History of International Womens Day Introduction International Womens Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women. In 1975, during International Womens Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Womens Day on 8 March. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Womens Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. In adopting its resolution, the General Assembly recognized the role of women in peace efforts and development and urged an end to discrimination and an increase of support for womens full and equal participation. History International Womens Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. 1909: The first National Womans Day was observed in the United States on 28 February. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions. 1910: The Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Womens Day, international in character, to honour the movement for womens rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, which included the first three women elected to the Finnish Parliament. No fixed date was selected for the observance. 1911: As a result of the Copenhagen initiative, International Womens Day was marked for the first time (19 March) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than one million women and men attended rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded womens rights to work, to vocational training and to an end to discrimination on the job. 1913-1914: International Womens Day also became a mechanism for protesting World War I. As part of the peace movement, Russian women observed their first International Womens Day on the last Sunday in February. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with other activists. 1917: Against the backdrop of the war, women in Russia again chose to protest and strike for Bread and Peace on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar). Four days later, the Czar abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. Since those early years, International Womens Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international womens movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations womens conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for womens rights and participation in the political and economic arenas. Increasingly, International Womens Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. The United Nations and Gender Equality The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide. Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UNs efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe. Happy women day to you all out there and most specially to all women who are subjects to subordination.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 07:35:50 +0000
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