Who fights for women's rights. Thesis: Women's struggle for their rights

From the War of Independence to the second half of the 19th century

Gradually, global changes are taking place in the role played by women in all areas of life - politics, production, economy. This process is accompanied by the growth of female self-awareness.

In the XVIII century. - the first half of the 19th century was the first wave - the struggle to achieve legal equality of the sexes. Its beginning can be called the movement of women in France, outraged by a special decree forbidding them to participate in rallies, meetings, demonstrations, and generally attend public places and gather in groups. This decree contradicted the principles of the Great French Revolution, enshrined in its main document, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen." And the first document of feminism was published in 1791. from the pen of Olympia de Gouge "Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens." The first stage was distinguished by its relatively small number of participants and poor organization.

In America, as a result of the War of Independence and the political crisis, not only the consciousness of women was politicized, but also the content of their private life. Women who had previously had no interest in politics quickly became involved in political thought and got involved in political discussions.

Enlightened women at the end of the 18th century increasingly raised political issues in their letters and diaries. However, the cultural tradition, which directly separates the female sphere of activity from the socio-political one, again and again forced them to make excuses for their insolence.

Abigail Smith Adams (1744 - 1818) in 1776 writes a letter to her husband, John Adams, America's second president, asking him to pay attention to the "ladies" in the new legislation. Abigail Adams' tone in her letter to her husband is jokingly serious. Undoubtedly, she hoped in this way to soften the shocking effect of her open statements so unusual for a woman. Unsurprisingly, however, she considered herself entitled to ask the new government for more opportunities for women. Accustomed to the frequent absence of her husband, Abigail completely took upon herself both the upbringing of children and the care of the house and farm, overcoming numerous hardships and troubles of wartime. Abigail's letters to her husband testify to the courage and patriotism of this woman in the face of hunger, inflation, epidemics.

However, her husband was not in the mood to take his wife's ideas seriously: “I could not read your proposals on legislation without a smile. We are told that our struggle is everywhere causing a weakening of power, that children and schoolchildren refuse to obey educators, that schools and colleges are unsettled, that Indians are slaughtering their guards, and Negroes are rebelling against their masters. From your letter I reveal that another people, much more numerous and powerful, are also agitated. "

So, the second President of America derisively reacted to the proposals of his wife, and his appeal to women - "people" fully demonstrates the chauvinistic attitude of the male society of revolutionary, educational America to women (Here is a goat!)

Later, Abigail Adams corresponded with another American patriot - M. Warren. Recalling how she in letters to her husband begged him to defend the rights of women, and especially married ones, Abigail wrote with some pride: “I have served my gender a lot,” although in reality her petition did not have any results. For a long time, a married American woman could not own property, sign contracts on her own behalf, and even dispose of her own wages.

However, the energy of women found a way out in a certain kind of activity, in particular, in missionary and educational activities, which it would be wrong to underestimate in the framework of women promoting their ideas.

After the Revolution, the image of a republican mother began to be popularized, maternal duty is a woman's mission and task. Hannah Mater Crocker wrote in 1818: “The duty and honorable mission of a woman ... to engender in the heart of a young man the first seed of virtue, love for God and his homeland, as well as all those virtues that will help him become a brilliant statesman, soldier, philosopher and Christian ".

On the one hand, it also contributed to the growth of conservative beginnings: “The Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he counseled women to take care of the home and family,” wrote Ms. John Sanford. - Peace reigns in the house, and there is something soothing in the chores. The house can not only shelter from adversity, but also protect from any delusions and mistakes. "

On the other hand, the issue of women mothers sparked a heated discussion of the need for female education and prompted the founding of women's academies, the first institutions where young girls could receive a serious academic education. By 1840, 38% of white American women aged 5 to 20 were in school. By 1850, most white women could read and write, whereas in the previous century, many of them could not even sign. The fight for access to education has become an important part of women's fight for equality with men.

In 1789, the labor laws of Massachusetts for the first time included female teachers on a par with teachers. The number of educated young women grew in proportion to the widespread massive demand for teachers where citizens wanted to become literate. The fact is that women needed less costs. The teacher could be paid half and three times less than the teacher. Naturally, they never occupied director and other responsible posts.

One of the advocates of equal education was Emma Hart Willard, who developed her own teaching methodology and prepared her students to work as teachers. Willard persuaded the Troy City Council, New York State, to fund the founding of the Troy Women's Seminary, which opened in 1821 as the first educational institution for girls. Among the subjects taught at the seminary was physiology (the science of the function of parts of the human body), which at that time was considered unacceptable for girls to study. With the development of teaching methodology, Willard began a campaign to improve women's education.

Francis Wright, Katharine Beecher and Mary Lyon, despite their differences of opinion, also contributed to the campaign to expand women's education in the early 19th century. Thanks to their joint efforts, the range of subjects studied by women has been expanded, the quality of teacher training has been improved, and restrictions have been lifted that allow only white women to receive education. top class and ensured the right to education for the sake of education, not just in preparation for the role of housewife.

In the religious and moral sphere, women have also achieved important successes, demonstrating even the ability to control men!

As you know, Europeans who immigrated to North America in the XVII and XVIII centuries, believed that women were less intellectually developed than men, and that, accordingly, they could not take part in many aspects social life on a par with men. This opinion was especially pronounced in matters of religion, in the limited access of women to education and professional careers, in public meetings that dictated the norms of women's behavior, in the exclusion of women from political life and the inequality of women and men before the law.

Although many colonists who fled to the New World in search of refuge from church punishment believed in the equality of the soul, their religious convictions nevertheless relegated women to a secondary role.

However, after 1800, when, as a result of religious revival and awareness of their mission, there was a solidarization of women, they intensified their efforts to create a variety of associations and institutions. A powerful movement known as the Second Great Awakening, closely associated with neglect male world to the woman and the commercial (that is, also masculine) world to religion. When these two factors combined, the result was an explosive mixture.

In 1834, the National Women's Organization was created against prostitution, double standards and other manifestations of (presumably male) immorality. Over the course of 10 years, more than 400 branches of the Women's Moral Reform Society were formed. In their newspaper "Advocate" they denounced the "predatory nature", "recklessness", "arrogance" of men "mired in sin."

Although the activists did not defeat prostitution, they had a significant impact on the norms of behavior. In the first decade of the 19th century. The number of illegal children has dropped markedly.

The temperance movement was an even broader step towards establishing control over men's behavior.

However, the most politicized of all movements was abolitionism, which arose in the early 1930s. In 1833, the Women's Anti-Slavery Society was formed in Philadelphia. In 1836, a convention of women abolitionists was held in New York. “I think, from blacks in the South to women in the North, everyone is talking about rights, and white men will very soon get into trouble,” says a contemporary.

