"A Day Without A Woman's" Date Is Meaningful

Maintaining the momentum after the Women’s Marches that took place around the world on Jan. 21 has been an ongoing effort. To add to that effort, the official date for the "A Day Without A Woman" strike has been revealed — and if you're wondering why A Day Without A Woman is on March 8, there's a powerful message behind the strike's scheduling. By choosing March 8, the organizers ensured that A Day Without A Woman will fall on International Women's Day, thus joining the two in a day of action that will make the event even more powerful.

Plans for a strike were proposed in a Feb. 6 op-ed for The Guardian, co-written by eight women activists and academics. In the article, they called for “an expansive feminist movement,” starting with an “international strike against male violence and in defense of reproductive rights on March 8. In this, we join with feminist groups from around 30 countries who have called for such a strike.”

Calling for “A day of striking, marching, blocking roads, bridges, and squares, abstaining from domestic, care and sex work, boycotting, calling out misogynistic politicians and companies, striking in educational institutions” on International Women's Day, a day historically linked to strikes and the celebration of working women, cemented the goal of maintaining a highly visible feminist movement with labor rights and social programs in the forefront.

"Let us use the occasion of this international day of action to be done with lean-in feminism and to build in its place a feminism for the 99 percent, a grassroots, anti-capitalist feminism," they write in The Guardian. "A feminism in solidarity with working women, their families and their allies throughout the world.”

The International Women's Day's 2017 campaign theme, #BeBoldForChange, works well with the activist agenda. This year's campaign is less about the celebration of women's achievements and more about taking action to drive change: Reads the International Women's Day website, "Call on the masses or call on yourself to help forge a better working world — a more gender inclusive world."

The organizers of the Women's March on Washington joined the cause, announcing their official support via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook on Tuesday, Feb. 14. "We saw what happened when millions of us stood together in January, and now we know that our army of love greatly outnumbers the army of fear, greed and hatred," reads their Instagram post. "On March 8th, International Women’s Day, let’s unite again in our communities for A Day Without A Woman." While more information concerning the A Day Without A Woman will be released over the following weeks, those looking to remain active in their resistance can join the Strike4Democracy on Friday, Feb. 17, and participate in "Not My President's Day" a day of protest and performance on Feb. 20.