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On International Women's Day, let's remember Alexandra Kollontai

By Regina Joseph

Alexandra Kollontai.

Tallahassee, FL – International Women's Day is an ideal occasion to recognize and honor the accomplishments of women across the globe. Let us use this opportunity to recognize the importance of Alexandra Kollontai, an ardent supporter of gender equality and a pioneering fighter for the rights of women.

Kollontai was a Russian Marxist theorist who, in 1913, authored an article entitled “Women's Day” in Pravda prior to the first International Women's Day celebration in Russia. Her article was and is a revolutionary contribution to the struggle for women's rights and her impactful words continue to reverberate in contemporary gender conversations.

Who was Alexandra Kollontai?

Alexandra Kollontai was a multilingual prodigy from a Ukrainian-Russian-Finnish family who was an influential voice in the socialist movement. She had to flee in exile during the February Revolution of 1917 and returned to Russia when called by Lenin in 1918. She held the position of People's Commissar of Social Welfare until 1924 and negotiated the Finno-Soviet Peace Treaty of 1940. Her legacy is significant in guiding conversations on international women's solidarity and providing tools to assess current gender-based problems.

In her article “Women's Day,” Alexandra Kollontai argued the importance of Women's Day to the Russian people, highlighting the immense strength of the women's movement and its positive effect on the cost of living, maternity insurance, child labor and the implementation of laws protecting women’s labor.

Kollontai observed that in England, there were 292,000 women members in the trade unions, and in Germany, there were 200,000 and 150,000 in the trade unions and the workers' party, respectively. Austria also boasted 47,000 women members in the trade unions and almost 20,000 in the party. She additionally pointed out that the women of the working class were self-organizing in countries such as Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland, with the women's socialist movement boasting almost one million members.

Kollontai thus insisted that communists must acknowledge the influence and power of women's rights in the proletarian movement. Women's rights and equality in the working class were essential for true proletarian liberation, and she advocated for the protection of reproductive rights and the empowerment of women in the working class.

Kollontai observed that the men workers had previously been of the opinion that they could succeed without the assistance of women, displaying a disregard for the women demographic. As a result of the high unemployment rates of fathers and husbands, women were compelled to join the labor force, often receiving discriminatory treatment and lacking rights. She viewed this state of affairs as damaging to the cause of the working class, as women with no legal rights are incapable of standing up for their own needs and fighting for them alongside men. Therefore, it was of paramount importance that the woman worker is included in the movement so as to raise awareness of their rights.

As the organizations of the workers came to realize that the woman worker was among the most neglected members of the class, they began to campaign for special protections, insurance and political rights for women. With the establishment of committees, secretariats and bureaus devoted to improving the welfare of working women, as well as the organization of days, leaflets, meetings and conferences for the working-class woman, the need for recognition of women's rights in the proletarian movement and their equality in the working class were pushed to the forefront of discussion.

Alexandra Kollontai's consistent writings highlighted the need for uniting the working class, which includes women, against the shared enemy of capital. She noted that the working-class women had their own distinct requirements and that it was the party's mission to fight for them, thereby prompting the implementation of Women's Day, the objective of which is to promote the advancement of women's rights and the enhancement of their place in the working class.

The observance of Women's Day should fill women of the working class with a euphoric sense of fulfilling the general working-class cause and striving for their own freedom. Through espousing and participating in Women's Day marches, we acknowledge that women's rights and equality within the working class are critical to true proletarian liberation and the strengthening of women in the working class. As such, it is a purpose that needs to be supported and commemorated by all.

The incredible efforts of Alexandra Kollontai to ensure women's rights and equality in the working class during her time in the Soviet Union continue to have an influence today. Her tenacious attitude in the struggle for women's rights provides a reminder to all that although we have made considerable progress over the last century, much more is still needed to be done to ensure that all people have the freedom to make decisions concerning their own bodies.

The right-wing and corporate-backed campaigns against reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights and civil rights present a threat to all the hard-won advancements of the women's movement and other progressive movements. To be able to triumph over this injustice, we need to turn our resentment into an organized collective campaign. This is the only way we can develop a movement powerful enough to bring down their regime and break the fetters of oppression. We should be inspired by Alexandra Kollontai, who persistently strived for women's rights and equality in the working class. Her example reminds us how far we have progressed, but more importantly, how much further we must go in order to obtain genuine freedom.

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