Many women, together with men, fought for the abolition of slavery, this was one of the forms of struggle for an equal society. "When will they write true story anti-slavery movement, many of its pages will be devoted to women, since the struggle of slaves was to a large extent also the struggle of women, ”writes Frederick Douglas (1817 - 1895). But many of those who finally discovered that blacks have certain rights, just like other members of human society, had yet to be convinced that women, too, can claim something.

Many women took part in the movement to abolish slavery in the 1830s. After women formed societies for moral and religious reforms, such as the prohibition of prostitution and against alcohol discrimination against women, many Americans began to recognize the participation of women in the fight to ban slavery. Women's chapters of anti-slavery organizations were formed to support male-led societies. However, some of the women, such as Sarah and Angelica Grimke, did not stop at this level.

The Grimke sisters were born into a slave family in South Carolina. Having moved to the North as an adult, they accepted Active participation in the movement to abolish slavery. The Grimke sisters have established themselves as ferocious slave emancipators and excellent orators. However, only a few men showed interest in the meetings at which Grimke spoke.

In 1834, the American Society for the Abolition of Slavery campaigned to collect signatures on a letter to Congress, demonstrating the scale of public support for the movement. The women also took part in the campaign, collecting signatures from residents of the surrounding area. As Eleanor Flexner wrote later, “It took no less courage from ordinary housewives, mothers and sisters than from the Grimke sisters to step over the generally accepted canons, not pay attention to disapproving looks from the outside and direct intervention of men, and come to the first in their life a public meeting, or for the first time to walk with a petition in their hands on an unfamiliar street, knocking on houses and collecting signatures on what was not approved by everyone. "

In 1840, the "World Convention for the Abolition of Slavery" was held in London. The US delegation included several women, including future women's rights activists Lucrezia Mott, founder of the first women's Society for the Abolition of Slavery, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who attended the Troy Women's Seminary. Some Americans have observed that the convention organizers have reserved seats for male participants only, giving women seats in the galleries where they can hear the men speak, but not speak or participate. The results of the convention prompted Stanton and Mott to host a convention for women's rights in the United States.

With the inclusion of women in the work on one political issue, it became more difficult for men to keep them away from other problems. One of the leaders of the movement for the abolition of slavery, the writer Lydia Maria Child, noted that by involving women in the public struggle, the male leaders of the reformist movements turned the family into a living organism, and it was no longer possible to return a woman to the role of only a housewife. Having gained access to the tools and tactics for political change, women began to look for ways to use them to improve their own conditions of life.

Second half of the 19th century

The second wave of the movement of women for their rights covers the second half of the 19th century. It is characterized by the emergence of numerous feminist organizations in a number of countries. The relevance of the requirements is evidenced by the appearance in the second half of the 19th century. numerous feminist organizations in several countries. In 1888, the International Council of Women was created, by the beginning of the twentieth century. it included the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands.

Demands are put forward to provide women with electoral rights that would open them up access to political activity and ensure social equality.

During this time, many women in the United States began to leave their home abodes. Someone actively lectured, someone went into politics, participating in women's anti-slavery societies, thousands of women found work outside the home: structural changes in the economy and the emergence of new technology have changed and greatly expanded the scope of hired female labor. An obvious variable in their lives was the increase in the number of jobs: saleswomen in stores, employees in offices and institutions, etc.

In addition, several higher education institutions were opened for women. educational institutions... Truth, long time the educated girl was looked upon as a loser who had lost all her femininity and charm and turned into a “blue stocking” that hardly anyone would marry. Nevertheless, gradually in the United States, formal secondary education for middle-class women became commonplace, even if it differed from that of men in terms of volume and quality. However, in universities, despite the changes in attitudes towards female education, very few women were still enrolled.

By the end of the 19th century, suffragettes (from the English - suffrage - electoral right) were active, who defended the political and legal equality of women; socialists defending ideas equal pay female labor and the participation of women in trade unions; radical feminists who promoted the ideas of conscious motherhood and birth control; Christian women's charities. As a result of the slow conquest of all these feminist streams, by the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, social stereotypes and norms already allowed women to go outside the home in order to get an education and work.

Women are gradually regaining the economic importance lost in prehistoric times, as they break out of the house and, working in the factory, take part in production in a new way. Such a revolution is made possible by the machine, because the difference in physical strength between male and female workers is in most cases leveled. Insofar as sudden jump Because industry requires far more labor than male workers can offer, the involvement of women becomes essential. This is the great revolution that in the 19th century. transforms the fate of a woman and opens a new era for her.

In the development of the ideas of feminism, suffrageism of the beginning of the 20th played an important role - the movement for granting women suffrage, which would give them access to political activity, and ensure social equality. Susan B. Anthony (1820 - 1906) writes that “the absence of the right to vote means the impossibility of building, organizing or managing one's life. Those without the right to vote are always forced to do that work, get that wages, to occupy the place that those who have the right to vote determine for them. Those who do not have this right are in the position of a beggar: take what they give, otherwise you will not receive anything. "

It was believed that women did not need the right to vote to protect themselves, since they were provided by men. Statistics show that great amount women themselves earned their own living. They were forced to work in shops and factories for paltry wages. Women workers employed in different areas, from time to time united in trade unions and went on strike to get justice from their masters in the same way as men did. But not a single successful performance by women is known. The newspapers ridiculed them and wrote that if the workers did not like their earnings, then they were "free to take the calculation and get married." In the case of men, no editor would dare to do this, because he understood: if he should ridicule or denounce these men, not only they, but all other men, union members from this city, will vote against the candidates during the next election campaign. , for which this very editor stands up. If women could participate in elections, they would “maintain the balance of political forces” in their town. “There are many women who, just like men, are quite capable of being principals or administrators of schools, and yet, although three quarters of teachers are women, almost all of them are appointed to secondary positions, receiving half or at best two a third of what a man earns. And the whole point is only that they are women. It is for the millions of women who earn their living to be able to exercise the same control over their labor as men do that they must be given the right to vote. Now, when there has been a great revolution in the economy and a woman can work and earn money in the same place as a man, one cannot help but come to the conclusion that she must have equal powers with a man in order to protect herself. It is about the right to vote - a symbol of freedom and equality. Without this, not a single citizen is able to preserve what he has, let alone receive what he does not have. "

From 1850 and every year thereafter for a decade, with the exception of 1857, a national convention for the rights of women was held in Worcester, Massachusetts. In their early stages, women's rights activists focused primarily on the right to control property and earnings, the right to divorce, education and employment, and the right to defend their interests in court. The legal status of women in the United States has remained largely unchanged since 1800. Married women did not have the right to sign contracts, they could not completely dispose of their own savings and property, even inherited, in the event of a divorce, a woman could not leave her children.

