The International Women’s Day (IWD) is a product of the struggles of the working-class women in the late 1800s. Back in 1910, during the worldwide socialist party congress, German socialist Clara Zetkin proposed March 8 to be IWD. This specific date draws our memory to March 8, 1857, when garment workers in New York City picketed and marched in the streets to demand better and more humane working conditions but instead, were brutally beaten by the police. It was only in 1975 that the United Nations formally declared the IWD.
It is good to know that even if it did not start as a spiritual and religious issue, the church can always look back and celebrate the power of the oppressed women who, through their struggle, were able to give birth to what we celebrate now as IWD. March 8 will never be the same again since the oppressed movement of women fought hard for their liberation. The Ecumenical Women’s Forum, a network of ecumenical women organizations led by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and the Office of Women and Gender Concerns, a mission partner of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines, in its yearly ecumenical gathering for liturgy, fellowship, study, and theological reflection has chosen the theme “We Are Miriam: We Dance For Rights, For Freedom, and For Life.” From the story of biblical Exodus, today we remember Miriam, a prophet and a leader who co-led with Moses and Aaron in the great exodus and liberation of people from Egypt (“For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam” (Micah 6:4). Miriam, the woman who shared leadership with Moses has a place in this momentous historical period of their journey. She led in the people’s dance, a powerful expression of who they were as a community. In this context, when Charter change is being pushed, the church women, in honor and memory of Miriam, dance in opposition to the sell-out of sovereignty and patrimony, and political interests of the powerful.
On another note, in observing the IWD, it is significant that “witch-hunting” caused the deaths of thousands of women in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe. Women who were practicing healing and caring for the sick were accused of being witches. They were midwives, sages, leaders, and influencers. They have exemplified powers to mitigate and lessen the suffering of the sick and the pain of giving birth. Some peasant women who fought for their livelihoods and land were also accused of being witches.
“First, witches are accused of every conceivable sexual crime against men. Quite simply, they are ‘accused’ of female sexuality. Second, they are accused of being organized. Third, they are accused of having magical powers affecting health—of harming, but also of healing. They were often charged specifically with possessing medical and obstetrical skills” (“Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers,” Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English).
There is another form of witch-hunting today: Red-tagging and terror-tagging. Laws are weaponized against those who dream and work for justice and peace and for a better world.
There are pastors, priests, church workers, and religious people who are persecuted because of their prophetic witness. There are artists, environmentalists, feminists, human rights defenders, grassroots leaders, lawmakers, health workers, lawyers, and activists who are victims of “witch-hunting” by Red-tagging them.
Finally, on this year’s International Women’s Month, let us bid farewell to the fairy tales, with themes of a woman fighting with another woman to win the prince’s approval, and of endings “and they live happily ever after.” This is not about the vision of women who gave birth on March 8. Fairytale stories narrowed down the concept of happiness—by finding a prince of her life, who perhaps, is also pressured by the burden that he has to prove himself as the savior of the world. Say goodbye to this, pursue sisterhood and solidarity, and a better world is a world when the exploitation among people is ended. That day when the slaves are freed and exploitation has ended, people will say, “And we live happily ever after.” After all, ending the oppression of women comes with ending the exploitation of all oppressed people.
Norma P. Dollaga,kasimbayan@yahoo.com.ph