Happy International Women’s Day!
For more than a century, International Women’s Day (IWD) has been a focal point in the movement for women’s rights. The IWD is devoted to the development of women’s political and social awareness as well as the celebration of their economic, political, and social achievements.
After the Socialist Party of America organized a Women’s Day in New York City on February 28, 1909, German delegates Clara Zetkin, Kate Duncker, Paula Thiede, and others proposed at the 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference that ‘a special Women’s Day’ be organized annually. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted by the feminist movement in 1967. The United Nations (UN) began celebrating the day in 1977.
The IWD was first organized in Turkey in 1921 through the initiative of two communist sisters Rahime Selimova and Cemile Nushirvanona. Partly because of its association with communism, the celebration wasn’t allowed again for many years. The UN Decade for Women was declared in 1975. Since Turkey was a member of the UN, the Congress on ‘The Year of the Woman’ was held in the country that year, with the support and participation of the Progressive Women’s Association (IKD).
However, after the 1980 Turkish coup d’état, no celebration was allowed by the military junta for a period of 4 years. Since 1984, the IWD has been celebrated by various woman organizations in Turkey. The fundamental difference in this new era is that alongside women organizations and socialists celebrating March 8, government officials and public bodies have started to celebrate it as an official holiday and companies have begun to join the IWD with advertisements and marketing campaigns.
In recognition of the day, daily DUNYA’s Editorial department has prepared today’s issue with a focus on women’s contribution to the Turkish economy, life, and thought. According to some of Turkey’s most prominent women, the country is entering a crucial period for a future based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. You can read the details of an eight-item manifesto for the mobilization towards gender equity, prepared by the daily DUNYA’s Editorial Department in consultation with women leaders, in today’s issue (Turkish).
DAILY AGENDA
The Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) Turkey Manufacturing Export Climate Index increased from 52.3 points to 55.2 points in February, compared to the previous month.
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance will release the central government’s domestic debt figures for February (5:30 p.m.).
The Economic Coordination Board will convene under the presidency of Vice President Fuat Oktay (5:00 p.m.).
READ A SELECTED ARTICLE FROM OUR MAGAZINE:
>> ‘Exports break a record’ while foreign trade deficit jumps
Join our Eco Analysis Columnist Alaattin Aktas as he looks into the future of Turkey’s foreign trade deficit.
