Hyderabad: To celebrate social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, every year March 8 is celebrated as the International Women’s Day.
According to its official website, “a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality”.
Why do we celebrate International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day began in the 1900s and has been celebrated for over a century now. While many people think that the day is celebrated as a feminist cause, but its roots lie in the labour movement.
During 1908 there was an ongoing critical debate amongst women regarding their oppression and inequality which led to the campaign for change. It started to become more vocal when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pays as well as voting rights.
In 1909, the first Women’s Day was observed across United States. In 1910, International conference of working women was held in Copenhagen by Clara Zetkin, a leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany. The conference comprised 100 women from 17 countries, with unions, socialist parties, working women’s clubs and female legislators unanimously approving the suggestion.
In 1911, the day was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. Later, in 1913, it was decided that March 8 can the globally accepted day to celebrate Interntaional Women’s Day and it continues to be celebrated as such every year.
Signifance
It is a day to spread awareness among the people regarding women’s rights and gender equality and also, to encourage the women out there that no obstacle can stop them from accomplishing their dream.
Women’s Day 2021 theme
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. It indicates that a “challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change”. It is all about celebrating a woman’s success and raising awareness against bias. So we all should choose to ‘challenge’ to bring the change.
What are the three colors of this day?
Purple, green, and white are the colors of International Women’s Day. Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolizes hope and white represents purity. These colors are originated from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908.
We sing praise for all the strong women out their and laud every woman for their achievements in the personal and professional space. Happy Women’s Day!