangerous working conditions for workers . In 1917 , Russian women demonstrated in Saint Petersburg and demanded Bread and Peace , calling for an end to World War I , to czarism and to food shortages . In Winnipeg , hundreds of women workers closed ranks with the other workers in the historic and influential 1919 Winnipeg General Strike . Let us not forget that here In Canada , it was not too long ago , that Canadian women were declared to be “ persons ” in a Constitutional ruling in 1927 , and as “ persons ” they had the right to be appointed to the Canadian Senate !
The continuing struggle of women worldwide is testament to the fact that women have not stood idly on the sidelines , whether they worked in the homes , factories , farms , schools , etc . Women today stand on the shoulders of their sisters who throughout history took their rightful place in the resistance , in the midst of struggles to get their rights as human beings , as women , as workers . It is no surprise that it took women to celebrate their gains and support their sisters by creating their own Working Women ’ s Day . While the Women ’ s Day was celebrated by many countries , and at different dates , since the early 1900s , it was only after the victory of the Great October Revolution in 1917 , after the Soviet Union declared March 8 as International Working Women ’ s Day that women in many countries celebrated their Day all together all across the globe .
In the Philippines , the first Women ’ s Day was celebrated in March 8,1934 during the American colonial period by the progressive Katipunan ng mga Anakpawis and then in 1971 under the banner of MAKIBAKA , a militant women ’ s organization which was declared illegal when Marcos declared martial law a year after in 1972 . MAKIBAKA , a member of the National Democratic Front has since remained an underground group . In 1984 ,
International Women ’ s Day was celebrated again , a few days after the broad women ’ s alliance called GABRIELA was formed . The General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms , Integrity , Equality , Leadership and Action ( or GABRIELA for short ) is the most outstanding patriotic and progressive women ’ s formation in the Philippines , linking its women ’ s movement to the struggle for national liberation and democracy .
In reclaiming the spirit of the International Working Women ’ s Day , women , with their families , friends and organizations , gathered together at the Calvary Baptist Church last March 11 , for an evening of cultural performances , speakers , sharing and food . The evening highlighted the resistance of indigenous women , working class women and gender oppressed peoples against state-sanctioned violence . It also celebrated the militant resistance of Indigenous and other working class women under conditions brought about by imperialism and its
consequent evils .
Jenn Allen and Martha Roberts from Grassroots Women shared the history of state-sponsored violence against indigenous women , where policing has subjected indigenous women to “ over-policing and under protection ” resulting in thousands of missing and murdered women . Ingrid from Ayotzi68 talked about the many missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Guatemala and Mexico and ended her sharing with poetry . Pia Rivera of GABRIELA Seattle linked its women ’ s movement to the Filipino liberation movement which was followed by the Pinay Choir . KASAMA cultural group of Migrante BC performed its interpretation of the song Babaylan in reference to the Filipino women prophets , warriors and visionaries .
Reclaiming International Working Women ’ s Day is to remember its history , its roots and to continue to celebrate the continuing struggles of women who continue to resist . Happy International Working Women ’ s Day !
WWW . PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY . COM