I’ve never questioned the history of international women’s day (IWD) until I mentioned it to my (Russian) good friend. She said in Russia it’s a big thing, lots of celebrations with gifts of flowers and jewellery!
It’s a public holiday in many countries though sadly not in the UK! (i’m booking 8th March off next year)
Hmmmmm…….not sure my husband is going to buy into this….he annoying rolls his eyes at anything remotely related to ‘feminism”. Not that i call myself a feminist….I believe in equality.
Don’t tell the men but there is an international mens day too on 19th November…. but we’ll keep that quiet ha ha. Joking aside I think it should be equal and we should celebrate each other.
The theme this year is for positive role models which is a great theme 🙂
Objectives of International Men’s Day include a focus on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models. It is an occasion for men to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular their contributions to community, family, marriage, and child care while highlighting the discrimination against them.
http://www.internationalmensday.com
Any way….back to us ladies……
“International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.”
http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/history.shtml
This video explains the history of IWD.
1909 The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on 28 February.
1917 Against the backdrop of the war, women in Russia again chose to protest and strike for “Bread and Peace” on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar). Four days later, the Czar abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.
1975 During International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March.
Celebrate Every Day
Today I celebrate myself, all women, the ones without a voice, the ones that will never experience equality, the women fighting for equality, all the women in my community and the women I admire.
Mothers, daughters and sisters.
BUT I also celebrate all HUMAN BEINGS….we ALL deserve to be treated equally, with love and respect.
Let’s do this EVERY DAY…..not just on a designated day…….EVERY.DAMN.DAY……celebrate, support, encourage humanity.
