Happy International Womens Day from Worldofceleb.com
Celebrated on March 8th, 2008
International
Women's Day is all about the celebration of being a woman. On
this occasion, reach out to all the women you admire and who
have achieved success in their own way.
It's a time to reflect on the obstacles and challenges that
women have fought to overcome, and to think about the work that
still needs to be done. Women gather for marches, rallies,
conferences and other events to acknowledge the gains that have
been made toward women's equality.
Around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) marks a
celebration of the economic, social, cultural and political
achievements for women.
According to Status of Women Canada, a federal government agency that
promotes gender equality, the first celebration was held on March 19,
1911. It is believed to originate from labour strikes that were waged by
female textile workers in 1857 and 1908 to protest poor working
conditions in New York City. Some also believe that a demonstration in
1909 held by the National Association of Socialist Women was a
contributing factor in establishing International Women's Day.
It's the story of ordinary women as makers of history 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.
International Women's Day has been celebrated for almost 90 years.
Inspired by an American commemoration of working women, the German
socialist Klara Zetkin organized International Women's Day (IWD) in
1911. On March 19, socialists from Germany, Austria, Denmark and other
European countries held strikes and marches. Russian revolutionary and
feminist Aleksandra Kollontai, who helped organize the event, described
it as "one seething trembling sea of women."
IWD was commemorated in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s,
but then dwindled. It was revived during the women's movement in the
1960s, but without its socialist associations. In 1975, the U.N. began
sponsoring International Women's Day.
