KIM JONG IL
WOMEN ARE A POWERFUL FORCE FOR PUSHING AHEAD WITH THE REVOLUTION AND CONSTRUCTION
Talk to Senior Officials of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea
March 8, 1995
Today is the 85th International Women’s Day. March 8 is the militant day on which working women all over the world strengthen their international unity and demonstrate its might. In marking this day, it is important for us to create a social climate in which women are held in high regard.
On this year’s International Women’s Day, the mass media have not given much coverage to women’s issues. Today I watched TV with keen interest, but I failed to see a single programme concerning Women’s Day. It seems our officials are narrow-minded and lack warm human feelings.
The women of our country are faithful to the Party and play a great role in the revolution and construction. President Kim Il Sung long ago referred to the important role played by women in pushing one of the two wheels of the revolution, and he attached great significance to their position and role. Women are a powerful force for pushing ahead with the revolution and construction.
The women’s movement in our country has a fine tradition and history; its tradition was established during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle led by Kim Il Sung, and its history is a brilliant one of struggle to achieve the social and political emancipation and independence of women. Kang Pan Sok, assisted by young Kim Il Sung, organized a women’s association, and advanced it along the road of independence. This ushered in the era of the communist women’s movement in our country. After the liberation of the country, Comrade Kim Il Sung personally drew up the Law on Sex Equality, conforming with the demands of our developing revolution, and published it. Such a law can be found in no other country in the world. Other countries celebrate International Women’s Day, but none celebrates the anniversary of a law on sex equality. The Law on Sex Equality formulated by the President freed the Korean women from their centuries-old feudal fetters and suppression, gave them opportunities to participate in the political, economic and cultural life of the country with the same rights as men, and enabled them to push ahead with the revolution and construction as full-fledged masters of the new society. From the fact that he enacted this wonderful law, the kind of which cannot be found in any other country, we should feel a sense of great national dignity and pride in having lived under such a great man’s leadership. He published this law on the day before the anniversary of his mother Kang Pan Sok’s death; this shows how he made everything he did meaningful and purposeful. He was indeed a peerlessly great man.
Under his leadership, our women’s movement has travelled a road filled with victory, producing a great number of heroines and patriots. Among them were Choe Hui Suk who, sure of the victory of the revolution, fought undauntedly during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle; An Yong Ae and Sin Pho Hyang of Ragwon who performed an act of great heroism in the days of the Fatherland Liberation War; and many other women revolutionaries who devoted their all to the Party and revolution, to the people and country. Many heroines and women who performed feats of labour were produced also in the days of postwar reconstruction and socialist construction. Today our women are, by giving full play to their strength and wisdom, taking an active part in socialist construction to make our country, our motherland, more prosperous under the Party’s leadership.
We should not honour the women revolutionaries whose names are recorded in the history of the women’s movement only on the anniversaries of their birth or death, but on several other occasions, such as International Women’s Day. Our country, with its splendid history of the women’s movement, should celebrate International Women’s Day on a grand scale. We should approach women’s issues from an international perspective. Celebrating International Women’s Day more significantly is good also in view of the prevailing situation. The enemy is now making desperate attempts to stifle and isolate our country, which is advancing under the unfurled banner of socialism. The more desperately the enemy clings to these attempts, the more we should strengthen our international solidarity, paying attention to international commemoration days. As communists who are fighting for global peace and for friendship and unity among the peoples of the world, we should treasure the international day of the working women.
Some days ago, I sent a new song Love Your Wives to the Central Broadcasting Committee of Korea. This song was created last year to mark the anniversary of the Law on Sex Equality, but it was not made public owing to President Kim Il Sung’s sudden death. I sent it to be broadcast on this year’s International Women’s Day. This song appeals for women to be honoured in society. As soon as they received it, I heard it was broadcast on radio and TV. It would have been more meaningful if it had been broadcast for International Women’s Day with an announcer providing a brief explanation of its idea and content.
As I have said before, the one-hundredth day after a baby’s birth and its first birthday should be celebrated properly. It was wrong to have paid so little attention to this year’s International Women’s Day. When I say something, officials should catch its essence correctly and carry it out. If they face, in the course of their work, problems that are too complicated for them to decide by themselves, they should bring them to me and deal with them according to my decision. Ideological work is quite difficult and complicated. Newspapers and broadcasts should celebrate occasions to satisfy policy demands; if an occasion is missed by mistake, the consequences may be serious.
Since our women are turning one of the two wheels of the revolution, the mass media should deal properly with the days of women. The mass media should get ready to make up for the failure of this International Women’s Day so as to deal with the women’s issues on the forthcoming anniversary of the Law on Sex Equality.
If men congratulate women, presenting them with flowers, on women’s day, it will improve the social climate. Congratulatory cards and picture cards will also do.
