Women's Day was approved at the international congress of women in the Socialist International in 1910 and was celebrated for the first time in 1911, on the initiative of Clara Zetkin - a tireless militant in defense of women's rights. Around 100 women from 17 countries attended this congress, who unanimously agreed with Clara's suggestion that there be a day associated with the women's celebration and struggle for better living conditions, work and the right to vote.
In the early years it was celebrated on different days, but always in March, depending on different contexts or countries. After the Russian workers' strike on March 8, 1917, which marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution, it was celebrated on March 8. The United Nations officially established this date as International Women's Day in 1975.
This day intends to celebrate the rights that women have conquered until today, remembering the path to equality and what remains to be done. Causes such as the right to vote, equal pay, greater representation in leadership positions, protection in situations of physical and/or psychological violence or access to education, unfortunately still need to be demanded and claimed, since they still have to fulfill a little around the world.
This year the theme of International Women's Day is: ''For an inclusive digital world: innovation and technology for gender equality'' (official website here).
Taking advantage of this Day of ours, today we are going to talk about women and menstruation, an innate condition for being born women. In this matter, there is no fight for gender equality, but rather an emerging need to demand attention, to validate the many problems that exist around this uniquely and exclusively feminine side.
We still see a lot of insensitivity, lack of information, censorship, lack of support for those who suffer from health issues related to menstruation, lack of access to (ideally sustainable) menstrual collection products…
By the way, yesterday I saw a publication on an Instagram account that I follow, from an incredible, activist and inspiring woman: Rupi Kaur - if you don't follow, I advise! In this publication, Rupi tells us that 7 years ago, when he was still studying at university, he took a photograph showing a stain of menstrual blood on his pants, with the aim of putting it in a project in which he was addressing stigmas around menstruation. Still in 2015, he decided to publish the same photograph on his Instagram. It was censored and heavily criticized, mostly by men. He received death and rape threats. A comment like this ''This is disgusting. You are disgusting. Thank God we'll be able to make babies in labs soon and we won't need women anymore." Rupi mentions that even after so many years, it is fundamental that menstruation is spoken openly, that the subject is normalized, that it is instructed and that all information surrounding it is accessible, as misinformation can lead to ''dangerous misunderstandings'' ' and a lot of discrimination, as he points out. And it's so true.
Information, access to menstrual collection products and health monitoring are fundamental bases for a woman's life, starting before the appearance of first menstruation!
In Portugal, fortunately, we are starting to see some development on this very important topic. In a CNN article we can read ''A Lisbon City Hall, for example, has already approved a PS recommendation for the free distribution of reusable feminine hygiene products in public schools in the municipality, as a way of combating menstrual poverty and promoting more environmentally sustainable consumption habits''. A step that could be transformative, in the way we are going to walk into the future!
We are women! We menstruate. We are life and we generate life, if we are organically allowed to do so, if we understand or want to. We are strength. We are fight. We are victory. We are Women!
A very happy day, today and all that follow. Aware of the importance of menstruation in our lives and the sustainability of menstrual collection products, at Flow we have several solutions that support this cause:
Any other information you need, we are just a click away :)
Flow is a brand of intimate hygiene products, an educational brand and we want to help transform the way we operate in the world!
Are you coming with us?
https://ohyourflow.com
Margarida L. for Flow
Sources:
https://www.instagram.com/rupikaur_/
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dia_Internacional_das_Mulheres
https://cnnportugal.iol.pt/copos-menstruais/pobreza-menstrual/e-redondo-estranho-e-%20flexivel-o-que-e-a-alternativa-mais-economica-para-a-menstruacao/%2020230305/63ff86890cf2c84d7fca5f44
https://www.pcp.pt/clara-zetkin-pequena-biografia
https://eurocid.mne.gov.pt/eventos/dia-internacional-da-mulher
https://plataformamulheres.org.pt/artigos/temas/dia-internacional-das-mulheres
Image taken from: https://eurocid.mne.gov.pt/eventos/dia-internacional-da-mulher