Ernestina Rose, an immigrant from Poland, has collected hundreds of signatures on a petition demanding guaranteed property rights for married women in New York State. In response to a petition, the Married Women Property Act was passed in 1848.

However, many legislators continued to leave unanswered women's demands for property rights for married people, the right to divorce, and the right to maintain children after divorce. Without a guaranteed right to vote, women were unable to exercise sufficient influence over those on whom legislative changes depended. Women's rights activists were unable to change discriminatory laws without the right to vote, but this right could only be achieved through legislative changes.

During the Civil War, women's rights movements were suspended. But women activists of the movement to abolish slavery continued their activities, collecting signatures for a petition for the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits slavery. In May 1863, Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton formed the National Women's Association. By August 1864, they had collected 400,000 signatures for the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment and submitted them to the US Senate.

At the end of the Civil War, many anti-slavery activists joined the movement for the right to vote for blacks. Stanton pushed for women's voting rights to be included in the movement, but many of her supporters opposed Stanton's strategy. They believed that, if combined with the rather unpopular issue of women's voting, the movement for black voting rights would be doomed to failure.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, first introduced to Congress in 1866, guaranteed equal protection before the law for all American citizens. But then the text of the amendment used the word "man", implying that only men were considered citizens. Prior to the adoption of the amendment, the issue of women's participation in voting was considered only at the state level, since it was not the federal constitution, but the state constitutions that specifically indicated the right of the male population to vote. Ensuring such a right for women required the adoption of an additional amendment to the constitution, fixing the citizenship of women, and, accordingly, their right to vote.

The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in July 1868, and six months later, Congress introduced the Fifteenth Amendment, which stated: race, color, or previous bondage. " Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton tried unsuccessfully to get the amendment to include the words "sexual identity". The issue of women's right to vote was the theme of the women's movement for the next half century.

Stanton and Anthony formed the National Association for Women's Rights, which could only be members of women. The association worked on the different types of injustices faced by the female population. The main goal of the Association was to achieve the adoption of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of women to vote, due to the belief that "the introduction of changes from state to state is a long, exhausting and unpromising process."

Susan Anthony remained a women's rights activist until her death in 1906. Eleanor Flexner wrote that Anthony's death marked the end of an era. According to her, Anthony was the last of the giants to start the fight to improve the lives of women. When Anthony passed away, few questioned the meaning and inevitability of women gaining the right to vote. There was only one question left, "When?"

Since the end of the XIX century. to 1920

Eleanor Fleksner noted that "the period from 1896 to 1910 became known among women's rights activists as" the beating of toy drums. " The issue of women's right to vote was raised in six states and lost in all six. Congress has not taken any new action on the Anthony Amendment. However, new leaders began to emerge in the movement. Garriet Stanton Blatch, daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, returned to the United States in 1902 after spending 20 years abroad. Blatch has been involved in various social movements in the UK, including the campaign for women's right to vote, which has provided her with a wealth of experience in social struggles. In the United States, Blatch founded own organization titled "Women's Political Union." Blatch's mission was to reshape the women's rights movement with tougher demands and participation in the movement of women workers.

Since most of the female workers were not unionized, some feminists decided to remedy this situation. Consumer leagues were created to identify those trade and industrial establishments where women were mistreated. And in 1903, the League of Women's Trade Unions was formed - with its help, representatives of the middle class fought to improve working conditions. The League supported strikes with the participation of women, provided substantial assistance to the strikers in protecting the rights of those arrested, organizing pickets, free kitchens and social benefits.

As a result, the US Congress authorized a detailed study on the situation of working women and children. The report "Women and Children in Employment in the United States," which was studied from 1908 to 1911, consisted of 19 volumes. This led to the founding in 1920 of the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor.

By October 1908, the Women's Political Union had 19,000 members and was employing new tactics, including working with trade unions, organizing membership based on the political orientation of the districts, campaigning against legislators who did not want to allow women to vote. observing polling stations on election day; and holding protest parades that have become traditional in many cities across the country. As the New York Times noted, the protest parades brought respect for the activities of the women's movement. In addition, many young women began to call themselves feminists and advocate not only political rights, but also social and cultural freedoms for women.

In 1910 and 1911, women won the right to vote in the states of Washington and California. In California, women monitored elections closely, from polling booths to ballot-tallying clerks. The vote count then showed that the referendum for women's right to participate "won by an average lead of one vote in every polling station in the state."

In 1912, referendums were held in six states and women won the right to vote in Arizona, Kansas and Oregon. In Michigan, preliminary results predicted women's victory, but the final vote was still not in their favor. The governor of Michigan accused the winemakers (who feared that women would advocate for the prohibition of alcohol) of rigging the vote, but the women never won.

Congress has not considered passing the Anthony Amendment since 1896. That changed when Alice Paul, a former UK women's rights activist, spearheaded a campaign for constitutional changes. In her work, Paul used tactics such as acts of civil disobedience and public hunger strikes, which she met in the UK. Paul was joined by Lucy Berne, another American woman with experience in community struggles in the UK. One of their first actions was a protest parade in the US capital, Washington, on the day of President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration in March 1913. By the time the president arrived in Washington, all spectators had already left to see the women parade. The parade attracted 5,000 participants and resulted in an extensive demonstration that attracted significant attention to the issue of women's rights.

In 1913, Alice Paul founded the "Union of Congress" with the goal of pushing for a constitutional amendment. In June 1916, the Union was transformed into the "National Party of Women". In 12 states, where by that time the right of women to vote had already been approved, the "Party of Women" began preparing activists for the upcoming presidential elections. As a result, in 1916, both Republicans and Democrats supported women's right to vote. But despite the party's campaign against President Wilson, he was re-elected, prompting the party to rethink its strategy.

Women were slowly but surely fighting for their rights. During the I World War 1914 - 1918. feminists everywhere ceased their activities, resuming their activities shortly after the war. However, the war showed the necessity and value of female labor at a time when men were drafted into the army. This was a widespread trend, but in the United States to a somewhat lesser extent, since the United States did not take part in the war as such.

In the United States, a federal constitutional amendment law passed in 1918 on women's suffrage in the House of Representatives, but the Senate rejected the amendment. And only thanks to the efforts of activists of the movement, a year later, and for some states a little later, on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment became part of the US Constitution after ratification by thirty-six states.

