Agnieszka Karch takes a look at International Women’s Day as it moves into its second century.
On the 8th of March, London will host a number of events in celebration of the 101st International Women’s Day. It will celebrate the diversity of London’s women, but also remind us of the challenges ahead. Celebration and reflection – these two words sum up the purpose of the events taking place this coming Thursday.
A group of suffragettes standing outside the Houses of Parliament, c. 1910
Women for Women International will begin early-morning celebrations with a gathering on the south side of the Millennium Bridge at 10.30am, which will be followed by a march across the river and towards Royal Festival Hall. The choice of venue is intentional.
The event is part of the global Join me on the Bridge campaign that started in 2010 when women in Congo and Rwanda joined together on a bridge connecting the two countries to show their determination to build bridges of peace and hope for the future. This action sparked a massive global response with thousands of people uniting on bridges all over the world to symbolically object to violence and inequality.
The march towards the Royal Festival Hall, where speeches will take place, will be followed by the launch of the annual Women of the World Festival at the Southbank Centre.
From the 9th to the 11th March, the venue will host a series of talks on subjects ranging from domestic violence, the role of women during the Arab Spring, through to the Cosmo “vajazzle” debate, the history of fashion and the place of women in the criminal justice system.
Later in the day, Islington Council in partnership with the Fawcett Society is holding a panel discussion about the state of women’s employment. The evening will be opened by Emily Thornberry MP at 6.30pm.
On a similar note, the TUC is holding an evening of discussion and music. There will be reflection on the impact of austerity on women and an attempt to assess the situation of women in today’s economy. The event starts at 6.30pm.
Beatrice Webb, c. 1875
Film screenings and discussions will take place at Hub Westminster from 12.30pm. Worth mentioning is the talk and Q&A with Jody Day, founder of Gateway Women – an organisation aiming at raising awareness of the marginalisation and misrepresentation of “nomos” – non-mothers or “childless by circumstance” in the UK, where one in five women reach menopause without children. The talk takes place between 5 and 5.45pm.
Eighty-one years after Beatrice Webb, economist and social reformer, was elected as the first woman Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy is holding an event at 6pm to honour the women working in the humanities and social sciences, and acknowledge their contribution to research and scholarship.
Following the Thursday packed with events, this year’s celebrations will conclude at the International Women’s Fair at Spitalfields Market on Saturday 10th March, starting from 10am. The event, full of live music, pop-up poetry performances and workshops, celebrates the creativity and resourcefulness of women from around the globe.
Featuring a number of stalls with hand-made fashion, arts, crafts, recycled and up-cycled, and vintage goods, it will also host stalls providing information on women’s campaign groups. One of them will be Women’s Library, which holds a fantastic collection of British women’s domestic crafts from the past hundred years. Free tours to see the Women’s Library will take place at 12 noon and 2.30 pm.
International Women’s Day has a 101-year-long tradition. Long may it continue.
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