Frauenstreik: Idea Behind Switzerland's Annual Feminist Strike On June 14

Women's rights have always been a topic of discussion around the world and the 18th and 19th centuries saw movements to improve the position of women in the male-dominated society. One such important movement happened in 1991 in Switzerland which is still celebrated as an annual custom there.

On June 14 every year, women in Switzerland halt everything they do to go on a 'feminist strike' or Frauenstreik as a demonstration to support equal rights for women in the country. Women in various parts of Switzerland come out with banners and cards with slogans about better working conditions for Swiss women. The strike is to demand equal pay, work opportunities, better laws for them, and equal human rights. Thousands of women were seen marching on roads on June 14, 2023, in various Swiss cities and drawing attention to the problems that women in the country face.

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Switzerland Feminist Strike: Annual Demonstration For Women's Rights

Though there have been many feminist or women's strikes in Switzerland, the strike held on June 14, 1991, holds special importance. Since the 20th century, working and non-working women in Switzerland organised many strikes against the treatment they received including the pay gap and no voting rights. Though short-lived, the strikes were very important to make common women aware of their rights. On June 14, 1981, the principle of equality between men and women was included in the constitution of Switzerland, making it an important day in history. However, even after 10 years of the inclusion of the principle, the administration was really laid back in implementing it.

Women still faced discrimination in personal and professional life. Hence, on June 14, 1991, all working women went on a strike to demonstrate that the country's structure cannot operate without them. This was the second largest political or public immobilisation in the country with thousands of female participants. The protest to highlight the dependency of the system on women and the issues of women's rights in the country gained a lot of attention and the government was forced to make provisions for better implementation of the equality principle like the Gender Equality Act 1995 and the provision for maternity leave.

In 2011, Switzerland women again held a strike, this time demanding attention to the unequal pay system in the country. The strike was also attended by women farmers and other rural women. The strike of 2019 was again a massive one as women not only demanded better working conditions and equal pay but also stood up against sexism and sexual harassment. The 2019 feminist demonstration resulted in an increase in the participation and election of women in top executive, administrative and government positions.

Since 2019, the strike has been organised every year, even during the pandemic times which largely affected the female workforce in the country. Even after 32 years of massive public demonstration, women in Switzerland still suffer from inequality, and every year, these women stop all their work to make them realise how important they are to the economic structure of the country and hence, deserve equal pay and treatment.

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