Women of the world unite! International Women’s Day is here, an opportunity for women, non-binary people and male allies to join together to fight for their rights. It’s been an official holiday for over 40 years, but did you know that women started organizing and protesting in the early 1900s? Learn more here:
International Women’s Day was recognized by the United Nations in 1975
According to the UN declaration, International Women’s Day “is a day on which the achievements of women are recognized regardless of divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. International Women’s Day first grew out of the activities of labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and throughout Europe.”
International Women’s Day is celebrated in 100 countries
Which is very good, considering that there are only 195 countries in the world. While International Women’s Day is largely symbolic, it is a day official Holiday in these countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.
International Women’s Day began in 1909 as a socialist movement
While the United Nations did not make it official until 1975 (dubbing it the Year of the Woman), International Women’s Day has its roots in 1909. It was started by the Socialist Party of America in the United States in response to the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, in which women protested their poor working conditions. The International Socialist Party met in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1910 to establish Women’s Day to honor women’s rights and strive for suffrage.
It was unanimously approved by more than 100 women from 17 countries. It was first celebrated by more than a million women and men on March 19, 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Participants attended marches and demanded women’s right to work, as well as an end to discrimination in the workplace.
Some countries celebrate International Women’s Day with protests
International Women’s Day was about protest, even if some countries didn’t do so today. It became a channel for women to protest World War I in 1913. Successful protests in Russia led to women gaining the right to vote in the country by 1917. If you want to protest for women’s rights, head to the official International Women’s Day website, where resources are provided for effective campaigning!
The theme for 2021 was “Choose to Challenge”.
International Women’s Day has a theme every year. According to the International Women’s Day campaign, 2021 is all about challenging norms: “A challenging world is a waking world. And from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose to challenge. How will you help shape a gender equal world? Celebrate women’s achievements. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.”
