To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves, and the nation moves
Jawarharlal Nehru
International Women’s Day is a worldwide event commemorating the social, cultural, political, and economic attainment of women.
This year’s (2022) theme for International Women’s Day is Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.
The celebration of this day can be traced back to even before the 18th century. In 1909, The Socialist Party of America declared the first National Women’s Day on 28 February. After that, women continued to celebrate National Women’s Day on the last Sunday of February until 1913.
In 1910, the Second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) presented the idea of an International Women’s Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day as Women’s Day.
In 1945, the Charter of the United Nations became the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men.
The United Nations celebrated its first official International Women’s Day on 8 March 1975. The United Nations announced its first annual theme in 1996, Celebrating the Past, planning for the future.
India and International Women’s Day:
India celebrates Women’s Day on the 8th of March. Even though the concept of International Women’s Day came from Western countries, we Indians highly appreciate and celebrate it to express our love and respect for women. When it comes to awareness of International Women’s Day in our country, people from the metro cities in India were more aware of this day. However, in recent times small-town people also know about this day.
India celebrates this day by arranging official meetings with successful women. In India, this day ensures that society is just and fair to all its members, including women.
A woman is a beautiful creation of God, and she is a creator in herself. All great personalities are born from a woman’s womb and have received their initial teachings from them. That is why women deserve love and respect in their lives.
Women across the nation come together by crossing all the boundaries from various cultural and ethnic groups to remember their struggle for peace, justice, equality, and development.
International Women’s Day is all about feeling self-worth and achieving goals as per the potential. Besides, women should gather the courage to cross the hurdles in all spheres of life to make a tremendous improvement in society.
Indira Gandhi broke the ceiling for the first time in India by attaining the highest position in the office.
Feminism and International Women’s Day are two of the greatest moments across the world that have helped improve the standard of living of women.
Unequal pay, child marriage, and sexual harassment are some of the burning issues that women face in the world. Though now, there are several laws taking care of the safety and equality of women. In 2020, women received success and applause in every walk of life, whether technology, sports, politics, business, or health.
If we talk about women in position, then the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern managed the pandemic situation very steadily. It was the first country to flatten the curve during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first female democratically elected prime minister of Sri Lanka was Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
International Women’s Day represents the unity of women across the world to accelerate issues of gender parity. Women’s rights do not represent a single organization but the collective female community.
The Congressional Union for Women’s Suffrage, formed in 1913, adopted the purple, white, and gold color in their flag. Purple signifies justice and dignity, gold is for hope, and white is for purity for the women’s rights movement.
International Women’s Day is all about making a difference locally and globally and providing a better and safe future for the female community. Unless we change our perception towards women irrespective of any rules and laws implemented, it would not be possible to create a fair and impartial society for all.
