Every year on May 30, the world community celebrates International Feminism Day –, a holiday designed to remind of the equality of men and women, that a person cannot be discriminated against on the basis of race, gender or religion. But there are still certain demands on women in a number of countries that degrade their dignity and limit their rights.
Therefore, the goal of today's – date is to eradicate discrimination against women and thereby improve the well-being of society. And it is feminists who have been fighting for equal rights for women for almost two hundred years.
Feminism – is a movement that advocates for the social, political and economic rights of women, fights sexual harassment, discrimination and sexism. This movement is believed to have originated in the second half of the 19th century, when women in many countries around the world became more active in public life and began to demand equality. Although the question of the need to equalize the rights of the sexes was also raised by such great thinkers as Voltaire, Montesquieu and Helvetius. But it was at the end of the 19th century that feminist demands for suffrage began to be heard more and more often.
Although the movement has achieved considerable success over the past century, even today there are many problems of inequality and discrimination against women. For example, some States still have customs that are violent against women and girls. In addition, even in developed countries, the salaries of men and women in the same positions are very different. It is often women who face sexual harassment and bias in the workplace. Domestic violence is an equally common problem. Therefore, modern feminism tries to pay attention to these problems and change the situation.
But it should be noted that in modern society there is an ambiguous attitude towards feminism. Many people believe that this phenomenon makes a woman forget about her true purpose – mother and wife. Very often, men treat feminists as hysterical, masculine women who are unfamiliar with the concept of femininity. But it is precisely thanks to feminists that women today have the right to work, freely express themselves, and make decisions about the birth of a child.
Therefore, representatives of the movement do not intend to stop there and advocate further positive changes in the position of women in society. Today's holiday also calls for this. The date May 30 itself was not chosen by chance – Joan of Arc was executed on this day. A brave woman who at one time managed to surpass many men in matters of diplomacy and military affairs.
As a rule, International Feminism Day is celebrated by representatives of social movements, political parties and trade union organizations with a number of educational and charitable events. Despite the fact that the holiday does not have official status, it is already widely known in society.