Importance of Women’s day 8-March

History of Women’s Day

International Women’s Day was first officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977.

However, one of the first calls for women’s rights dates back to as early as 1848 when in an anti-slavery convention, Americans Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott gathered hundreds of people in what is said to be first women’s rights convention in the US.

The first time Women’s Day was celebrated was in the United States on February 28, 1909. This day honoured the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions.

Years later, in 1917 women in Russia chose to protest and strike for «bread and peace» on the last Sunday of February, which was 23 February; this date was March 8 as per Gregorian calendar. Before the revolution Russia had not adopted the Gregorian calendar therefore in 1917, 23 February in Russia corresponded to 8 March in the other European countries.

This is how the idea of Women’s Day to be celebrated on March 8 was thought of.

1975 was observed as the International Women’s Year and since then March 8 is being celebrated as International Women’s Day.

In India, national women’s day is observed on February 13 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu, who was a pioneer in advocating for women’s rights. A political leader and a poet as well, Sarojini Naidu was called as the Nightingale of India