2013 -- H 5866

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N

RECOGNIZING MARCH 8TH, 2013, AS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

     Introduced By: Representatives E Coderre, Ajello, Williams, Naughton, and Walsh

     Date Introduced: March 06, 2013

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900’s,

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during a time of booming population growth, turbulence, expansion in the industrialized world,

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and the rise of radical ideologies; and

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     WHEREAS, International Women’s Day is a day when women are recognized for their

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achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic,

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or political; and

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     WHEREAS, The first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States on

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February 28, 1909, by the Socialist Party of America. The Party designated that day as National

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Women’s Day in honor of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, in which women

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protested against the working conditions they had to endure; and

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     WHEREAS, Although National Women’s Day was celebrated on the last Sunday of

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every February until 1913, International Women’s Day was first observed on March 19, 1911,

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following the second International Conference of Working Women that was held in Copenhagen,

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Denmark; and

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     WHEREAS, The first countries to honor International Women’s Day were Austria,

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Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. More than one million women and men attended

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International Women’s Day rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained,

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hold public office, and end discrimination; and

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     WHEREAS, On March 25, 1911, a week after the initial celebration of this event and on

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the heels of countless rallies campaigning for equal rights and tolerable and fair working

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conditions for women, a disastrous event known as the “Triangle Shirtwaist Fire” in New York

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City took the lives of more than 140 women, most of whom were Italian and Jewish immigrants;

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and

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     WHEREAS, This tragic event, along with succeeding rallies, drew significant attention to

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working conditions and labor legislation in the United States, which became the focus of

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subsequent International Women’s Day events; and

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     WHEREAS, On the eve of World War I, International Women’s Day became recognized

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worldwide on March 8th, beginning in 1914. Since then, March 8th has remained the day on

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which International Women’s Day is celebrated; and

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     WHEREAS, Following those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a

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new, global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike; and

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     WHEREAS, International Women’s Day is celebrated in a variety of countries, including

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Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zambia,

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and a host of others, and in some countries, International Women’s Day is the equivalent to

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Mother’s Day; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

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Providence Plantations is honored to recognize March 8th, 2013, as International Women’s Day.

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We encourage all citizens of the state to celebrate and pay tribute to the contributions made by

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women of this and every nation; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to send

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a duly certified copy of this resolution to the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

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