View source for International Women's Day

[[File:1960 CPA 2405.jpg|right|thumb|USSR postage stamp, 50th anniversary of International Women's Day, March, 8; 1960]]

'''[[w:International Women's Day|International Women's Day]]''' ('''IWD'''), originally called '''International Working Women’s Day''', is marked on '''[[March 8]]''' every year. It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.

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==Quotes==
*Women in [[Egypt]] and [[Tunisia]] and other nations have just as much right as the men to remake their governments, to make them responsive, accountable, transparent. We will certainly be watching and the world will watch.
**[[Hillary Clinton]], [http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Clinton-Launches-100th-Anniversary-of-International-Womens-Day-117556638.html on the  100th Anniversary of International Women's Day]. (6 March 2011).
**[https://archive.is/20130628205244/www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20040717-503544.html CBS News].

* On March 6, 1979, [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Khomeini]] declared that women working in [[government]] offices must wear the veil; “naked women” could not work in Islamic ministries. Two days later, for International Women’s Day, tens of thousands of women spontaneously came out and marched on the streets of [[Tehran]] chanting “In the dawn of freedom, there is an absence of freedom.” Some women were bareheaded, others veiled, including some in full [[w:Chador|chador]], the all-enveloping black cloak that was worn only by the most pious and [[Conservatism|conservative]]. There were men, too, including some who formed a protective cordon around the women as they came under attack. Feminists from around the world flocked to the protests, including the American activist [[w:Kate_Millett|Kate Millett]], the author of ''Sexual Politics''. Soon as many as a hundred thousand women were on the streets. For six days, they protested the assault on their personal freedom. Rarely—if ever—had women organized so quickly and spontaneously after a [[Iranian Revolution|revolution]]. But [[Iranians|Iranian]] women in [[Iran]] had gained many [[Women's rights in Iran|rights]] under [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|the shah]], including the [[Voting|right to vote]], to run for office (in 1963), and to wear whatever they wanted. In an effort at modernization, [[Reza Shah|the shah’s father]] (the first [[Imperial State of Iran|Pahlavi]] to rule) had briefly tried to ban the veil altogether in 1935, but that forced conservative families to keep their daughters at home for modesty. The move was quickly reversed. What Iranian women wanted was the choice: to veil or not to veil.
** [[w:Kim Ghattas|Kim Ghattas]], ''Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East'' (2020)

*Equal rights are advanced when girls can avoid child marriage and enjoy equal access to education, both men and women can plan their families, and pregnant women no longer fear losing their jobs.
**[[w:Babatunde Osotimehin|Babatunde Osotimehin]], [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/08/AR2011030800005.html Statement on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day]. (8 March 2011).

*Rights groups worldwide celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD)...as they commemorate women’s achievements and call for equality. But for an event championed by international nongovernmental organizations and major global corporations, it may surprise some that IWD was born out of the [[w:History of the socialist movement in the United States|U.S. socialist movement in the early 20th century]].  In 1909 the [[w:Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party of America]] organized a [[New York City]] march commemorating a garment workers’ strike the previous year. The party called it National Women’s Day, and women organized by the group demonstrated for better pay and working conditions as well as the right to vote...  The Socialist Party continued to hold Women’s Day celebrations on the last Sunday of February for the next few years, and newspapers from the era mentioned International Women’s Day on Feb. 27, 1910 — when thousands of women organized by the socialist movement gathered at Carnegie Hall...   [[Europe|European]] women, meanwhile, were championing similar ideals... IWD, consequently, was celebrated for the first time in [[Austria]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]] and [[Switzerland]] on March 19, 1911. Women in these countries demanded the right to vote, to hold public office and the [[Women in the workforce|right to work]]... 
**[http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/7/socialist-history-of-international-womens-day.html The socialist roots of International Women’s Day, by Marisa Taylor, ''Aljazeera America''], (8 March 2015)