The acquisition by US women of voting rights, as well as the growth of their employment, led to a decline in the feminist movement, which again begins to intensify only after the end of World War II.

In January 1917, activists of the "National Party of Women" picketed the White House (this has not happened in the entire previous history of the United States), silently standing at the gate with placards on which was written an appeal to the President: "Mr. President, what are you going to do with the right women to vote? " And when the United States entered the First world war, then in response to a presidential decree stating that war "will secure world democracy", the party issued posters "Democracy must start at home."

At a conference in December 1917, the Association for the Right to Vote for Women announced that it would do its utmost to replace large numbers of senators and representatives if Congress did not pass a constitutional amendment on women's right to vote before the 1918 elections. ... But while the House of Representatives passed Anthony's amendment in January 1918, the Senate vote in October lacked two votes to pass it.

The association continued to threaten the opposition with re-election. On May 20, 1919, the amendment was re-adopted by the House of Representatives, and on June 4, it was adopted by the Senate. The struggle to ratify the constitutional amendment took relatively little time. The Women's Association organized active support for the amendment, and on August 26, 1920, women from all states of the United States were guaranteed the right to vote.

This could be the end of our study, but it seems interesting to us to dwell on two more hard-won rights of women - the right to engage in professional sports and the right to birth planning.

From the standpoint of social Darwinism and positivism, the majority of representatives of science and education unanimously opposed women's attempts to achieve social equality. Dr. Edward Clarke in the USA and Dr. Henry Maudsley in England became the classics of the concept of physiologically determined limitations of the physical, mental and social activity of women. Dr. Robert Barnes (1887), explaining the prevailing point of view in scientific circles, argued: “The functions of ovulation, pregnancy, lactation and menopause in turn dominate the female body, depleting it and leaving it insufficient for other activities energy resources". In 1887, the chairman of the British Medical Association proposed that in the interests of social progress and improvement human race education and other activities were prohibited by the constitution as potentially dangerous, causing overload female body and an inability to produce healthy results. A scientific approach of this kind was accompanied by solid statistical calculations.

In this, scientists faced powerful opposition in the form of the sports movement.

In the late XIX - early XX centuries. in line with the global trends of changing the social significance of a woman, her bodily image as a whole is being transformed (it is bodily that is a symbol of gender differentiation and the source of the myth about the “limited opportunities of the weaker sex”). Accordingly, the attitude towards its potential participation in the international physical culture, sports and Olympic movement is changing. And this, in a broader sense, was associated with freedoms of a socio-political nature and the manifestation of the equality of women. In the post-Victorian era, the feminist movement significantly expanded its geographical boundaries, organizationally took shape and lost a significant part of the emotional spontaneity of the first stage. The idea of ​​improving the individual and social status of women began to capture the consciousness of an ever wider circle of progressive people.

Against the background of this confrontation, discussions about the intellectual and biological viability of women took place. The myth of disabilities the weaker sex and traditional ideas about femininity made it much more difficult for women to enter the international physical culture and sports arena.

This point of view prevailed at the end of the 19th century, seriously hampering the full participation of women in the international physical culture and sports movement. The processes of emancipation were most active in the United States of America, where by the beginning of the century there were more than 1000 women's clubs.

However, women did not abandon their hopes and efforts to take their rightful place in the international sports and Olympic arena: they organized their own sports societies and federations, participated in various competitions, tried to find original methods physical education girls. So, in 1906, the first official women's world championship in figure skating took place, held in Davos (Switzerland) at the initiative of the International Skating Union (I.S.U.). These competitions have become a model for numerous national open championships in this sport, such as the championships in Germany in 1911, in Austria in 1913, in the USA in 1914.

Founded in 1908, the International Swimming Federation (F.I.N.A.) has become one of the few sports associations to take a liberal stance towards women's sports. This sport is most widespread among American athletes. In this regard, one cannot fail to mention Charlotte Epstein (1884 - 1934) - a famous social activist who did a lot for the development women's sports in the United States. S. Epstein founded the National Women's Salvation League in 1914, and in the fall of the same year, thanks to the active actions of the League, the Amateur Athletic Union officially began to register women's swimming competitions. In 1916, the Union organized the first women's national championship for women, which included 6 freestyle exercises at various distances, but in the same year an unsuccessful attempt was made to fail the participation of athletes in swimming competitions by the same organization. In 1917, Ms. Epstein founded the Women's Swimming Association in New York City, hoping to improve the status quo and take women's competition out of the control of aggressive "industrial" organizations. The club soon became the leader in women's swimming in the United States, and in 1918 its female athletes contributed to the list of world records.

Despite the fact that at the beginning of the century the etiquette in relation to women's sports has changed somewhat, the general public was extremely negative about the fact that women were engaged in "traditionally male" and "contrary to the most female nature"sports such as athletics.

The women's liberation movement expressed itself, in particular, in the desire to master all new types of sports, thereby demonstrating their social equality and biological usefulness. Proving their right and ability to engage in various types of sports activities, athletes met with misunderstanding not only from the majority of their unsportsmanlike fellow citizens, but, most surprisingly, from the very founders of the modern Olympic movement (Pierre de Coubertin, Avery Brandage).

It was especially difficult to win the right to participate in sports such as athletics. The history of athletics clearly illustrates the struggle of women against gender stereotypes, rejection of the new "active" image of women. American women defended their positions most successfully - at an early stage, modern Athletics closely related to the fate of the US feminists. Already in 1905, 14 women's athletics records were reported in the United States.

However, the struggle for the right to participate in "non-female" sports continued in the 30s, entering the next season of confrontation.

Through women's clubs, FSFI has supported the women's sports movement around the world. National championships, "women's Olympiads" aroused the growing interest of athletes from all over the world. FSFI President Alice Millier addressed the IOC session (1935) with a memorandum in which she asked to exclude women's competitions from the Olympiad program. However, she referred to the fact that the holding of competitions in women's sports is the exclusive task of FSFI. Fortunately, the IOC, with noteworthy diplomatic subtlety, reflected this action, which received widespread press support.

Another issue closely related to the physiology and controversy of scientists at the turn of the century is the issue of birth control.

Margaret Sanger (1883 - 1966) considered the goal of her life - "to give every woman the right to control her body." In 1915, she started a large-scale campaign aimed at overcoming legal barriers to the dissemination of contraception and information on their use. She considered the right to voluntary motherhood "the key to the temple of freedom."

M. Sanger writes that most women from working families do not have any reliable knowledge about contraception and, therefore, give birth to children so quickly that their families and their class as a whole are too numerous. Hence the many hardships with which society as a whole is burdened; in turn, they give rise to want, disease, harsh living conditions and general poverty among workers.

