Historian and biographer Angela V. John reminds us of the history of International Women’s Day and tells us all about the Monumental Women Project, which is unveiling a new statue of Lady Rhondda in Newport for 2023’s day of celebrations.

What is International Women’s Day?

March is a month for celebrations in Wales. It begins, of course, with St. David’s Day then one week later comes International Women’s Day (IWD) on Wed 8 Mar. IWD’s theme for 2023 is #embraceequity, highlighting how the elusive goal of equality can be reached. IWD is now a global phenomenon. But what are its origins?

The idea of a day dedicated to women originated in the United States, linked to demands for improving the rights of working women. On 28 Feb 1909, the Socialist Party Of America held the first National Woman’s Day. But the idea of an international day came from the German socialist-feminist Clara Zetkin at an International Conference of Working Women held in Copenhagen the following year, attended by representatives from 17 countries. She proposed that their voices and demands be heard on the same day every year.

On 19 Mar 1911, when women’s suffrage was gathering support in Britain and beyond, the first IWD was held, spearheaded by Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland (not until 1971 would women in Switzerland gain the vote). The fixing of the date of 8 March arose from the Bolshevik celebration of International Proletarian Women’s Day in Russia on 23 March (equivalent to 8 March in the Gregorian calendar). In the 1970s, the UN promoted the date as an official UN holiday, and this has been adopted in many countries. The resurgence of feminism in recent years has seen IWD develop as a potent symbol.

Wales’ Monumental Women project

Helping to kickstart the week of IWD 2023 in Wales will be an event (organised by Newport’s Statue For Lady Rhondda group) in Newport Cathedral on the evening of Mon 6 Mar. It’s linked to a project by a group called Monumental Welsh Women, who are fundraising and organising the erection of the first outdoor statues of real (rather than allegorical) women in Wales. Sculptures of remarkable women of the past are a means of inspiring people – especially young women – in the present and future.

The first choice for a statue (chosen by the public in a BBC poll from a shortlist) was Betty Campbell. This pioneer Black headteacher in Wales was something of a legend in Cardiff’s Butetown and beyond, a tireless champion of equality and diversity. Eve Shepherd’s remarkable statue was unveiled in Cardiff’s Central Square in September 2021. It has already become a focus and rallying point for people to meet, a welcome touch of humanity amongst high-rise buildings and buses. Last year, Mountain Ash became the site of the second statue with Emma Rodgers’ bronze of the multitalented Elaine Morgan. She created numerous pioneering TV dramas and wrote the international bestseller The Descent Of Woman (1971) which gave Darwinism a whole new twist.

Later this year, Sebastien Boyesen’s sculpture of Cranogwen (the bardic name for Sarah Jane Rees) – Victorian poet, pioneering female Eisteddfod winner, mariner, journalist and preacher – will be unveiled at Llangrannog on the Ceredigion coast. Lady Rhondda’s statue will follow in 2024 and, completing the aim of five statues in five years, Elizabeth Andrews’ in 2025. This indefatigable Labour Party activist left school aged 13, working to improve conditions for women and children in her mining community throughout her life.

The event at Newport Cathedral will focus on Lady Rhondda (1883-1958), suffragette, lifelong feminist, editor of the influential weekly Time And Tide, businesswoman and much else. Her sculptor, Jane Robbins, will reveal the maquette (a sculptor’s preliminary small model for a statue) and a talk will follow about Lady Rhondda. A local woman and an international figure, she would have been one of the first to want to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Statue For Lady Rhondda, Newport Cathedral, Mon 6 Mar.

Admission: FREE. Tickets: here

Info: monumentalwelshwomen.org / internationalwomensday.com

Angela V. John’s biographies include Turning The Tide: The Life Of Lady Rhondda (Parthian). She is a member of Monumental Welsh Women.

words ANGELA V. JOHN