You might have seen International Women’s Day mentioned in the media or heard friends talking about it.
But what is this day for? When is it? Is there an equivalent International Men’s Day? And what events will take place this year?
For more than a century people around the world have been marking 8 March as a special day for women.
- How did it start?
The labor movement gave rise to International Women’s Day, or IWD, which the United Nations today recognizes as an annual holiday (UN).
When 15,000 women marched through New York City calling for shorter hours, higher pay, and the opportunity to vote in 1908, the seeds of it were sowed. The first National Woman’s Day was proclaimed by the Socialist Party of America a year later.
A communist activist and supporter of women’s rights named Clara Zetkin came up with the concept to make the day an international holiday. In 1910, she made the suggestion at a conference for working women in Copenhagen. There were 100 women present from 17 different nations, and they all unanimously endorsed her proposition.
In Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, it was first observed in 1911. The centennial was commemorated in 2011, making this year’s celebration of International Women’s Day the 111th.
The United Nations began commemorating the day in 1975, making it official. “Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future” was the UN’s first theme, which it adopted in 1996.
As a result of its political origins, International Women’s Day has evolved into a day to commemorate the progress women have made in society, politics, and the economy, with protests and strikes being organized to draw attention to ongoing inequality.
- Why 8 March?
There was no set date for Clara’s concept of an International Women’s Day.
It wasn’t formally recognized until a 1917 wartime strike by Russian women demanding “food and peace” led to the Tsar’s forced abdication and the provisional government’s granting of the right to vote four days later.
On Sunday, February 23, according to the Julian calendar then in use in Russia, the women’s strike officially started. Today is observed on March 8, which was this day in the Gregorian calendar.
- Why do people wear the colour purple?
The International Women’s Day website states that the official colors of IWD are purple, green, and white.
“Justice and dignity are represented by purple. Green is a color of hope. White, however a contentious color, stands for purity. In the UK in 1908, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the source of the colors “say they.
- How is Women’s Day celebrated?
Many nations observe International Women’s Day as a national holiday, including Russia, where flower sales increase by twofold in the three to four days preceding March 8.
According to the State Council’s recommendation, a lot of women in China receive a half-day off of work on March 8.
The Festa della Donna, or International Women’s Day, is observed in Italy by exchanging mimosa blossoms. Although the exact beginning of this custom is unknown, it is thought to have begun in Rome following World War Two.
March is recognized as Women’s History Month in the US. Every year, a presidential proclamation honors the accomplishments of American women.
- Why do we need it?
In the midst of war, violence, and policy changes in their individual nations throughout the last year, women have fought for their rights in numerous places, including Afghanistan, Iran, the Ukraine, and the US.
The Taliban’s return in Afghanistan has slowed the growth of human rights, as women and girls are now prohibited from pursuing higher education, doing the majority of occupations outside the home, traveling long distances alone, and being told to hide their faces in public.
Mahsa Amini, 22, was killed in protests in Iran after she was detained by morality police in Tehran on September 13, 2022. Mahsa was accused of breaking one of Iran’s harsh laws requiring women to cover their hair with a scarf.
Since then, protests have persisted around the nation, with many Iranians – both male and female – asking for more gender equality and an end to the current political system. “Women, life, freedom” is the motto of the protests. Authorities have called them “riots” and used force in response. There have been over 500 fatalities.
The UN reports that gender disparities in food insecurity, hunger, poverty, and increasing gender-based violence have gotten worse in Ukraine and around the world as a result of war-related price increases and shortages since Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, a landmark law that had safeguarded American women’s right to an abortion. This decision sparked significant protests and outrage in the US. Several US women have turned to individuals in Mexico for assistance in getting an abortion after a landmark decision there effectively decriminalized the practice in 2021.
However there has been development in recent years.
After a 10-year battle, the European Parliament adopted a law in November 2022 to guarantee that more women are represented on the boards of publicly traded corporations by July 2026. There are many women who are competent for high-level positions, and the EU asserted that its new regulation will provide them a genuine opportunity to obtain them.
In the meantime, Colombia and Armenia revised their parental leave laws, and Spain introduced legislation supporting menstrual health leave and expanding access to abortion.
According to the International Olympic Committee, Beijing 2022 will host the most gender-balanced Winter Games, with women making up 45% of competitors. Despite the fact that gender parity was not attained, new regulations encouraged more impartial coverage of women’s sports.
36 teams will compete in the significantly expanded 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup. The US Soccer Federation agreed to pay its men’s and women’s teams equally before to the competition, making it the first organization in the sport to make such a commitment. For more than five years, female athletes have argued their case in numerous lawsuits and equal wage demands.
