- By Mallika Mehzabeen
- Tue, 08 Mar 2022 01:10 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran Lifestyle Desk: International Women's Day is being celebrated today on March 8 across the globe. The day aims to highlight the achievements made by women in different areas. The day also aims to create awareness about gender discrimination in society. According to the website of International Women's Day, purple, green, and white are the colours of IWD.
On this International Women's Day, women across the globe will celebrate and bring rejoice in the social, cultural, economic, and political achievements made by them. To mark the occasion, several rallies, discussions, and public programmes are organised, where women from different parts of the country will take part.
History of International Women's Day :
As we all know that International Women's Day carries a lot of importance in the modern era. However, did you know that the day has been observed since the early 1900s.
Back in 1908, a total of 15,000 women initiated a march through the New York city US in order to demand good pay, shorter work hours, and voting rights. For the first time, National Women's day across the United States was observed on February 28. The day was celebrated on the last Sunday of February until 1913.
Now, in 1911, countries like Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland were honoured with International Women's Day on March 19.
Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on February 23, which is also the eve of World War 1 and the last Sunday in February.
Soon after that, as per the Gregorian calendar, International Women's Day was agreed to be marked annually on March 8. Since then, the day has been celebrated with great zeal across the globe.
The United Nations celebrated the first International Women's Day in 1975. In 1996, the UN announced their first annual theme as "Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future".
"A lot has been said about equality, and then a lot more about equality for women. Our history, across races, has been peppered with conflicts of people trying to achieve equality as a pinnacle of proof to define evolution of human beings. And yet, after fighting wars, staging protests, etc. for equality in general we find ourselves at this juncture every year where we need to remind ourselves and those around us that all women deserve (and have a right too) equality," said Preeti Shah, Storyteller and Podcaster.
"The biases that operate against women are real and they reside in the minds of both men and women alike. Think about any mundane everyday scenario and place a man in it... does it get uncomfortable? Or perhaps refreshing? Or something else? If the thought evokes surprise (and I am sure it will) then we are a long way off from achieving a level playing field for both genders. Breaking the bias is not a text forward. It is a process that we need to practise every day," she added.
International Women's Day 2022 theme
The theme of International Women's Day 2022 is "Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow".
"The year 2022 is pivotal for achieving gender equality in the context of climate change and environmental and disaster risk reduction, which are some of the greatest global challenges of the twenty-first century. Without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future remains beyond our reach," UN Women's website says.
"This year’s IWD observance is in recognition and celebration of the women and girls who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation and response, and to honour their leadership and contribution towards a sustainable future," it added.
Ketika Kapoor, Co Founder, ProEves, said: "In line with the IWD 2022 Break the Bias theme, my advice to working women and mothers would be, to never give up, we as women are very critical of ourselves and our achievements. It’s important we don’t apply this self-limiting bias to ourselves and pat ourselves every day for things we have done and plan to do."
