Across the world, March 8th honors the contributions of women to the people’s struggle. This year,Freedom Road Socialist Organization will hold events to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD).

IWD was founded to honor the sacrifices of heroes named and unnamed. Some capitalists have triedto sanitize and co-opt International Women’s Day. The origins of this day are clearly anti-capitalist.Our celebrations will carry forward that spirit.

Long History, Global Reach

International Women’s Day originates in the struggle of working women in New York City. In 1908there was a determined battle by garment workers to improve their lot. There was also an intenseagitation for the right to vote. Inspired by this, the outstanding German revolutionary Clara Zetkinproposed to the socialist movement a worldwide celebration of International Women’s Day.

Women’s Rights are Bound to Reproductive Freedom for All

The main reason to celebrate International Women’s Day is not because it is 114 years. The mainreason to celebrate IWD is to build resistance against gender-based oppression. Sexual violence andintimate partner abuse continue to be tolerated and taken lightly by the U.S. legal system. It’s noaccident that the weight of these crimes falls most heavily on women, both cis and trans and alsonon-binary folks.

Systematic attacks on reproductive freedom being carried out in Texas and Mississippi are attacks onbodily autonomy. They are also an attack on democratic rights more broadly. The attempt to subjectthe people’s bodies to the control of a state, guided by a religious worldview, is not just oppressive topeople who bear children. The legal foundation of modern LGBTQ rights in the U.S. is the right toprivacy of the Fourth Amendment. The reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, which seemslikely, threatens four decades of progress for women, non-binary folks as well as LGBTQ people, nomatter our gender.

Oppressed nationality folks will be most impacted by abortion restrictions. In Mississippi, AfricanAmericans make up 80% of people having abortions but 44% of the population. The abortion rate isclosely linked to Mississippi’s level of poverty and access to health care. Mississippi has an infantmortality rate that is twice as high for Black infants. There are currently no proposals in theirlegislature to cut infant mortality, only to control people’s bodies.

Women Hold Up Half the Sky

On March 8, 2022, join Freedom Road comrades to celebrate, commemorate and continue to pullstruggles forward in celebration of International Women’s Day. Check social media pages for detailson local events. Get involved and join us.

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