It all started in New York when in 1908 fifteen thousand women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
Then, in 1917, with two million soldiers dead in the war, Russian women chose the last Sunday in February to strike for ‘bread and peace’. This turned out to be hugely significant and a contribution to the overthrow of the Romanovs and four days later the Tsar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.
In 2016 we visited the Greek island of Amorgos. As we wandered around an old lady dressed all in black asked for help negotiating some difficult steps and we naturally obliged and in return for our assistance she treated us to her life story and tales of Amorgian life.
Her name was Limonique and she told us that after sixty-five years of marriage she was now a widow so I guessed her age to be somewhere around eighty-five or so.
Fittingly it’s also my eldest granddaughter’s birthday…
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You won’t forget IWD then.
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Now, this is interesting … today is International Women’s Day, but in South Africa we also have a public holiday on 9 August which is National Women’s Day – so, we get to celebrate it twice in the year! But I’m afraid, no National Men’s Day (yet) …
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Thanks for adding that.
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I was about to ask – do we have an international men’s day?
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Kim says 364 days a year.
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