International Women's Day, also called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year.
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. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily in Europe, including Russia.
In some regions, the day lost its political flavor, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. This is a day which some people celebrate by wearing purple ribbons.
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. This year’s theme, “Empowering Women - Empowering Humanity: Picture It!" envisions a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, getting an education, having an income, and living in societies free from violence and discrimination.
In 2015, International Women’s Day will highlight the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic roadmap signed by 189 governments 20 years ago that sets the agenda for realizing women’s rights. While there have been many achievements since then, many serious gaps remain. This is the time to uphold women’s achievements, recognize challenges, and focus greater attention on women’s rights and gender equality to mobilize all people to do their part.
International Women's Day is an occasion to take stock of progress made towards achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. Although progress has been made, we are still a long way from achieving gender equality worldwide. There is no single country in the world where women have achieved full equality and full enjoyment of their rights.
This alone should emphasize the need to keep a strong focus on gender equality and women's rights in the 2015 development agenda. Women have a vital contribution to make to the achievement of peaceful and sustainable societies. We need to ensure that they participate fully and enjoy equal rights in all domains.
UNESCO is working in all it areas of competence to promote gender equality and women's rights. Gender Equality has been one of our two global priorities since 2008 and will continue to be a priority for the organization. We use both gender mainstreaming and gender-specific programming to ensure that we promote gender equality and women's rights through all our activities.
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