Denmark: ‘Communist 8 March’ – fight against women’s oppression and imperialism!

At a time of new wars, instability in the global market, and an upcoming general election in Denmark, hundreds of young people and workers across the country gathered on International Working Women’s Day for ‘Communist 8 March’. For the first time, the Revolutionary Communist Party (RKP) held events in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, and Aalborg.

[Originally published in Danish at marxist.dk]

In Copenhagen, over 250 people gathered for ‘Communist 8 March’ in a packed hall at AFUK (Academy of Untamed Creativity), and the event was undoubtedly one of the largest and most visible events in the capital. In Aarhus, over 85 people gathered for a spectacular day of action at Folkehuset in Trøjborg, and in both places these were the largest 8 March events our party has ever held. In Odense and Aalborg, we held 8 March events for the first time in the party’s history, which is not only a huge achievement for our comrades in those two cities, but also a major milestone for the entire RKP.

More than half of those attending were not party members, but rather people who had seen the posters advertising the events, followed the party on social media, or encountered the RKP at demonstrations and newspaper sales. They were curious and eager to gain a completely different perspective on the women’s struggle and the world than the one usually presented by the media and politicians.

Something completely different from the elite’s 8 March

For a long time, 8 March has been dominated by purely symbolic events organised by the elite. Here, top executives, media bosses, trade union leaders, and politicians ranging from Peter Hummelgaard to Jan E. Jørgensen pretend to care about women’s conditions, whilst the rest of the time they are carrying out austerity, squeezing living standards, and supporting imperialist wars, all of which undermine the very foundations of women’s liberation.

We are often told that young people are gravitating towards right-wing parties such as Liberal Alliance (LA) and Danish People’s Party (DF), and embracing their misogynistic and racist ideas. But no media outlet speaks of the far greater radicalisation towards the left and revolutionary ideas that is taking place among young people.

The ‘Communist 8 March’ events, with their radical political discussions and large turnout, were a tangible illustration of this process of radicalisation towards the left, that is actually underway in society. More and more young people are seeing right through the hypocrisy of the elite and are deeply frustrated that everything is just getting worse and worse; they are drawing revolutionary conclusions and are simply waiting for someone to put into words the frustration and ideas they thought they were alone in harbouring.

Whilst all the politicians are fixated on the general election, as if nothing else exists, it was clear at the ‘Communist 8 March’ event that the struggle for women’s rights is by no means taking place in a vacuum, and we cannot ignore a world steeped in war, instability, and suffering. As Maya Andersen explained when she introduced the event in Copenhagen, a clear understanding of the global situation and the struggle against war and imperialism has always been a central part of the communist women’s struggle.

Due to the war waged by the US and Israel against Iran, which began on 28 February, the programme of the events was changed at the last minute to focus on the war, the real underlying interests at stake, and its massive impact on the global economy and on the consciousness of workers and young people.

As Marie Frederiksen explained, the US, Denmark, and western imperialism, with their countless wars in the Middle East, have time and again devastated women’s lives and left entire countries in chaos. When Danish politicians attempt to justify the US attack on Iran as part of the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy and women’s rights, whilst the US and Israel are simultaneously bombing girls’ schools and setting Tehran ablaze, their hypocrisy is laid bare before the eyes of thousands of people.

The need for a party that consistently exposes all the other parties’ support for imperialist wars and rearmament is becoming increasingly clear. We need a party that has no ambition to join Mette Frederiksen’s government and take part in the administration of capitalism, but which instead fights to overthrow the capitalist system, which has violence, suffering, and oppression built into its very DNA.

The necessity of a revolutionary party

International Women’s Day was not established so that people could turn up at a fancy event and passively listen to a few ‘experts’, but with the aim of using the day to actively organise young people and workers in the struggle against capitalism – it was this very motivation that underpinned all the RKP’s 8 March events.

At all the events, the venues buzzed with an electric atmosphere and lively conversation that continued long into the evening, several hours after the official programmes had ended. Across the country, the events were characterised by in-depth political discussions on everything from the women’s struggle, philosophy, and communism to, in particular, the war and the situation in the Middle East.

Several of those who were not members of the RKP spoke of their enthusiasm at the fact that, at long last, there was someone here who could explain the otherwise chaotic state of the world and how we can bring about fundamental change in society. This interest in Marxist ideas was also reflected at the stalls, where people were keen to take Marxist literature home with them. A total of 7,295 kroner (£840) worth of books and political materials were sold, exceeding last year’s sales by 20 percent.

Year after year, it becomes increasingly clear that communism and the struggle for a better world do not belong to the past, but are, on the contrary, more relevant than ever. More and more people are coming to the conclusion that society’s problems cannot be solved within the framework of capitalism, and that a revolution is needed. ‘Communist 8 March’ was a huge step towards spreading communist ideas and building the revolutionary party: things that the global situation so desperately calls for.

As Marie Frederiksen explained at the end of her speech, we have already seen how the crisis of capitalism is pushing workers and young people to fight back against the system, with the Gen Z revolutions and general strikes in Minnesota and Italy being recent examples. The war against Iran and the economic consequences that follow will only further prepare the ground for class struggle and revolution – not just abroad, but here in Denmark too.

What matters most right now, therefore, is not who you vote for, but whether you choose to organise yourself in the struggle against the system, so that we can build the party needed for the revolution to succeed. ‘Communist 8 March’ made one thing clear: the conditions for building that party have never been better.