International Women's Day

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On International Women’s Day we salute the women throughout history who have stood up against injustice in our society and those women who continue to fight for change and a better future.

Introduction

International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

Origin

International Women's Day (March 8) was initially inspired by a New York City demonstration on March 8th, 1857, of women garment and textile workers who were protesting low wages, the twelve-hour workday, and uncompensated increased workloads. Although their march was brutally broken up by the police, they repeated their call for improved working conditions and equal pay for all working women as they formed their own union in March 1860. A subsequent demonstration of thousands of women workers in the "needle trades" on March 8, 1908, called for child-labor protection legislation and women's suffrage in addition to their long-standing demands

First International Women's Day

 The first IWD was held on March 19, 1911 in Germany, Austria, Denmark and some other European countries. This date was chosen by German women because, on that date in 1848, the Prussian king, faced with an armed uprising, had promised many reforms, including an unfulfilled one of votes for women. A million leaflets calling for action on the right to vote were distributed throughout Germany before IWD in 1911.

Celebrate Woman's Day

 March 8, 2010 will mark 100 years of International Women’s Day. Around the world people will celebrate the contributions of women in the movements to end inequality and exploitation, to insist on the complete liberation of women and to look forward to the day when oppression of all kinds has become a thing of the past.

Long Live International Women’s Day

Author: Rosalind Vincent | Published Mar 08, 2010 | 11:38 AM