Women strike in Iceland for equal pay.

Iceland's PM and women across the volcanic island nation went on strike yesterday to push for an end to unequal pay and gender-based violence.

Shutdown across nation

Icelanders awoke to all-male newscaster teams announcing shutdowns across the island nation : schools closed, public  transport delayed, hospitals understaffed, hotel rooms uncleaned.

PM Katrin Jokobsdottir said that she would stay home as part of the women's strike - "Kvennaverkfal" in Icelandic - and expected other women in her cabinet would do the same.

Gender-equal country

Iceland, an island of 3,80,000 people has been ranked as the world's most  gender-equal country 14 years in a row by the World Economic Forum.

No country has achieved full equality and there remains a gender pay gap in Iceland.

Schools and health systems affected

Iceland's trade unions, the main organisers of the strike, called on women and nonbinary people to refuse both paid and unpaid work, including household chores, for the day. About 90% of Icelandic workers belong to a union.

Schools and the health system, which have female-dominated workforces, said they would be affected by the walkout. National broadcaster RUV said it was reducing television and radio broadcasts for the day.

Biggest since 1975

Tuesday's walkout, which lasts from midnight to midnight, is being billed as the biggest since Iceland's first such event on 24 Oct 1975, when 90% of women refused to work, clean or look after children, to voice anger at discrimination in the workplace.

In 1976, Iceland passed a law guaranteeing equal rights irrespective of gender.

Since then there have been several partial-day strikes, most recently in 2018, with women walking off the job in the early afternoon, symbolising the time of day when women, on average, stop earning compared to men.

"We have not yet reached our goals of full gender equality and we are still tackling the gender-based wage gap, which is unacceptable in 2023. We are still tackling gender-based violence, which has been a priority for my government to tackle".

                          - Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir

Tailpiece.

Got up at 4, washed up and recited my prayers. Lekha was up and about by a half past 5. Was ready by 8, when Vincent had come by and we set off, soon after.

Reached the DPD Office, was 5th in the queue and it took 11/2 hrs for Ashokan to sort out my problems with Sparsh. Now, will have to wait five days for the endorsements of my Aadhaar amendments. Lekha's date of birth was provided the proof. Returned by 12 and will after 10 days, have my digital life certificate uploaded.

A quiet evening.