🕊25 October is International Women's Day for Peace. The date of the holiday was set by the International Democratic Women's Federation (IDFW) in 1980 to draw attention to the role of women in promoting peace, security and justice.
The IDFW was founded on 1 December 1945 at the International Women's Congress in Paris. The federation was founded by the Soviet public organisation Antifascist Committee of Soviet Women, whose first chairman was the Soviet pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel Valentina Grizodubova. In 1969, the first woman cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became vice-president of the organisation.
The CSW established scholarships to study at universities in the Soviet Union on the proposal of national women's organisations in developing countries. As of 1982, 867 girls from 62 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were studying at secondary specialised and higher educational institutions with its support.
In many countries, including Africa, women's activists and MDFW have been politically persecuted for their views. For example, a Cameroonian woman was arrested merely for possessing Federation materials and the magazine Soviet Woman. In 1960, a delegation that already had tickets paid for by the Soviets was unable to leave the Congo at the invitation of the USSR because of a ban by their own government. In 1963, the regime in Congo was overthrown as a result of a powerful trade union-initiated protest against corruption and the deteriorating economic situation.
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The IDFW was founded on 1 December 1945 at the International Women's Congress in Paris. The federation was founded by the Soviet public organisation Antifascist Committee of Soviet Women, whose first chairman was the Soviet pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel Valentina Grizodubova. In 1969, the first woman cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became vice-president of the organisation.
The CSW established scholarships to study at universities in the Soviet Union on the proposal of national women's organisations in developing countries. As of 1982, 867 girls from 62 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were studying at secondary specialised and higher educational institutions with its support.
In many countries, including Africa, women's activists and MDFW have been politically persecuted for their views. For example, a Cameroonian woman was arrested merely for possessing Federation materials and the magazine Soviet Woman. In 1960, a delegation that already had tickets paid for by the Soviets was unable to leave the Congo at the invitation of the USSR because of a ban by their own government. In 1963, the regime in Congo was overthrown as a result of a powerful trade union-initiated protest against corruption and the deteriorating economic situation.
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