*[[Russians|Russian]] women began celebrating IWD in 1913... After the [[Russian Revolution]], the day was declared a holiday in the [[Soviet Union]]. From there, it was primarily celebrated in [[Communism|communist]] countries such as [[China]]. On the heels of the U.S. civil rights movement.. and as leaders such as [[Gloria Steinem]] fought sex discrimination in the 1960s and ’70s, the [[United Nations]] declared 1975 as International Women’s Year.  In 1977 the U.N. officially marked IWD by inviting member countries to celebrate women’s rights and world peace on March 8. Today, IWD has corporate sponsors... But as the website points out, millennial women have lived in a time in which there are so many advances for women that they may think the battles fought by their [[Second-wave feminism|second-wave feminist]] sisters have already been won.   “The unfortunate fact,” it reads, “is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.”
**[http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/7/socialist-history-of-international-womens-day.html The socialist roots of International Women’s Day, by Marisa Taylor, ''Aljazeera America''], (8 March 2015)

*Women of the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence; a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all. To get us there, the world needs women at every table where decisions are being made.  This year, the theme for International Women’s Day (8 March), “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]] world,” celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] and highlights the gaps that remain.  Women’s full and effective participation and leadership in of all areas of life drives progress for everyone. Yet, women are still underrepresented in public life and decision-making, as revealed in [[António Guterres|the UN Secretary-General]]’s recent report. Women are Heads of State or Government in 22 countries, and only 24.9 per cent of national parliamentarians are women. At the current rate of progress, gender equality among Heads of Government will take another 130 years.
**[https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/international-womens-day International Women’s Day 2021, ''UN Women,''] (8 March 2021)

* No organisation should be allowed to question or ridicule Islamic values, norms of society, hijab or the modesty of Muslim women at the Aurat March or any other event held in connection with International Women’s Day as these acts hurt the sentiments of Muslims in the country.…
**Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri , [https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/pakistan-religious-affairs-minister-appeals-to-imran-khan-to-declare-women-s-day-as-international-hijab-day/ar-AAU8YYj?ocid=winp1taskbar  “Pakistan: Religious Affairs Minister appeals to Imran Khan to declare Women’s Day as International Hijab Day,” ANI, February 21, 2022]

==Why I March quotes==
*So that our daughters will know their bodies are their own. So our sons embody gentle strength. So they can dismiss both labels #WhyIMarch
**Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) January 21, 2017 <ref>https://mashable.com/2017/01/21/celebrities-womens-march-on-washington/</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
* [[Ecofeminism]]
* [[Feminism]]
* [[Gender bias on Wikipedia]]
* [[Human rights]]
* [[Patriarchy]]
* [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]
* [[Women]]

==External links==
{{wikinews|Category:International Women's Day}}
*{{commonscat-inline|International Women's Day}}
*{{wikipedia-inline|International Women's Day}}
*{{wikisource-inline|Portal:International Women's Day}}
*[http://www.international-mens-day.com/IWD_IMD.php Origins and Evolution: Perspectives of Two International Days]
*[https://www.mangobaaz.com/after-khana-khud-garam-karlo-this-poster-from-the-aurat-march-is-causing-a-massive-meltdown A list (1) of quotations opposing [[w:en:Aurat March]] ] (the feminist march on International women's day in Pakistan.
*[https://www.mangobaaz.com/pakistani-women-participated-in-the-iconic-aurat-march-and-our-desi-ghairat-brigade-just-cant-handle-it A list (2) of quotations opposing [[w:en:Aurat March]] ] (the feminist march on International women's day in Pakistan.
* [https://www.mangobaaz.com/41-of-the-most-powerful-posters-from-aurat-march-that-you-absolutely-have-to-see A list of quotations  of participants of [[w:en:Aurat March]] ] (the feminist march on International women's day in Pakistan.

[[Category:Feminism]]
[[Category:Holidays and observances]]
[[Category:Women|+]]
[[Category:Women's rights]]