And the woman is the first to suffer from hunger, she is worse dressed, her working day has no limit, even if she is not driven to a factory in order to supplement her husband's meager earnings. It is her health that suffers in the first place and is no longer recovering from housework, undermined by constant pregnancies and constant care for the children. Overtime hard work for women does not include the eight-hour day laws; no laws protect her poor health from diseases caused by pregnancy and childbirth. According to statistics from the United States Department of Labor in 1913, about 15,000 women in the United States died of postpartum complications. And these data, according to doctors, are greatly underestimated!

During the period under review, the supporters of this approach did not succeed in achieving the desired - this is a matter for the future. However, the seeds of a woman's right to "free motherhood" were already laid here. However, the controversy about the impact of this conquered right continues to this day: it is here that the currently irreconcilable contradiction between orthodox feminist organizations, which see in "free motherhood" as one of the core principles women's freedom, and on the other hand - opponents of abortion, advocating the child's right to life from the moment of conception. Finally, for modern Russia the confrontation between the family planning organization RAMP and its opponents, which grew up on the ideas of M. Sanger and her followers, and its opponents, who rightly see it as an expansion of the "secret genocide" based on the above-mentioned theory of "not to breed poverty", is no longer among American workers, it is true, but among "Developing countries", including Russia ...

Thus, the period we have shown in the development of the women's movement for their rights in America is of no small importance: the achievements and problems known to us today arose precisely in the period we have considered: both the woman's right to work and sports, and the absurdity of political correctness and harassment, and the possibility of free use contraceptives, and developed by fascism and some modern organizations ideas about limiting the birth rate of the "inferior", and much more. Therefore, this topic should be studied further and more deeply.

There were times when a woman before the law was in an unequal position with a man. And the law only confirmed this norm of the era.

In other words, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the policy in the field of civil and political rights of women was aimed at non-recognition of the female sex as a subject of social development.

As soon as women are on a par with you, they will immediately be higher than you.

Cato the Elder

Heavy share

The woman has always been considered the keeper of the hearth. In pre-revolutionary Russian society, only religious marriage was recognized, and divorce was strictly prohibited. The husband's duty is to provide food, and the wife's duty is to be obedient. The law said that spouses were simply obliged to live together; when changing the place of residence (for example, on duty of the husband), the wife must unquestioningly follow him.

Even on the issue of inheritance rights, a man had a superior position over a woman. With the joint inheritance of a brother and sister, the immediate right of inheritance belonged to the brothers. Daughters inherit only 1/14 of real estate and 1/8 - from movable.

At the beginning of the 19th century, women were faced with the acute question of obtaining a higher education - it was not included in the plans of the authorities at all. The woman, under no pretext, could attend lectures at universities.

Excerpt from “ A Practical Guide for Ladies and Men"1896 describes as well as possible the customs of the old times and the attitude towards women on the part of men: “Most women are less well educated than men, more superficial, less serious, and more easily tired; the fair sex prefers a lively exchange of thoughts and does not like to delve into any subject; cheerful, playful chatter is more pleasant for women than dry methodical reasoning. Therefore, if a man does not want to bore them and seem to be a pedant, then he must adapt his conversation to these features of their character ... You should also not go to the other extreme, entering into conversation with ladies about insignificant trifles alien to a man.

... Most men are already inclined to consider women mentally limited, empty, affective, petty, therefore women who value their dignity should not be strengthened in this opinion by their manner of conducting a conversation. We advise young girls to give themselves the trouble to take part in such conversations that lie somewhat beyond the ordinary sphere of thinking, overcome their shyness and show with deliberate questions that the subject of the conversation is accessible to their understanding ... There is no worse disappointment for a man than to notice in his the interlocutor careless attitude to what he ardently expounds to her ... ".

Generation of "new women"

Equalization of rights of women with men, or the women's issue in Russia arose in the second half of the 19th century, and the peak of development falls on end of XIX- the beginning of the XX century. During this period, women actively begin to fight for the provision of civil and political rights to them. Public conscience is on the verge of a tipping point, rethinking the role of women in society.

The reform of 1861 was the driving force behind the attraction of women to social production. The reform led to the rapid ruin of the nobility, which was forced to earn money on its own. It is these people who come from wealthy families - noble girls - who have become active participants in the women's movement, advocating for equality. It was their story that she called “women of a new type” - educated, independent, purposeful.

Time demanded the granting of women the rights to education and work - after all, all this was an inevitable factor in the social and cultural progress of society. At the end of the 60s of the XIX century, women strove for higher education, went abroad, where they studied teaching activities... Women of the "new type" worked as obstetricians and doctors, mastered the "male" specialties. But insurmountable prohibitions still stood in their way. It was from this moment that societies appeared in Russia aimed at teaching women to read and write, fighting for higher education and supporting women in their professional activities.

In 1863, a women's translation and publishing artel was organized in St. Petersburg. Works such as “ Complete collection Andersen's Tales "(1863), O. Thierry" Tales of the Merovingian Times "(1864), G. Wagner" From Nature "(1865), G. W. Bats" Naturalist on the Amazon River "(1865). The artel was headed by Maria Vasilievna Trubnikova, daughter of the Decembrist V.P. Ivasheva and Nadezhda Vasilievna Stasova, daughter of the architect V.P. Stasov.

In the same year, the House of industriousness for educated women appeared in St. Petersburg. In the essay of I. M. Eisen we read about this organization: “Meeting all the demands of life and trying to expand the scope of female labor as much as possible, the house of industriousness introduced the teaching of accounting. Along with this, a lot of other works are carried out in the house of industriousness: correspondence with a pen in four languages; translations from five languages ​​(French, German, English, Spanish and Arabic) into Russian and from Russian into foreign ones; proofreading, satin stitch marks, weaving and mending Valenciennes and Brussels laces, painting on glass, porcelain, velvet and satin, and finally different kinds graceful needlework. The influx of women wishing to study these jobs or in need of work is growing every day. The report of the house of industriousness provides brief information about the situation of a number of intelligent women who turned to the house of industriousness for help. "

In 1872, V.I. Ger'e's higher courses for women, which are considered the first higher educational institution in Russia, in which women received a history education, were opened in Moscow. The curriculum allowed the girls to study disciplines such as history, literature, natural sciences, and even astronomy.

Higher technical education for women was widely developed. In 1904, journalist and feminist Praskovya Arian initiated a fundraising society for the educational institution. This is how the St. Petersburg Women's Technical Institute was opened (1906 - 1924).

