International Women’s Day (IWD) is observed every year on March 8 to commemorate and honour women’s achievements, raise awareness about gender disparities and discrimination, and promote global support for women.
What South African’s should know about IWD?
On 28 February 1909, the then-active Socialist Party of America celebrated the first National Woman’s Day in commemoration of the 15,000 women who protested in New York against harsh working conditions and lesser wages.
Clara Zetkin, a women’s rights advocate and the leader of Germany’s Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party, proposed the idea of a global International Women’s Day in 1910.
The first International Women’s Day was observed on March 19, 1911, with over one million people participating in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland.
The United Nations did not recognise and begin celebrating International Women’s Day until 1975. Since then, the United Nations has served as the event’s primary sponsor, encouraging more countries to recognise acts of courage and resolve by ordinary women who have played an outstanding role in the history of their countries and communities.
And for those who are curious and feel left out (get over it), there is an International Men’s Day, which is observed on November 19 in over 80 countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom. It has only been observed since the 1990s and is not recognised by the United Nations.
The International Women’s Day symbol is a female gender symbol. It is typically paired with the colours purple, green, and white.
Purple represents dignity and justice, green represents hope, and white represents purity, according to the International Women’s Day website. “The colours were created in 1908 by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the United Kingdom.”
The purpose of the day varies by country. Some see it as a day of protest, while others see it as a way to promote gender equality. International Women’s Day is a national holiday in some countries.
Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Laos, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Uganda, Ukraine, and Vietnam have declared IWD a national holiday.
Women’s Day and Mother’s Day have been combined in some countries, including Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, and Uzbekistan, to emphasise the importance of women as mothers. euronews