It was UN Day, 24 October, during the United Nations International Women’s Year in 1975. Half of Iceland’s population decided to celebrate the International Year by taking the day off and proving how indispensable they were to society. And they did: for one day, Icelandic women brought the country to a standstill.
The Day Iceland Stood Still is the name of a documentary by Pamela Hogan and Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir, which was shown at CINÉ ONU in Brussels on the occasion of International Women´s Day, 8 March 2026. The screening at Cinéma Vendome was organized by UNRIC; UN Women, the UN Human Rights Office and the Icelandic Mission to the European Union, and was followed by a panel discussion.
90% of women left heir jobs
The documentary tells the story of the day when 90% of Icelandic women left their jobs and handed their children’s care over to their children’s fathers. 30,000 attended a rally in the centre of Reykjavik. To put this into perspective, Reykjavík’s population at the time was only 85,000, and the country’s was 220,000.
At the time, the eleven-year-old future film-maker Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir accompanied her mother to a rally in the centre of her hometown. Therefore, it may come as a surprise that although she is the co-author and producer of the documentary, it was not her idea or even an Icelandic initiative.
Brilliant compromise
“It’s a funny story because one day in 2017, I got a phone call from this American, Pamela Hogan, Gunnarsdóttir told UNRIC in an interview. “And she says to me: ‘I would like to make a film about the women’s day off.” And I replied to Pamela, well, haven’t we done that? And actually, as I racked my brain trying to remember the films I and others had done, I realised we hadn´t really done that. I thought, “It would be good to have an outside view looking in and team up with her.”
In 1975, the women´s day off was agreed upon by a conference of women convened to discuss how to celebrate the UN International Women’s Year. First, the idea was to launch a women´s strike, but many women were uncomfortable with the concept, which they considered too closely aligned with left-wing radicalism. The compromise, which secured political unity, was to call the action not a strike but a Women´s Day off.
“It was brilliant and very important. And I think people today could really learn from this. You know, sometimes a compromise is needed,” Gunnarsdóttir said.
Across professions
The Women´s Day Off movement was characterized by its wide representation, not only across the right-left rift in society, but also by attracting different professions and social classes. Intellectuals, academics, artists, writers and feminist activists certainly contributed, but so did women farmers, housewives and workers. Indeed, the uncrowned queen of the record-breaking rally in downtown Reykjavík was a worker, Aðalheiður Bjarnfreðsdóttir.
This is a reminder that “we have to make sure that feminism isn’t locked in an ebony tower, where we preach the gospels to the converted,” says Gunnarsdóttir. “That gap needed to be bridged, and I think Aðalheiður Bjarnfreðsdóttir certainly did bridge it because she came from the working class, and of course, it did help that she was an incredible speaker. She spoke without any notes from her heart and just talked about things that are still relevant.”
Relevant to our times
Due to COVID-19 and financial challenges, the film only premiered in 2024, the year before the 50th anniversary. “It was in a way the perfect timing,” Gunnarsdóttir says, and points out that the message of the Women’s Day Off is very relevant today. “The relevance is obvious. It’s about giving hope because it shows that success stories exist. You can try to change things, and that is important, especially in these times that we are experiencing now.”
Another lesson learned is how successfully the movement harnessed female energy, solidarity and joy. At least in the early ´70s, feminism was fun. A lot of fun.
“I think you have hit a nail on the head. You know, in all of the women’s movement in Iceland, it’s interesting that humour was always a part of the movement. And humour makes you see things in a different light.“
Feminism was fun
The documentary covers humorous actions in the run-up to the Women´s Day Off, such as bringing a cow to a beauty pageant. “I noticed this also in the gay movement in Iceland. The new generation after 2015, they are always fighting with a fist,” says Gunnarsdóttir, who has for decades been a prominent gay-rights activist. “And when you have a fist in somebody’s face, you know, they’re not going to listen. But if you put things humorously, you put things into a new perspective.”
The Icelandic-American duo of Gunnarsdóttir and director Pamela Hogan started interviewing the protagonists of the 1975 action more than four decades after the event.
“We were just scrambling to catch these women before they died. So it was very timely. We wanted the story to be told in the voice of the people who organised it and managed the event.“
In the snow the footprints are so quickly filled
Indeed, an important element of the documentary is that it records “these histories, so they will not be forgotten.“
“It is not that women don’t make history, it’s that women are not written into history. So by documenting this event, we are making sure we remember where we came from, that things were different, and that we can create change. As President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir put it so beautifully at the beginning of the film. “In the snow the footprints are so quickly filled. Take care that the snow doesn’t fill the footsteps.””
Dare you, can you, will you?
In Iceland, the Women´s Day Off is not least remembered for a hit song whose lyrics were written especially for this occasion.
It asked three questions: “dare you, can you, will you?” More than half a century later, the answers are clear: Icelandic women have clear answers to these questions. In 1975, 5% of Icelandic parliamentarians were women; now, 46% are.
In 1975, the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Mayor of Reykjavík, and Bishop of Iceland were male. In 2026, they are all women.
The answer to the question asked in 1975 is clear: “Yes, we dare, we can, we will.”
Well attended screening in Brussels
The CINE ONU event in Brussels was supported by the Icelandic Mission to the European Union. At the event, Ambassador Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson spoke, while UNRIC Deputy-Director Caroline Petit introduced the film. Árni Snævarr of UNRIC moderated a panel that discussed the documentary and answered questions from the audience. The panellists were: Florence Raes, Director UN Women Office in Brussels, Chiara Adamo, Head of Unit at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission, and Asha Allen, Secretary General, Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe. |