International Women’s Day
As an annually observed holiday, “International Women’s Day” brings attention to issues and concerns pertaining to gender inequality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women – apart from being a day that celebrates the accomplishments of women from various walks of life.
Observed annually on March 8, it originated from labor and social movements in the early 20th century in North America and Europe, and in the mid-1970s, was adopted by the United Nations as a globally-celebrated day.
Since then, it has played a central role in pushing for a gender-equal world that’s free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination – a world where differences are valued and celebrated in the drive for gender parity.
In line with this year’s observance of “International Women’s Day”, following are interesting bits of trivia about it.
Versions of the Day Have Been Observed for More than 100 Years
Though International Women’s Day was formalized as a global event by the United Nations in 1975, there have been a number of women’s day observances prior to its formalization.
In 1909, a National Woman’s Day was organized by the now-dissolved Socialist Party of America on February 28. In 1910 in Germany, the idea of an international celebration of the day was proposed by Clara Zetkin, the leader of Germany’s Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party, and in 1911, an international women’s day was held with more than 1 million participants in Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.
In 1917, a groundbreaking protest led by women happened in Russia – one which is attributed to have led to giving women in Russia the right to vote. The protest – dubbed the “Strike for Bread and Peace” – was done as a protest against World War I and to push for gender parity. The ruler at the time, Czar Nicholas II, issued an order to shoot any woman who took part in it, but they couldn’t be intimidated to do so.
As the protests continued, the Czar eventually abdicated, and the provisional government at the time granted women in Russia the right to vote.
Historians, however, argue that the earliest women’s day observance happened in 1908 when around 15,000 women participated in a march through the streets of New York to demand better wages, shorter working hours and the right to vote.
It is an Official Holiday in some Countries, while others Celebrate it as a Mother’s Day-Combined Holiday
There are several countries that adopt International Women’s Day as an Official Holiday like Afghanistan, Cuba, Vietnam, Uganda, Mongolia, Georgia, Laos, Cambodia, Armenia, Belarus, Montenegro, Russia and Ukraine.
Other countries celebrate it as a combined with Mother’s Day holiday, and these include places like Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Serbia and Albania. Like regular Mother’s Day celebrations, children in the countries honor their mothers and grandmothers every March 8 with gifts and tokens of love and appreciation.
It has an official logo and colors
Pink may widely be associated with femininity, but it is not the color of International Women’s Day. Purple, green and white serve as the day’s colors, and they are used to symbolize justice, dignity, hope and purity.
The day also has an official purple-and-white logo that features the symbol of Venus, which also the symbol that’s used to represent the female sex.
It has been observed with themes that’re aligned with the issues and concerns of the signs-of-the-times
Since 1996, the observance of International Women’s Day has been underscored with themes that – apart from pushing for gender equality – brings to light the issues and marks that’re affecting communities and societies.
Last year’s theme went by an eco-conscientious route in “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”, while the theme for 2021 was “Women In Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World”.
In 2020, the theme was “I Am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”, while in 2019 it was “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”.
This year’s theme is short but to the point: #EmbraceEquality.