march 8: international women's day

This Saturday, March 8, is International Women's Day.

IWD 2008 is very special, as it marks 100 hundred years since the events that eventually became International Women's Day. The roots of IWD are feminist, labour, immigrant and socialist.

On March 8, 1908, 15,000 female garment workers marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. Their activism would spur the labour movement and the movement for universal suffrage.

In many countries, IWD is a national holiday, similar to Mother's Day, but more political and less Hallmark-generated. You can see a list of IWD 2008 events by country here.

In the Toronto area, IWD 2008 is very much connected to labour rights, the rights of immigrants, and to the peace movement. IWD Toronto has all the info on the march, the rally, and a fair. The theme: The Rising Of The Women Is The Rising Of Us All!

Canadian women who care about reproductive freedom can use IWD 2008 as a forum to protest the anti-woman agenda of the Conservative Party and their Liberal collaborators. Don't let up.