- Article by
Mrs. Nathalia DCunha
Lecturer
Father Muller School of Nursing
“A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her.”
The one of the most important creations of nature is human kind. Nature further gave humankind the gift to produce among them & thus it created women. However even after being the finest gift of nature, women struggled constantly for their existence. The society being patriarchal made it very difficult for women to live life that they call their own, one in which they have their own say & can decide for themselves. However over the course of time, many strong women emerged who have raised their voice against patriarchy & thus made a mark in history.
In order to celebrate such women, International Women’s Day was thought to celebrate every year on March 8th. It is the global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural & political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
International women’s Day grew out of the labor movement in United States, recognized by an annual event. The seeds of it were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women in New York went on strike, because of low pay & trouble conditions in the factories, where they worked. The following years, the socialistic party of America organized a National women’s day & one year after that there was a conference in Copenhagen at Denmark about equality & women’s right to vote.
In 1909 in accordance with a declaration by the socialistic party of America, the first National Women’s day was observed across the United States on 20th February. Women continued to celebrate it on February until 1913. In 1910 2nd International Conference of women was held in Denmark. A woman named Clara Zetkin tabled the idea of an International women’s day & she proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on that same day- a women’s day- to press for their demands.
Following the decisions agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International women’s day was honored for the first time in Austria, Denmark, and Germany & Swizerland on 19th March. During 1913-1914 on the view of world war, a Russian women who was campaigning for peace, observed their International women’s day on last Sunday of February 1913. Following many discussions, International women’s day was transferred to 8thMarch & this day was remained as the global date for International women’s day ever since
In 1917 Russian women began a strike for bread & peace in response to death of over 2 million Russian soldiers in First World War. During this time provisional government granted women, the right to vote. The day was first celebrated by the United States in 1975 which commences the adoptions of an annual theme in 1996 which was celebrating the past, planning for the future. This theme followed in 1997, with women at the peace table & in 1998 with women & human rights & in 1999 with “world free of violence against women”& so on over each year until the current. It also known as the United Nations “Day for Women’s Rights & International peace.
The International women’s day.com platform was launched in 2001, with the specific purpose of re-energizing the day –celebrating & making visible, the achievements of women, while continuing the call for celebrating gender parity. The website which provides useful guidance & resources, adopts an annual campaign theme that is globally relevant for groups & organizations. During this time International women’s day observed the celebration of 100 years.
United Nations president Barak Obama proclaimed that “March 2011 to be the women’s History Month, by reflecting on the extraordinary accomplishments of Women” in shaping the country’s history. The secretary of their states Hillary Clinton launched the 100 women initiative for empowering women & girls, through international exchanges.
In 2020 & beyond the World war, witnessed a significant changes & additional shift in both women & society’s thoughts about women’s equality & emancipation.
A woman is described as a full circle, within her is the power to create nuture & transform. Understanding women is mystry & it needs lots of preservences & knowledge. . A woman is the epitomes of love, sacrifice, care & ability to nuture life. A theme was set right for International women’s day is “Challenge To Choose “which highlights the importance of challenging biases & misconceptions in the interest of creating a more inclusive & gender-equal world. A challenged world is an alert world & from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose challenge. The United Nations has also formed a theme on this day as “Women in leadership, achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 World. The theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women & girls around the world in shaping a more equal future & recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Across the world, less than 15 % of the countries ofthe world has a female leader. Only 24% are of senior managers & 25% of the companies have no female senior manager at all. Women do the lowest paid jobs & earn less money for the same work. This difference is called “gender pay gap”& for young women in many places including Britain & America, the gap is getting worse & when it comes to the health care & safety, women also face significant inequalities. Number of women dies in a day, by child birth & murder by their partners & families. When they access to health education & care, women are also more likely to be ignored by doctors.
International women’s day events are held worldwide on March 8th. Various women including politics, community, & business leaders as well as leading educators, investors, entrepreneurs & television personalities are usually invited to speak on various events of the day. Such events include seminars, conferences, dinners & breakfasts. The messages given at these events often focus on various themes such as innovation, the portrayal of women is made or importance of education & carrier opportunities are also considered as the most.
Many students in schools & other educational settings, participates in special lessons, debates or presentations about the importance of women in society, their influence & issues that affect them. In some countries school children bring gifts to their female teachers & women receive small presents from their friends or family members. Many work places make a special mention about International women’s day through internal news letters or notices or by handling out promotional material focusing on the day.
The importance of women’s day is to honor the life, grit & determination & achievements of women throughout history & all across the globe. The relevance of the women’s day celebration is to appreciate & give respect to all women who are the essence of our lives. Legislations are made, so that women get equal opportunities.
The ability to nurture life makes women the most powerful & strongest being. She can play different roles as a beloved wife, an obedient daughter, caring mother or as ordering sister. Women now become more empowered & aware of their rights & society is changing & paving the way for the growth of women. The changes can be seen in the field of education, health care, equality & job opportunities. The new decade has seen marked changes in attitudes towards women at large. Women have made strides in every field like politics & space exploration.
As the globe is celebrating International women’s day on March 8th, internationally, purple color symbolizes the women’s day that campaign for women’s right to vote. Historically the combination of purple, green & white to symbolize women’s equality, purple signifies justice & dignity & green embraces hope & white denotes purity.
Since independence the country has come a long way in empowering women & promoting a platform for them to have louder voice in society. More over society is better when women are given equal respect. Government has given equal opportunities at work & is allowed to stand among & at times ahead of men in many fields. Women today had begun to realize their strengths & abilities & to set out from their house contributing to the success of their house & entire society.