INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Today we celebrate an important day. March 8th is a day to remember that half the world population has not the same rights as the other half. Here is a text telling the origin of this day we have prepared for our Bachillerato students.

"International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women for their economic, political and social achievements. An example of an effective Women's Day was the 1975 Icelandic women's strike which paved the way for the first female president in the world, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.

In some regions, the day has lost its political flavor and became simply an occasion for people to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. Some people celebrate the day by wearing purple ribbons.

How did it start? It’s difficult to say exactly when IWD began. Its roots can be traced to 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding voting rights, better pay and shorter working hours. A year later, the first National Woman’s Day was observed in the US on February 28, in accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America.

In 1910, a woman called Clara Zetkin – leader of the ‘women’s office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany – suggested the idea of an International Women’s Day. This way every country should celebrate women on one day every year to push for their demands. Later on, a conference of more than 100 women from 17 countries agreed to her proposal and IWD was formed. In 1911, it was celebrated for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19.

In 1913, it was decided to transfer IWD to March 8, and it has been celebrated on that day ever since. Declared a national holiday in the Soviet Union in 1917, it spread to other nearby countries. The day was only recognised by the United Nations in 1975, but ever since it has created a theme each year for the celebration. It is now celebrated in many Eastern countries.

Not always peaceful demonstrations… However, in some countries celebrating this day means trouble. For example, International Women's Day sparked violence in Tehran, Iran on March 4, 2007, when police beat hundreds of men and women who were planning a demonstration. Police arrested dozens of women and some were released after several days of solitary confinement and interrogation. Shadi Sadr, Mahbubeh Abbasgholizadeh and several more community activists were released on March 19, 2007, ending a fifteen-day hunger strike."