International Women's Day 2024: Theme, History & Importance

March 8th marks the annual celebration of 'International Women's Day.' This day is celebrated to empower women globally. Celebrating this day started in the year 1909.

• A global event is organized on this occasion. The day celebrates women's achievements, struggles and the ongoing fight for gender equality.

Theme of International Women's Day 2024:

• This year 2024, the theme of the International Women's Day celebration focuses on 'Invest in Women: Accelerating Progress'. 
• The theme of International Women's Day 2023 was 'Embrace Equity'. This means paying attention to gender equality.
• The theme of International Women's Day 2022 was 'Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow'. This theme refers to gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.
• Currently women in the world are facing many crises. These range from geopolitical conflicts to rising levels of poverty and the growing effects of climate change. Only solutions that empower women can effectively address these challenges. By investing in women, we can make a difference. It can accelerate change towards a healthier, safer and more equal world for all.

International Women's Day 2024 Campaign:

• Whereas, the theme of the campaign for International Women's Day 2024 has been fixed as 'Inspire Inclusion'. The campaign aims to inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion.

History of International Women's Day:

• The history of organizing this day started with the labor movement in America in 1908. About 15 thousand women participated in this labor movement. These women demonstrated on the streets of New York to demand their rights.
• The demand of these working women was that their working hours should be reduced and the pay scale should be increased.
• Additionally, within this movement, there was a call for granting women the right to vote.
• The voice of these women's movements reached the American government. In 1909, the Socialist Party of America announced March 8 as Women's Day.
• The main reason for celebrating Women's Day on March 8 was that women in America took out a march on this day to protest for their rights.
• In 1917, during World War I, Russian women went on a bread and butter strike. Emperor Nicholas later abdicated his position and women gained the right to vote. Encouraged by this, women of Europe also took out rallies a few days later on March 8, supporting peace activists. Hence, the tradition of observing International Women's Day began on March 8th. Whereas in the year 1975, the United Nations recognized International Women's Day.

Importance of International Women's Day:

• Presently women are progressing in every field of the world. Despite this significant progress, gender inequality remains a serious issue around the world.
• Yet women face challenges in areas such as equal pay, education and health, and representation in leadership positions.
• The day serves as an important reminder that the fight for gender equality is far from over. Therefore, International Women's Day has been partially successful in achieving its objective.