Did you greet the woman today? You can also receive very unpleasant comments

It seems unlikely that a consensus will be reached this time around for a long time: Delfi.lt The opinions of well-known public figures interviewed regarding March 8 differ widely.

According to Margarita Jankauskaitė, an expert at the Center for the Development of Equal Opportunities, today’s story is far from the Soviet era, and the very idea of ​​the celebration is still relevant in today’s Lithuania. Meanwhile, the commentator Rimvydas Valatka assures that it was a communist and socialist initiative, whose support would be equivalent to maintaining the tradition of commemorating the day of the occupation army.

R. Valatka: “celebrating such a day would be the same as maintaining the tradition of celebrating the day of the occupation army”

R. Valatka, a critic who did not shy away from talking about various issues relevant to society, was asked when he evaluated March 8 and did not agree with the commemoration of the celebration. This, he said, is simply a legacy from the Soviet era.

“I can only give one version of the story of who created that holiday. It was invented by communists, such as Clara Zetkin, a friend of Lenin, the German communist leader before the First World War. In the Soviet Union, it was an official holiday equivalent to Soviet Army Day: for men, Soviet Army Day, for women, March 8.

For me, celebrating such a day would be the same as maintaining the tradition of celebrating Occupational Army Day.

The people will not be ordered: people can celebrate the birthdays of Hitler and Stalin. The fact that it is called international is what it is: the intention of the communists and socialists was also mentioned in the world that day. ” Delfi.lt he said.

Far from being a Soviet man?

M. Jankauskaitė, an expert at the Center for the Development of Equal Opportunities, emphasized that the origins of this celebration should not be associated with the Soviet era.

“Today’s history is far from the Soviet era. If we look at the United States, it was 1909. National Women’s Solidarity Day was declared in 1910, one year later in 1910. – In Europe. It was International Day of the Solidarity of Women, because there were many states in Europe and it was understood that the states should unite, because in general, this day was linked to the fight for the right to vote for women.That was the main objective.

When we talk about the right to vote for women, it is sometimes said that this is the first wave of feminism or it was called the struggle for suffrage, then we have to understand that the right to vote was like a symbol because in reality they were fighting over a very wide range. from problems. Voting rights would have meant, or will mean, because they have been earned, that women acquire the same rights as men. These were not only political rights, but also various aspects, including economic ones. These are the origins ”, explained the specialist in equal opportunities.

Furthermore, according to M. Jankauskaitė, during the Soviet era, the meaning and importance of March 8 was significantly distorted.

“When it comes to the Soviet era, we have to understand that the Soviet era simply distorts the real meaning with the idea that women’s rights are fully guaranteed in the Soviet Union and there is no need to talk about problems, we just celebrate, we give women flowers, buy cake. The Soviet era distorted that meaning, “he said.

“If we look at it historically, we will see that at the beginning the first wave of feminism emerged, Sufism. Lithuania in 1918 universal suffrage, which has long been in other European countries. Then, during World War II, the fight for women’s rights stalled. After that, the perception that voting rights were enshrined began around the 1960s, but did practices really change?

Then the United Nations declared a decade of women in the 1980s; For ten years, states were strongly encouraged to review the laws and see how everyday practices were shaped or if there were moments of discrimination because they were crowded, ”described M. Jankauskaitė. relevance of the fight for women’s rights.

Question relevance

Valdas Rakutis, parliamentarian, historian and member of the Seimas Commission for the Struggles for Freedom and the Historical Memory of the State, assured that International Women’s Day arose as a result of changes in gender relations. This, he said, was a natural and timely phenomenon. However, the Seimas member raised the question of how relevant it is today.

“Historically, the phenomenon, International Women’s Day, occurred at a time of change in gender relations. They were logical and consistent.

This was due to the change in situation. 19 a. At the end of the 20th century, women began to fight for equal opportunities, which is why they are underestimated just for being women. That move was very correct. In Lithuania it was not so active, because in Lithuania women always had very high rights. But in other cultures they had many limitations, we can see that the right to vote, which we had in practice from the beginning when we acquired civil rights, was granted to women.

That was important at the time. To my understanding, we really have all the rights. Now other phenomena are happening, which I watch with caution, ”said V. Rakutis.

The parliamentarian assured that they have not celebrated or mentioned these parties for many years.

“During the Soviet era, it was celebrated under duress. It was like all Soviet parties. He wouldn’t celebrate March 8 for years because it was Sovietism, he said.

More relevant in Lithuania than ever?

According to M. Jankauskaitė, a review of everyday practices a few decades ago revealed that the general discourse was formed on the basis of one man’s experience. However, according to her, it happened not only then, but continues now.

“In Lithuania, it is enough to do an analysis of the textbooks and see how strong there is a lack of balance between the representation of the experiences of men and women. We can look at what is happening in the media, on television, obviously there is no understanding that if we are doing something in a public space and we want it to be representative, we need to make a conscious effort to have at least 40/60% representation of gender.

For example, we see that the vision of the future of Lithuania should be discussed, but no women are invited among the speakers. You should starve, but you will not starve in Lithuania. As a result, this International Day of Solidarity Women does not lose its relevance, because we have a series of unsolved problems in Lithuania ”, emphasized the expert from the Development Center for Equal Opportunities.

He noted that current problems were well reflected in the ongoing debate on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

“Let’s start with domestic violence and see what happens with the Istanbul Convention. What efforts are being made to stop the ratification of this document, whose sole purpose is to offer States an effective instrument for effective prevention. (..)

In Lithuania we do not have any infrastructure to help people who have been victims of sexual abuse. When someone says that we have everything and that we don’t need a convention, that is not true. We see what is happening in the labor market, what is the gap between men and women. To say that we are the average of the European Union with that average is not an argument. We must ensure that there is no such gap, “he said.