International Women’s Day 2023
This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating five moments of female empowerment & strength from the past year that we’ve admired.
March of the Mummies – Pregnant then Screwed
For Halloween, Pregnant Then Screwed arranged the aptly named nationwide protest ‘March of the Mummies.’ The protests were attended by over 14,000 people across 11 regions in the UK, bringing mums together for an urgent call to arms for better women’s rights, including affordable childcare and improved maternity and paternity benefits. The protests highlighted the fact that the UK has the second most expensive childcare system in the world. Three in four mothers who pay for childcare say it no longer makes financial sense for them to work. We champion Pregnant Then Screwed and the hundreds of thousands of women who joined them for taking action and not wavering in their efforts to get the Government to act.
Free period products become law in Scotland
In August 2022, Scotland became the first country in the world to legally ensure that period products are available free of charge to those who need them. The Period Products Act means distributing products through councils and education providers. This progressive act being passed is a massive milestone for period dignity campaigners. It ensures those who can’t afford or access suitable period products can, restoring dignity and equality. Furthermore, the act states that accessing products should be neither “complex nor bureaucratic.” We celebrate this incredibly important and overdue legislation and hope its success inspires the UK & other international governments to do the same.
It came home!! The Lionesses won their first major title in front of a record-breaking crowd of 87,192 people, securing the Euro 2022 glory. Not only was this the Lionesses first major title, but it also secured England’s first major international success since the men’s team won the World Cup in 1966. And they didn’t stop there. It was announced today that the team secured a powerful political victory off the pitch after the Government promised to support their call for girls to be given equal access to all sports in schools. This includes over £600 million over two years to improve the quality of PE and sports in primary schools. Although this equal access is long overdue, we are proud to support the Lionesses and look forward to seeing women’s sports continue to thrive.
The death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahasa Amini in police custody in September led to an explosion of protests and demonstrations both in Iran & across the world against Iran’s oppressive rule. Mahasa Amini was detained for wearing an “improper hijab”, and the high octane, anger fuelled women’s movement her death has sparked has been worldwide. Women in Iran have challenged the regime by cutting their hair and burning their headscarves in public – acts of bravery against an oppressive government. Despite this starting in September, the protests are ever-growing and we stand in support and solidarity with the women of Iran – and are ever inspired by their bravery.
Where do we start? Aged 20, Greta Thunberg is a fearless force for good in this world, on a mission to make world leaders listen and take action against the climate crisis. From speaking on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury to being detained whilst protesting, Greta tirelessly fights for what is right. Most recently, she joined demonstrators in Germany to protest against the expansion of a coal mine and filed a lawsuit against her home country of Sweden for failing to take strong enough action on climate change. Greta is a brilliant example of never giving up and the power of mobilisation to create change.
Posted by Katie Daley
