Why is International Women's Day celebrated on March 8? Know importance, history

The International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year. This day is celebrated to acknowledge the economic, political, social and cultural achievements of women from all walks of life. The day is celebrated globally, highlighting the struggles and achievements of women. Women across the globe come together on this day to rally for gender parity and highlight the role of women in bringing out important changes.

Theme

The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is ‘Choose To Challenge’ and the hashtags to celebrate it are #ChooseToChallenge and #IWD2021. 

“A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day. From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge,” read an official statement.

History

International Women’s Day has been celebrated for over a century now. In the early 20th century, critical debate and great unrest were occurring amongst women. Women’s oppression and inequality compelled women to be more vocal and active in campaigning for change. 

It was around 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding better pay and voting rights amongst other things. In 1910, a woman called Clara Zetkin, who was the leader of the 'Women’s office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, tabled the idea of an International Women’s Day to press for women’s demands.

The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries accepted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and International Women's Day was observed for the first time in 1911.

In 1913, the date for International Women’s Day was changed to March 8 and it is celebrated on the same day every year.