International Women’s Day has a surprisingly long history. About a hundred years ago, the events that brought about the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in Russia started on International Women’s Day, with a strike led by women for “bread and peace”. International Women’s Day, known as la festa della donna, is a major celebration in culturally Catholic Italy, where all women are given a spray of yellow forsythia on this day.
But in culturally Catholic Argentina, as Inés San Martin reports, International Women’s Day has become the day on which to attack the Catholic Church. This goes beyond the exercise of free speech and has spilled over into acts of violence against Catholic churches. It is offensive, naturally, and also deeply depressing.