After 1906, large political structures began to be created - the Russian Mutually Charitable Society and the Union of Equal Rights for Women. The following words become the main slogan of the women's movement: "Freedom and equality of all before the law, without distinction and gender."

Thus, at the beginning of the twentieth century, women in Russia had many opportunities to get higher education. But the diplomas of higher educational institutions for women, unfortunately, were not taken into account in employment. It was required to put an equal sign in the rights of diplomas of higher female courses and male educational institutions. But the authorities held back such an initiative.

The First All-Russian Women's Congress of 1909 was important in the history of the feminist movement. The initiator was Anna Nikolaevna Shabanova. The following tasks were on the agenda: the activities of women in Russia in various fields, the economic status of women, the political and civil status of women, and women's education in Russia.

According to A. N. Shabanova: "After the congress, the Russian woman entered the family of cultured women of the world not as a separate person, but as a collective social force."

V modern world it is difficult to imagine women without higher education, who do not want to work. For our time, this is anti-norm. Women are increasingly becoming business partners on an equal basis with men, and even doing “non-female” work. In the next article we will tell you about the first Russian pilot, the first woman in the Geological Committee and other representatives of the fair sex who have proven themselves in business.

Now it is difficult for us to imagine that only a few centuries ago, women were equated in status with pets. And that all those rights that we now happily use have had to be defended in a tough struggle. For example…

For the first time, women menacingly swung rolling pins only during the War of Independence in the United States. "We will not obey laws that we did not participate in!" - exclaimed Abigail Smith Adams and went down in history as the first feminist. It was a breakthrough, because in 1405 Christina Pizanskaya's “Book of the City of Women”, which asserted the right of women to education and participation in political life, was simply not noticed by contemporaries. The Frenchwoman Olympia de Gouge, the author of the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Citizen (1791), was even less fortunate: in 1793 she was executed altogether. And in 1804, Emperor Napoleon in his Code emphasized that a woman does not have civil rights and is under the care of a man. Everything was quiet until 1848, when the United States signed the Declaration of Sentiments. This document stated the unthinkable: women and men are created equal! The beginning of the movement for our rights was laid.

And here the United States is ahead. In 1850, the first National Congress of Women was held there and the National Association for Women's Suffrage was established. Its main goal was the struggle to give our sex the right to vote (suffrage). This is how the suffragettes appeared. These “Amazons of the 19th century” organized rallies and were the first to wear trousers. Thanks to their efforts, in 1869, residents of the new state of Wyoming received the right to vote, and a year later they were allowed to work in the courts. In other states, the struggle was hard. Many referendums on giving women the right to vote were lost due to the machinations of winemakers, they feared that the ladies would advocate for the prohibition of alcohol. American women finally acquired the right to vote only 90 years ago.

Suffragism also covered Europe. Russia turned out to be the seventh state where women received the right to vote during the February Revolution of 1917. And the French women found it almost thirty years after the Russians. So much for Europe!

Ownership

This victory was achieved with the adoption of the "Property Act married women"In 1860 in the USA. Before him, wives were at the complete disposal of their husbands: they did not have the right to sign contracts, they could not even use their own funds, not to mention the spouse's wallet, and in the event of a divorce, they lost their rights to children. The act guaranteed the ladies the opportunity to dispose of their earnings, joint custody of children with her husband, and other rights. True, these guarantees most often remained unfulfilled.

RIGHT to education

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. ekah it was believed that the weaker sex and the mind is weak, and indeed education leads to the loss of femininity. The Enlightenment figures opposed this belief. Through the efforts of Catherine II, Russia turned out to be one of the most advanced countries in the field of female education. The Empress reasonably judged that erudite ladies would have an impact on their husbands, and therefore on the country as a whole. In 1764 the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens was opened in St. Petersburg. The daughters of the nobility were accepted there for 12 years of study, and from their parents they took a subscription about the impossibility of "reclaiming" the girls before the expiration of the term. In 1858, a school for girls from ignorant families began to work, in 1869 the Lubyanka Higher Courses for Women were opened, 9 years later - the Bestuzhev Courses, with training in 3 faculties: History and Philology, Law and Physics and Mathematics. But even after them, women had problems with employment. To provide women with work in 1893, the Society for the Aid to those who graduated from the course of sciences was created.

Right to work

In 1848, rich in revolution, the first organizations of working women appeared in Europe. In Russia, in 1862, the Society of Women's Labor began to operate. And two years later, the first handicraft store opened in St. Petersburg, inviting people to work - unheard of! - saleswomen of the weaker sex.

In 1910, Clara Zetkin proposed celebrating the International Day for Women's Rights. The idea caught on after some 67 years. In 1977, the UN declared March 8 International Women's Day, but the word "fight" has disappeared from the name of the holiday. Ladies began to be presented with flowers and gifts, if only they would get rid of men with their rights. And, I must say, it worked.

OTHER RIGHTS

The right to pain relief during childbirth appeared in women in 1853 only thanks to the courage of Queen Victoria, who decided to use chloroform during childbirth. A successful experiment opened up the possibility of using pain relief for all women in labor.

The granting of the right to protection of dignity was achieved by American women in 1986, when Supreme Court The United States has ruled that sexual aggression or harassment of women in the workplace is an act of discrimination.

It seems that feminism as a phenomenon has exhausted itself. Already in the 90s of the last century, books began to be published criticizing feminism, written by the feminists themselves. The once united women's movement split into many societies more like sects. Womans, pop feminists, ecofeminists, "furry" feminists (in the sense of "frivolous" and not denying epilation), transfeminists and others preach their own trends and pursue their specific goals.

And Russia has become quiet. The main feminist Maria Arbatova disappeared somewhere, women's organizations fell into hibernation. Maybe this is the calm before the storm?

THE HISTORY OF FEMINISM IN RUSSIA

• 1764 g. the Smolny Institute was opened.
• 1812 g. the Women's Patriotic Society was created.
• 1862 g. The Society of Women's Labor was opened.
• 1878 g. the Bestuzhev courses were opened.
• 1899 g. The Russian Women's World League was founded.
• 1905 g. the All-Russian Union of Equality of Women was created.
• 1908 g. the First All-Russian Women's Congress was held.
• 1917 g. universal suffrage was introduced, women were given the right to retain their surname upon marriage and equal rights with men upon divorce.
• 1918 g. The constitution established the equality of women with men.
• 1920 g. abortion is legalized in Russia (for the first time in Europe). In 1936, it became illegal again.
• 1926 g. unregistered marriage is legally secured.
• 1945 g. the International Federation of Women was established.
• 1968 year facilitated the divorce procedure for women.
• 1989 year the Committee for Women's Affairs and Family Protection was established.
• 1996 year the Decree "On increasing the role of women in the system of federal authorities ..." was adopted.

