Source: mapsofindia.com
International Women’s Day is globally celebrated on March 8. It marks the world’s support towards gender equality and celebrates the economic, cultural and political achievements of women. International Women’s Day is being celebrated for over a century and its recognition continues to grow.
In the Western countries, International Women’s Day was first observed as a popular event after 1977, when the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and peace. But women belonging to Eastern European origins in North America were celebrating International Women’s Day decades earlier than that. Some Western countries marked the date to recognize women’s contributions to the World War II and their combined efforts to defeat Fascism.
In 1909, the United States of America celebrated the first National Woman’s Day on February 28. Chicago celebrated the first Women’s Day on 3 May, in 1909, and New York observed the first Women’s Day on 28 February. On March 8, 1911, the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in different countries. There was although no specific reason for celebrating the day on March 8, but was chosen so for being a Sunday. Since then it is internationally being celebrated on March 8.
No one government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic institution, women’s network or media hub is solely responsible for International Women’s Day. Many organizations declare an annual International women day theme that supports their specific agenda or cause, and some of these are adopted more widely with relevance than others. The day is observed at the United Nations with a specific theme each year.
The International Women’s Day theme for 2016 was “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, in his message issued on the eve of International Women’s Day said: “On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I extend warm greetings and good wishes to the women of India and thank them for their contributions over the years in the building of our nation”
The ministry of women and child development announced the setting up of four more one-stop crisis centers on March 8, in addition to the eight already functioning across the country. Ahead of Women’s Day, the national carrier Air India operated what it claimed to be the world’s longest non-stop flight where the entire flight operations were handled by women, as part of International Women’s Day celebrations. The flight, from Delhi to San Francisco, covered a distance of around 14,500 kilometers in around 17 hours.