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From The Socialist newspaper, 1 March 2017
- Organise against austerity
- Stop Trump - fight sexism
- Russian revolution 1917
International Women's Day
Fighting for liberation and socialism
- Organise to resist! 1917-2017
International Women's Day 2017 (Click to enlarge)
Tessa Warrington, Leicester Socialist Party
Women are on the move. They're on the move against Donald Trump in the US with millions on the 'women's marches'. They're on the move against attacks on reproductive rights in Ireland and Poland with a huge women's strike last year.
They're on the move against the legalisation of child rape in Turkey with massive demonstrations. And they're going to be on the move again on 8 March - International Women's Day.
This year's International Women's Day commemorates the 100th anniversary of the heroic struggle of women textile workers in St Peterburg who walked out in unofficial strike action in 1917, demanding bread and herrings to feed their families. That strike marked the start of the Russian revolution, a struggle against the oppressive monarchy but also against the capitalist system.
100 years later women are still suffering under capitalism. The impact of austerity has been disproportionate on women. We make up the majority of the public sector workforce facing job cuts.
We rely on child benefits, maternity pay and flexible working to maintain a degree of financial independence while raising our children, all of which are now under attack.
Cuts
Access to contraception, safe abortions and safe childbirth are all threatened with the massive £22 billion scheduled cuts to the NHS.
We are the most likely to take on caring for the elderly as public care homes are closed and privatised, and suffer increased domestic and sexual violence as women's refuges and rape crisis centres are shut down. We have many reasons to be angry, many reasons to move into action.
For the first time ever, women make up the majority of trade union members in this country. Making appeals to women that fighting austerity is necessary to fighting their own oppression is a key task for the trade unions.
The international movements clearly show that many women are open to methods traditionally used by workers' struggles, like strikes, and to socialist ideas. We need those women to join the Socialist Party to fight for an alternative in the struggles to come.
See also:
Lessons of the Russian revolution for women's struggle today
and
Protests and walkouts around the world for International Women's Day
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In The Socialist 1 March 2017:
Save #OurNHS
Build a movement to save our NHS
Reinstate the bursaries for student nurses now!
Grantham: 1,000 march for reopening of A&E
NHS England missing paperwork scandal
Heart centre closure consultation 'farce'
Socialist Party women
Women's protests and walkouts around the world
Lessons of Russia 1917 for women's struggle today
Why I joined the Socialist Party
How black women fought racism and sexism at Nasa
Fight like Poplar's women councillors to change the lives of family carers
What we think
Byelections: Break with Labour Blairism wasn't on offer
Socialist Party feature
Debates on building the anti-Trump movement
Workplace news and analysis
"I worked from 9am to 11.30pm with only one break"
Warehouse workers walk out over pay and pensions
Derby teaching assistants continue fight against £6,000 a year pay cut
Picturehouse strikers blockade Leicester Square
Ford workers demand answers to Bridgend plant sourcing questions
Hearing into alleged rule-breaking by Unison ends
Leeds: Protest against tip stealing
Mixed Fleet cabin crew announce more strike days
RMT plans protest against 'driver only' Merseyrail trains
Southern Rail strike continues
May Day greetings in the Socialist
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Unions demand that Corbyn-supporting mayor protects services
Bristol cuts: the fight goes on
Tower Hamlets: There is an alternative, Mr Biggs
Spelthorne: we need socialist councillors
York University: socialists prevent far-right hate speech
Socialist Party Wales conference report
Northern region Socialist Party conference
Socialist readers' comments and reviews
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2019