This tin represents Casa Scanteii in Bucharest. (Scanteia, “The Spark” was the name of the official newspaper of the Communist Party). In small letters, almost merged with the folkloric inspiration pattern on the sides of the box, there is written “8th of March”. The box is from a 1964 lot (this is written also on the tin). Two years later, Nicolae Ceausescu will initiate a law banning birth control and abortions and limiting access to divorce. A date about women’s struggle for labor rights lost in an image of power and of the conservative implications of a “folkloric” motif.
I never knew as a child in socialist times what were the origins of 8th of March, although the date was intensely celebrated as Mother’s Day.
These cards are from the sixties till the eighties. Flowers and birds and kittens…
Still, happy 8th of March to everyone identifying as women!
stories of objects 
I love tin cans. I’m not sure if I’ve said this before, but I really love tins and have a medium sized collection. I didn’t realise it could be a “thing” but now I see the value.
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They are quite practical…
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Love this bit of history which I had not previously known. I am curious – did the women fight back or protest?
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A public protest was not possible in those times, but of course women did try to resist in their private lives…
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My husband knew a little about this part of history so we looked it up to find out more.
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beautiful old cards. womens day always brings red carnatians to mind – it must be an eastern bloc thing 🙂 by the way i’m posting your letter today hope it will reach you soon, sorry it took so long – life with a young baby is demanding!
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My pupils brought me red carnations today :). Looking forward to your letter but don’t worry, I know from my friends who are moms how hectic life can be. Lots of greetings to your little boy!
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In the United States even in these “enlightened” times, even as abortions are legal, there are many people who are trying to make it difficult to get an abortion. Instead of fighting to ban abortions outright, they are making rules regarding abortions. Rules that don’t make sense, like the clinic must be close to a hospital and the doctors must have hospital admission rights. There might never had been the kind of emergency that would require a woman to go to the hospital for treatment, and any doctor can admit someone as a patient, not just the doctor who performed the abortion. The same people don’t want sexual education taught in the schools, but want to preach abstinence. They also don’t want to provide birth control methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It just doesn’t make any sense. Denying a woman an abortion won’t stop unwanted pregnancies and abortions. It will cause women to die because they didn’t get a SAFE abortion. It just doesn’t make sense. I enjoy reading your blog and learning a little bit about your part of the world.
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Even here, after the traumatic experience of women living during times when abortions were banned, there are still, from time to time discussions in Parliament and in the media about the restriction of abortions. This wouldn’t have seemed plausible in the early nineties, when one of the thirst laws changed after the end of the communist regime was this law that was banning abortions. And after the deaths of so many women as a result of illegal abortions. But, now, somehow this traumatic past is erased and right wing organizations march for the “unborn children” and public hospitals have the right to refuse abortions before big christian holidays. All these while poor or “non-white” women are often condemned in the media for having “too many”
children…
Thank you so much for your comment about my blog, I’m really glad for it!
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