Every year 8th march is celebrated as International Women’s day. It is a time to recall on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of high courage and unbreakable determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
International Women’s Day 2021 Theme:
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Choose To Challenge”. A challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change. “So let’s all #ChooseToChallenge,” read an official statement.
International Women’s Day History:
It was during 1908 that there was an ongoing critical debate amongst women regarding their oppression and inequality. The campaign for change started to become more vocal when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pays as well as voting rights. In 1909, the first Women’s Day was observed across United States.
In 1910, International conference of working women was held in Copenhagen. That’s where the idea was proposed by Clara Zetkin, a leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany.
In 1911, International Women’s Day was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. Between 1913 and 1914, women in Russia observed their first Women’s Day on February 23.
Later, it was decided that March 8 can the globally accepted day to celebrate IWD. International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975.
International women’s day significance:
This day celebrates the cultural, political, economic and social achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action to achieve gender parity.
International women’s day is also significant in a way it spurs us to make people aware about women’s rights, gender equality, safety and prevention of any kind of harassment.
The day also helps us to reflect on the extraordinary roles played by women in almost every walk of life and celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women. Though countries across the world have made great advancements, gender equality remains an unfulfilled dream.
Colours of International Women’s Day:
There are also colours for the day. The three colours are purple, green and white. Purple signifies justice and dignity, green symbolizes hope and white represents purity, which was slightly married by controversy. The colors originated from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in the year 1908.
