A fragrant bunch of flowers wrapped with tenderness and care or a romantic dinner in a fine restaurant – these are some of the most common associations of Bulgarian women with 8th of March, the International Women’s Day. Typically, they would still associate it with the recent totalitarian past when the day marked the contribution of women to industrial production, sciences as well as cultural and public life. The strike of the American textile female workers against the poor working conditions in 1857 remained to the background but it became the main reason we mark 8th March today. The day gained popularity in Bulgaria in the 1960s. Many state institutions and factories at the time began celebrating it by organizing parties. That’s why even to-date people sometimes refer to it as the day of the female colleague and it has remained a good occasion to court them. Nowadays, 8th of March is somewhat controversial. A survey among female employees of Bulgarian National Radio has confirmed that point. For Maya Mircheva from the International department of BNR, the day is an occasion for yet another celebration:
“I personally associate 8th March to how we used to celebrate it before 1989,” she says. “We Bulgarians really love celebrating.”
25-year old Chana Paskaleva from BNR’s currier service thinks that women deserve much more than a bunch of flowers once a year:
“Frankly speaking, I do not mark 8th of March and I do not expect to be greeted by the others,” she says. “I think that women and mothers should be treated with respect every day of the year. This shouldn’t be done only once a year. It is nice however to have more occasions for celebrations. I respect Bulgarian holidays which are directly linked to our history – 3rd of March or 24th of May.”
As a mother, music editor Albena Bezovska finds 8th of March rather a personal occasion for celebration:
“8th of March is for me a family holiday because on that day my third child was born,” says Albena. “She really wants to mark the day of the mother. Since my children grew up, the day turned into an occasion for celebration because they always surprise me with something.”
The successful combining of career and family duties often requires a lot of efforts. This is the opinion of our colleague Veneta Nikolova from Radio Bulgaria. She has two sons and sees the day also as an occasion for reflection:
“For me personally, 8th of March is a truly beautiful holiday,” says Veneta. “There are women in the country who reject it on the basis of the day’s connectedness with the communist past. Nowadays, I think the day is a great occasion to smile and have a bit more of self-confidence as well as to remember that we are women before all who are not solely focused on their careers and households. I think that it is very difficult for a woman to be everything in one. It is impossible to be a perfect mother and a perfect journalist – one is always at the expense of the other. I also think that our life is harder than that of men but it is more fulfilling at the same time. Of course, it is very important for a woman to find professional realization.”
In Bulgaria women have long ago earned their place of merit in public life. Ever more often women occupy key public positions. Currently, Sofia’s mayor and the speaker of the National Assembly are women. Last year, Bulgarian Irina Bokova was voted UNESCO’s Secretary General. Recently another Bulgarian woman, Kristalina Georgieva, was selected European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid.
English version: Delian Zahariev
