International Women’s Day 2016 – A Day for All Women

International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year. The day is also named as International Working Women’s Day and is often abbreviated as IWD. It is a day dedicated to cheer and cherish the success of womanhood. It is marked as a day to celebrate the contributions made by the women in the fields as varied and as diverse as science and technology, management, psychology, etc.

History

International women’s day was started from the activities of labor movements in North America and across Europe. The United Nations first celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8th March 1975 and two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly made a special move by adopting a resolution and proclaim a United Nations’ Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace and demanded that the same may be celebrated on any day of the year by the Member States as per their historical and national traditions.

Different parts of the world observed Women’s Day on various days, for example, Americans continued to celebrate the day on the last Sunday of February while Russian women observed their first International Women’s Day on the last Saturday of February (as per the Julian calendar which Russia used to follow at that time).

Since several years, the United Nations have been celebrating International Women’s Day by following an official theme each year that acknowledges the success of womanhood, honors the contributions made by women in different fields, and plans for a better society.

International Women’s Day at Present

It started as a socialist political event which took its present form after facing several types of strikes, marches, etc. all over the world. The day has lost its political taste in some regions and is celebrated by everyone as an occasion to mark respect and express love to the sacrifices made and the selfless love showered by the women in their lives.

Over the past several years, women have tremendously achieved success in the economic, social, and political fields. Since then, International Women’s Day has reached a new level and has attained a new global dimension for women in both developed and developing countries.

People around the world acknowledge and honor this success by celebrating International Women’s Day with great enthusiasm. Women are gifted with flowers, chocolates, gifts, etc. by their loved ones. The government and various organizations support International Women’s Day and many events are held by various women’s groups.

International Women’s 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 country and communities.