It was the 8th of March in 1917, in the midst of World War I, when women workers took to the streets with the cry of “Peace, Land and Bread” and began the process of the Russian Revolution. Women have since remained at the forefront of the anti-war struggle, here in Ireland and across the globe. This International Working Women’s Day, the Communist Party of Ireland salutes all women involved in anti-imperialist struggle, and particularly the anti-war movements.
As the crisis of capitalism deepens, so too does the exploitation of women in the home and the workplace. When almost 25 per cent of Irish women workers are low-wage earners, the rising costs of childcare and the loss of wages to inflation bites very hard at home. It is with this backdrop that the political machine asks these women, exploited and struggling to protect and provide for their families, despite soaring prices due to global conflict, to renege on our neutrality and force our country to arrive on the international battlefield.
But it is other women who face the brunt war, they are less mobile due to their roles as carers and mothers, they are the victims and survivors when sexual assault is used as a weapon of war, and it is women and girls that suffer worse outcomes when healthcare is cut, creating a lack of access to reproductive and maternity care, and leading to further death. Sanctions also disproportionately impact these women, when routes for and access to medicine, food and the essentials for life and comfort are destroyed by imperialism.
While the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts has doubled and sexual assault and violence has become a common tactic of war, the imperial core continues to engage in and support conflict worldwide, calculating that the human cost is worth the potential profit.
The socialist nations have played a critical role in the struggle for peace, standing with the oppressed and denouncing the growing militarisation of the imperialist core, but it is the women’s movement that has historically and continues to lead the way for peace globally. From the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom to Code Pink and Women in Black, these groupings of women have connected the struggle for peace with the broader fight against imperialism, militarisation, economic justice, women’s liberation, and climate action.
To the women of the peace and neutrality movements of Ireland, those who will not let the US/NATO use of Shannon and Aldergrove pass unheeded and will not rest until our land is free of them, we are honoured to stand with you. To the women who stand against the occupation of our country and continue to denounce British imperialism in all its forms, we express our profound solidarity. To the women who will not allow politicians and lobbyists to corrupt and ultimately dismantle the Triple Lock and our neutrality, we extend our unwavering support. And to those women who will not allow our nation to be pulled further into proxy wars or be made complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people, we pledge to redouble our efforts to lift those voices and to join you in your demands for peace.
These women’s leadership, passion, and unwavering commitment to justice reminds us that peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of equality, dignity, and collective liberation. As comrades in the struggle for a better world, we must amplify their voices, support their efforts, and work together to build a future free from violence and oppression for all.
The struggle for women’s liberation is inseparable from the struggles for socialism and peace, and we commit unreservedly to weather these difficult and dangerous times together to realise a better future for Ireland and the world.
“We Irish were never more attacked and maligned than we are at present; but, for my part, I am proud of Ireland today. She is standing practically alone in her fight, and she is the only country in the world today that says that she will choose her quarrel and know what she is dying for if she is to die.”
– Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington (1918)
