Women of the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence. A future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all. To get us there, the world needs women at every table where decisions are being made.
International Women’s Day is always celebrated on March 8 every year, this day is symbolic of the historic journey women around the world have taken to better their lives. It comes as a reminder that while a lot has been achieved, the journey is long and a lot more needs to be done.
History of International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day has been celebrated for over a century now. But while many people think of it as a feminist cause, its roots lie in the labour movement. It was first organized in 1911 by the early 20th century Marxist from Germany Clara Zetkin.
Zetkin was born in 1857 in Germany’s Wiederau. She trained as a teacher and was associated with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), one of the two major political parties in the country today. She was a part of both the labour movement and the women’s movement.
In the 1880s, when anti-socialist laws were enforced by German leader Otto von Bismarck, Zetkin went into a self-imposed exile in Switzerland and France.
During this time, she wrote and distributed proscribed literature, and met leading socialists of the time. Zetkin also played a significant role in the formation of the Socialist International.
Upon her return to Germany, she became the editor of Die Gleichheit (‘Equality’) SPD’s newspaper for women from 1892 to 1917. In the SPD, Zetkin was closely associated with the far-left thinker and revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg.
In 1910, three years after she became a co-founder of the International Socialist Women’s Congress, Zetkin proposed at a conference that Women’s Day be celebrated in every country on February 28.
The conference comprised 100 women from 17 different countries, with unions, socialist parties, working women’s clubs and female legislators harmoniously approving the suggestion. Women’s Day was observed for the first time in 1911.
Two years later, in 1913, the date was changed to March 8, and it continues to be celebrated as such every year.
Significance of International Women’s Day
The International Women’s Day celebrated on March 8th of every year, is earmarked to celebrate womanhood, and appreciate her achievements without regard to divisions, national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic, or political.
It is a day to acknowledge and make people aware of women’s rights and gender equality, parity, and call to action for expediting women’s equality.
How will you help forge a gender-equal world?
International Women’s Day is a time to ponder on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
The world has made unprecedented advances, but no country has achieved gender equality. Let’s make 2021 count for women and girls everywhere in the world. Celebrate women’s achievements. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.
A challenging world is an alert world and from challenge comes change.
So let’s all choose to challenge.
