It is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights. It is the International Women’s Day (IWD). It is celebrated on the 8th of March every year.
Background of the International Women’s Day
After the Socialist Party of America organized a Women’s Day in New York City on February 28, 1909, German revolutionary Clara Zetkin proposed at the 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference that 8 March be honored as a day annually in memory of working women. The day has been celebrated as International Women’s Day or International Working Women’s Day ever since. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted by the feminist movement in about 1967. The United Nations began celebrating the day in 1975.
Read more about other International Days
Commemoration of the International Women’s Day
The commemoration of International Women’s Day today ranges from being a public holiday in some countries to being largely ignored elsewhere. In some places, it is a day of protest while in others, it is a day that celebrates womanhood.
The earliest Women’s Day observance, called “National Woman’s Day,” was held on February 28, 1909, in New York City, organized by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of activist Theresa Malkiel. Though there have been claims that the day was commemorating a protest by women garment workers in New York on March 8, 1857, researchers have described this as a myth.
In August 1910, an International Socialist 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 Zietz proposed the establishment of an annual Women’s Day and was seconded by fellow socialist and later communist leader Clara Zetkin, supported by socialist activist Käte Duncker, 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.
IWD: Astronomical Recognition and Participation
The following year on March 19, 1911, IWD was marked for the first time, by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone, there were 300 demonstrations. In Vienna, women paraded on the Ringstrasse and carried banners honouring the martyrs of the Paris Commune. Women demanded that they are given the right to vote and to hold public office. They also protested against employment sex discrimination.
The Americans continued to celebrate National Women’s Day on the last Sunday in February.
The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in the International Women’s Year, 1975. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.
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The Official UN Themes for Previous Celebrations
1996- Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future
1997- Women and the Peace Table
1998- Women and Human Rights
1999- World Free of Violence against Women
2000- Women Uniting for Peace
2001- Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts
2002- Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities
2003- Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals
2004- Women and HIV/AIDS
2005- Gender Equality Beyond 2005; Building a More Secure Future
2006- Women in Decision-making
2007- Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls
2008- Investing in Women and Girls
2009- Women and Men United to End Violence against Women and Girls
2010- Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All
2011- Equal Access to Education, Training, and Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women
2012- Empower Rural Women, End Poverty and Hunger
2013- A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence against Women
2014- Equality for Women is Progress for All
2015- Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!
2016- Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality
2017- Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030
2018- Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives
2019- Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change
2020- “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”
Sometimes women’s day takes is observed on a different date due to it falling on a weekend. For example, in 2020, it will be celebrated on Monday, the 9th of March in Ukraine.
Sources:
Francia, Cintia; Gaido, Daniel (March 8, 2017). “The Socialist Origins of International Women’s Day”. Jacobin.
UN
Wikipedia
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