Things you need to know about international women's day
International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation, and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievements. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended the culture of many countries, primarily in Europe, especially those in the Soviet Bloc. In some regions, the day lost its political flavor, and became simply an occasion for people to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. Some people celebrate the day by wearing purple ribbons.
When was the international Women's Day started
The earliest Women’s Day observance was held on February 28, 1909, in New York; it was organized by the Socialist Party of America in remembrance of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. There was no specific strike happening on March 8, despite later claims.
In August 1910, an International Women's Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark. Inspired in part by the American socialists, German Socialist Luise Zietzproposed the establishment of an annual 'International Woman's Day' (singular) and was seconded by fellow socialist and later communist leader Clara Zetkin, although no date was specified at that conference. Delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights, including suffrage, for women
Which part of the world is International Women's Day an Official Holiday?
The day is an official holiday in Afghanistan, Angola,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso,Cambodia,China (for women only), Cuba,Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos,Macedonia (for women only), Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia.
In some countries, such as Cameroon, Croatia, Romania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria and Chile, the day is not a public holiday, but is widely observed nonetheless.
What happens on International women's day?
On this day it is customary for men to give the women in their lives – friends, mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters, colleagues, etc. – flowers and small gifts. In some countries (such as Bulgaria and Romania) it is also observed as an equivalent of Mother's Day, where children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.
In countries like Portugal groups of women usually celebrate on the night of March 8 in "women-only" dinners and parties.Today, many events are held by women's groups around the world.
In 2001, the global internationalwomensday.com digital hub was launched to re-energize the day; it offers a free worldwide register of IWD local events. The IWD website is enabled each year through support from corporations committed to driving gender parity. It was hosted by the UK-based marketing company Aurora in 2013. In 2016 it was Sponsored by EY and listed 7 further International Women's Day partners. The IWD website adopts an annual theme that is globally relevant for groups and organizations and has the further objective that women and the media can learn about local activity.
