African Center for Gender and Development

Celebrated by the United Nations since 1975, the International Women's Day (IWD) is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to gain their rights and to participate in society on an equal footing with men.

It is also a time to take stock of what has been achieved, to commend courageous acts and stands of ordinary women, and to reflect on persistent forms of injustice, pending inequalities and potential threats to women's rights as a whole.

The idea of such a day first arose at the turn of the 20th century when in 1910, the Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established an international Women's Day, without selecting a special date for the observance. Its aim was to honour the mouvement for women's rights and to assist in advocating for universal suffrage for women.

As the mouvement for women's rights gathered momentum in Europe and in the United States, and after the First World War, Russian Women chose Sunday 23 February 1917- on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia- to go on strike for "bread and peace". That historic day fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere.

Since then, IWD has assumed a global dimension for women all over the world, and the United Nation's sustained action for the advancement of women has increasingly made of the commemoration of such a day an opportunity to mobilize efforts for furthering women's rights, and to demand to put an end to intolerable practices against women, namely violence.





Saturday 8 march 2003 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY HISTORY BEARS WITNESS Celebrated by the United Nations since 1975, the International Women's Day (IWD) is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to gain their rights and to participate in society on an equal footing with men. It is also a time to take stock of what has been achieved, to commend courageous acts and stands of ordinary women, and to reflect on persistent forms of injustice, pending inequalities and potential threats to women's rights as a whole. The idea of such a day first arose at the turn of the 20th century when in 1910, the Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established an international Women's Day, without selecting a special date for the observance. Its aim was to honour the mouvement for women's rights and to assist in advocating for universal suffrage for women. As the mouvement for women's rights gathered momentum in Europe and in the United States, and after the First World War, Russian Women chose Sunday 23 February 1917- on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia- to go on strike for "bread and peace". That historic day fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere. Since then, IWD has assumed a global dimension for women all over the world, and the United Nation's sustained action for the advancement of women has increasingly made of the commemoration of such a day an opportunity to mobilize efforts for furthering women's rights, and to demand to put an end to intolerable practices against women, namely violence.