Daria Korzh
PHOTOXPRESS

A woman is a US Secretary of State, a woman is a presidential candidate: some hundred years ago, such a picture seemed inconceivable. Ladies in the same America and in most other countries of the world could neither be elected nor elect. Fortunately, things soon changed.

The first steps towards the establishment of women's suffrage were made at the end of the 18th century in France. In 1789, the leaders of the French Revolution adopted a document called "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen", the main idea of ​​which was that all residents of the country, regardless of their religion and social status have equal rights in relation to the state.

True, the word “all” in the declaration meant only males. The famous writer and ideologist of the revolutionary movement Olympia de Gouge drew attention to this seemingly insignificant fact.

The document caused extremely negative reaction on the part of her "party comrades". And the point was not only that the Jacobins did not share de Gouge's feminist beliefs. In the text of the declaration, Olympia addressed Marie-Antoinette, urging the queen to stop being an enemy of her own people and to lead the nascent women's movement. Of course, the writer was immediately suspected of sympathy for the monarchy.

After de Gouge demanded that the revolutionaries hold a referendum on the future state structure (and one of the options proposed by the writer was a constitutional monarchy), the woman was branded a "royalist" and executed as a traitor.

2. Society of sobriety

The next wave of suffrageism (from the English suffrage - suffrage) swept through the Western world only in the second half of the 19th century. The source of such ideas in many countries was the so-called sobriety societies - associations of women trying to resist the drunkenness of their spouses.

In an effort to get attention from the state to family problems- addicted financial situation, the impossibility of depriving the custody of the children of an alcoholic husband - activists of such communities began to advocate for the granting of voting rights to women. The logic behind this decision was simple: if men do not want to pay attention to such issues, it is necessary to make sure that women themselves can influence the legislative processes.

One such temperance society in New Zealand is led by Kate Sheppard. She convinced her associates to launch a massive campaign for women's suffrage and soon became the leader of the women's movement in the country.

In 1888, Sheppard published a pamphlet with the loud title "Ten Reasons Why New Zealand Women Should Vote." This was followed by several petitions to the country's parliament, and literally 10 days before the next elections, New Zealand residents received the right to vote.

3. London pogrom

By the beginning of the 20th century, suffrageism had finally taken shape as an independent social movement. In some countries, such as Britain, suffragists did not hesitate to state their views as loudly as possible.

In early March 1912, a group of activists of the women's rights movement staged a real pogrom in the center of London, which horrified not only the inhabitants of the British capital.

Here is how the Russian newspaper Rossiya described the events of that day:

“The plan appears to have been carefully thought out, and the raid was carried out with surprising surprise, although the police had been warned that a demonstration would take place one of these days. The women turned out to be armed with stones, sticks, hammers and bottles wrapped in paper. The glasses to be broken in Regent Street, Oxford Street, Bond Street, Piccadilly Street, Gamemarket, Coxpoor Street and the Strand were strictly distributed among the individual women.

The loss caused by them is determined at 40 thousand rubles. On Downing Street, where the Foreign Office and the First Minister’s residence are located, the suffragists arrived in a car with curtained windows and stopped at Lord Asquith’s residence. Three women jumped out of the carriage and immediately began throwing stones at the glass. There were four of them - two on each side of the entrance_.

The police arrived in time to arrest the women, of whom one turned out to be well-known in London, Mrs. Pankhurst (the leader of the British suffrage movement - ed.). When she was escorted past the ministry, she freed her hand and threw a stone at one of the windows.

Almost at the same time, ladies began to act on other streets. In less than a quarter of an hour, hundreds of windows were reduced to pieces. The suddenness of the attack stunned the owners of shops, restaurants, offices and other places. They were completely unprepared for the attack. The brigade, operating in Piccadilly, Bond Street, Regent Street and its neighborhood, consisted of more than a hundred beautiful halves... Hammers and stones were hidden in sleeves. At about seven in the evening, up to 60 women were arrested and taken to police stations. "

4. Suffragettes and the King

In an attempt to reach out to the authorities, British suffragists took the most radical measures.

In 1912, when British prisons were filled to capacity with "hooligan" activists, one of the representatives of the women's movement decided to talk about the sore point directly with the leader of the country.

During George V's visit to the cathedral in Cardiff, the suffragist broke through the police cordon and demanded that the royal couple release the champions of suffrage.

A year later, another women's activist, Emily Davison, threw herself under the king's hooves at the races. The girl soon died from her injuries.

In 1914, Mary Richardson staged a shocking protest: she came to the National Gallery in London and stabbed Velazquez's painting Venus with a Mirror several times with a knife. At the trial, Richardson explained that in this way she wanted to express her disagreement with the arrest of her friend Mrs. Pankhurst.

Overseas, the fight against gender discrimination was no less active than in Europe.

In 1848, two women activists, Elizabeth Stanton and Lucrezia Mott, organized the First Congress on Women's Rights. One hundred delegates attended the event in Seneca Falls, New York, more than half of them men.

The result of the discussion was the Declaration of Sentiments (in another translation - the Declaration of Sentiments; English Declaration of Sentiments) - a document formulated on the model of the US Declaration of Independence, and promoting the idea of ​​full gender equality among the citizens of the country.

_"Pay attention to complete absence civil rights of half of the population of this country, its social and religious inferiority, taking into account the aforementioned unjust laws, as well as the fact that women feel insulted, oppressed, fraudulently deprived of their sacred rights, we demand that they be immediately provided with all rights and the privileges that belong to them as citizens of the United States "_, - said in the text of the manifesto.

6. First swallow

In the United States, the first a loud scandal Susan Anthony's case became related to women's struggle for suffrage. On the day of the next presidential election, November 5, 1872, at one of the polling stations, a 52-year-old lady took a ballot and tried to throw it into the ballot box. The "hooligan" was literally caught by the hand.

Moreover, according to the 14th amendment to the Constitution, the concept of a citizen refers to all persons born or naturalized in America. Of course, there was not a word about the biological field of "persons" in the document.

Alas, the appeal to the basic law of the country did not bring desired result... The court found Anthony guilty and imposed an impressive fine on her to discourage others.

7. Wilson's inauguration

One of the most massive demonstrations of suffragettes in the United States took place the day before President Wilson's inauguration on March 3, 1913. About 8 thousand women, armed with posters with loud slogans, marched along Pennsylvania Avenue leading to the White House. Near the Treasury building, the suffragists staged a real costume show, reminiscent of a theatrical performance.

