International Women’s Day was established in 1910 by the socialist world organization Second International and falls every year on March 8. The day is to draw attention to inequality and how women are faring around the world.
But it is not a day to either present the cake, buy flowers or say congratulations, believes Gudrun Schyman, former party leader of the Left Party and Feminist Initiative and today municipal politician, freelance feminist and climate activist.
– Some think we should celebrate today. But personally, I have a hard time with it. To say congratulations is to minimize the fact that not much progress is being made in terms of women’s rights.
“Right now the development is going backwards”
According to a new UN report, it will take 300 years until the world is completely equal, says Gudrun Schyman. At the same time, a new analysis from the Equality Authority shows that the income gap between women and men continues to increase – and that it may now take up to a hundred years before equal wages are achieved in Sweden, reports Echo.
In addition, fewer young people between the ages of 15 and 24 called themselves feminists last year, 23 percent compared to 32 percent in 2020, according to the analysis company Ungdomsbarometern.
– Right now the development is going backwards. Both in Sweden and the world. Then Sweden is one of the countries that is ranked highest in terms of gender equality in the world. But you can’t compare something bad with something even worse, to make it appear better.
– So it’s not a big idea to say congratulations, she says.
Men’s violence against women the same
Gudrun Schyman also emphasizes that men’s violence against women continues to be the same. On average, 15 women are killed per year in violence in close relationships and so far this year there have been at least 120 alarms about men’s violence against women in relationships, writes Veckorevyn. She also mentions the world’s ongoing wars, and that it is usually women and children who are hit hardest in conflicts.
But isn’t there something positive to say?
– We should not brush off all the progress that has been made and that women have made through the centuries. But there’s a tendency to think it’s better than it is and that bothers me. What are you saying congratulations to? There are even those that come with flowers. Congratulations on what? That we have not achieved equality.
A tendency that Gudrun Schyman worries about is that young women on social media, who according to the norm look good, increasingly talk about wanting to be at home with their children.
– They want to be nice and fresh when their husbands come home from work. They hold up some gadget that you can of course buy. It’s like the housewife ideal of the 50s, where the woman would stand with an electric whisk in her hand and talk about how fresh and rested she felt when the man came home. There are clear similarities.
What to say instead?
– That we must now continue forward and that we do not back down, no less than that we take a step back to take a step forward. Right now there is a backlash on all levels and that means we have to take in even more, says Gudrun Schyman.