You may have come across the
quote “Here's to strong women. May we know them, may we be
them, may we raise them.” that celebrates strong women. March 8
celebrations put the quote into context. Today, March 8 is the day reserved for
the celebration of the woman, the mother of humanity. On International Women's
Day, women are recognized for their achievements in the cultural, social,
economic, political, and other spheres. The celebration of International Women's
Day also addresses the issues women face in those spheres, and provides a way
forward for the woman’s empowerment. You may have a lot of questions about this
holiday, which will hopefully be answered by these facts about International
Women's Day.
1. International
Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labor movements at the turn of
the twentieth century in North America and across Europe (Lifestyle
Desk, 2019). Women's
Day was first celebrated on March 19, 1911, with a million men and women
rallied in support of women's rights. Since the adoption of the International
Women's Day celebration by the UN in 1977, March 8 is celebrated every year as
International Women's Day. Women's Day was solely observed by socialist and
communist countries prior to the adoption of the day by the UN.
2. Each year's festivities have
an official theme. The theme created by the UN for International Women's Day i
1996 was "Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future". 1997's
theme was "Women at the Peace Tale"; 1998's was "Women and Human Rights". This year's campaign
theme is "Balance for Better". It is aimed at creating a greater
awareness of discrimination, striving for gender equality, and celebrating
women's achievements. Women are encouraged to celebrate online by
"striking the pose" with hands out to represent balance between men
and women. On social media, the #BalanceforBetter hashtag can also be used to
spread awareness about the day.
3.
International Women's Day is an official holiday in some countries. These
include: Afghanistan,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only),
Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar
(for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only),
Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and
Zambia. In other countries like Cameroon, Croatia, Romania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Chile, the day is not a public holiday but is widely
observed. The celebration generally sees men honoring their mothers, wives,
girlfriends, colleagues, and others, with small gifts and flowers.
4. Certain
colors represent International Women's Day. As per the website of International
Women's Day, Internationally,
purple is a colour for symbolising women. Historically the combination of
purple, green and white to symbolise women's equality originated from the
Women's Social and Political Union in the UK in 1908. Purple signifies justice
and dignity. Green symbolises hope. White represents purity, but is no longer
used due to 'purity' being a controversial concept."
Works Cited
Desk,
L. (2019, March 8). Women’s Day 2019 Date: History, Importance and why
we celebrate International Women’s Day. Retrieved from Indian Express:
https://indianexpress.com/article/womensday/international-womens-day-history-importance-significance-5612253/
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