The speech of the advocates of suffrage caused a serious stir among ordinary residents of Washington. A crowd of fifty thousand onlookers tried to block the way for the demonstrators, of course, it was not without aggression - many of the participants in the parade were injured, having experienced the power of "audience sympathy" on their own skin.

The real effect of the performances of the suffragists was not instantaneous. Only 7 years later, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution came into force, prohibiting discrimination in elections on the basis of gender. By this time, many of the leaders of the American women's movement were no longer alive.

8. Free woman in free Russia!

The suffrage movement in tsarist Russia there was clearly a lack of scope. Before the revolution, most of the legislative initiatives of the advocates of suffrage remained unnoticed; society was rather skeptical about the activities of the suffragettes.

_ “The Russian League for Equal Rights of Women appealed to representatives of the Duma parties with a proposal to introduce a bill on women's electoral rights in The State Duma... Women, of course, tend to get carried away. This passion found a response in our deputies. A legislative proposal was introduced into the Duma, signed by forty members of various parties.

The authors of the statement point out that in Russia “ recent times almost every year in legislative institutions, if they do not receive permission, then at least certain issues that directly affect the interests of women are discussed.

Such issues in the Third State Duma are questions about divorce, separation of spouses, about a woman's rights to inheritance, about rights to a legal profession, about measures against bargaining in women. Women could indicate the direction for their resolution, but meanwhile, according to the law, they are deprived of the right to any extent to take part in the legislative discussion "...<…>_

In conclusion, the authors propose to the Duma: "To abolish and amend the relevant legal provisions, decide:" Women enjoy equal rights with men to elect and be elected to the State Duma. " We believe that the women themselves and even the deputies who signed their statement do not believe in the possibility of an early implementation of their project, ”wrote the domestic press at the beginning of 1912.

Radical changes took place only after the collapse of the monarchical system. On March 19, 1917, the 40-thousandth female demonstration... The slogans of the event participants read: “Without the participation of women, suffrage is not“ universal! ”,“ Free woman in free Russia! ”,“ A woman's place in the Constituent Assembly! ”.

The Provisional Government did not ignore the voice of the people, and already on September 11, 1917, a new Regulation on elections came into force, which spoke of universal suffrage "without distinction of sex."

For the first time on March 8 in the history of women's struggle for their rights, it appears in connection with the "march of pots", which took place on March 8, 1857. Then weavers from New York took to the streets to protest against the unequal working conditions with men and meager wages. Their demands were quite trivial - they were shorter working hours, better working conditions, and wages equal to men's. Considering that women at that time worked 16 hours a day, and received three times less than men, then their indignation was understandable. But political equality between men and women was out of the question.

Almost 50 years later, again on March 8, but already in 1908 at the call of the New York Social Democratic Party women's organization a rally was held with slogans on the equality of women. On that day, more than 15,000 women marched across the city, demanding shorter working hours and equal pay with men. This rally was very similar to the one that had been 50 years earlier, but in this there were slogans about giving women the right to vote. A constitutional commission was set up to analyze the question of whether women could have the right to vote or whether it was granted to their husbands. The main argument of the adherents of women's equality was the fact that at that time a lot of single mothers appeared in the United States. And it was not widows, but those who independently managed the household without the help of a man. A paradox arose - if such families exist, then how to take into account their suffrage.

In 1909, the Socialist Party of America declared National Women's Day, which on last resurrection February was celebrated with the Free Women's Parade of the United States until 1913. It is interesting that a column of single mothers always took part in this parade, and more colorful "priestesses of love" proudly walked a little further. By the way, this parade became the prototype of the future "Pride Parades", which later retrained into the parades of sexual minorities.

At that time in Europe, even more emancipated revolutionaries began to convene International Conferences of Socialist Women. The first of them took place in 1907 in the city of Stuttgart. In spite of a small amount of people who took part in it did not prevent the creation of an International Women's Secretariat (World Women's Council) headed by Clara Zetkin, and the magazine "Gleiheit", which was published by Rosa Luxemburg, was recognized by the World Women's Magazine.

Clara Zetkin made full use of her virtual organ and fictional position. Ideas were born in her head one after another - from the international rule of women to the army of new Amazons. The only problem was that no one wanted to finance these projects. Then the active revolutionary decided to interest the delegates of the Eighth Congress of the Second International with her ideas. Zetkin proclaimed that the best "fuel" for the fire of the revolution is the woman worker, and all the attention of the International should be directed precisely to them.

Clara Zetkin chanted that no army would resist when women, mothers, wives rushed to meet them, that the soldiers would lay down their arms and power would pass to the people. Labor leaders heard her and agreed to hold the Second International Socialist Women's Conference, which took place on August 27 in Copenhagen and brought together more than one hundred delegates from 17 countries. It was there that Clara Zetkin proposed to establish an international women's day. It meant that this will be the day when women will organize rallies and marches, attracting the public to their problems. The date was proposed for March 8, 1911, in honor of the "March of the Pots". It was also widely believed that this date was chosen in honor of the Jewish holiday of Purim (dedicated to Queen Esther). But this is not true because in fact, in 1911, Purim fell on March 14th.

In 1911, the first International Women's Day, at the suggestion of a member of the Central Committee of the Social Democratic Party, Elena Grinberg, was celebrated in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland on March 19. This is due to the fact that on March 19, 1848, the king of Prussia made a promise to carry out reforms, including suffrage for women, but he did not fulfill this promise. In 1912, International Women's Day was celebrated in the same countries on May 12. In 1913, women rallied in France and Russia on March 2, in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland and Holland on March 9, and in Germany on March 12. And only in 1914 the date was finally fixed on March 8.

International Women's Day was popular around the world in the 1910s and 1920s, and over time its popularity in the world has declined significantly. In Russia, for example, everything was the other way around. In 1921, by decision of the Second Communist Women's Conference, it was decided to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 in memory of the participation of women in the March 8 demonstration in Petrograd in 1917, because it was one of the events that preceded the February Revolution.

Since 1966, according to the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 8, 1965, the International Day has become a holiday and a non-working day. Over time, in the USSR, this holiday completely lost its political color and attachment to the struggle of women against discrimination and became "a day of love for all women."

Since 1975, the UN in connection with International year women began celebrating March 8 as International Women's Day. In 1977, the UN General Assembly invited states to choose any day of this year as the Day of the struggle of women for their rights and the international peace of the UN.

Countries that now officially celebrate March 8: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Guinea-Bissau, Georgia, Zambia, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, China (officially a working day for everyone), Costa Rica, Cuba, Laos, Madagascar (day off only for women), Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Croatia, Montenegro, Eritrea, Latvia.