International women’s day (IWD) is originally known as International Working Women’s Day. This day is celebrated on March 8th every year. This day is of great importance because it is the day of a woman whoever she is; a mother, grandmother, wife, sister and daughter etc. The first international women’s day was observed in United States on 28 February 1909.
This day was begun as a socialist political event especially in Europe, Russia and eastern countries. International women’s day (IWD) is celebrated to highlight the rights of women in all spheres of life. The purpose of celebrating this day is the empowerment of women financially, socially and politically as well. The main objective of celebrating this day is to honor the women and also celebrate the women’s achievements throughout the history and across the world. The logo of international’s women day features the symbol of Venus which is also the symbol of being a female and this logo is in purple and white color.
International women’s day 2013 is celebrated with great fervor. In some countries there is a public holiday on 8th march to honor the women. In some countries, women rights are continuously being snubbed. They are continuously becoming the victim of domestic violence and rape. Some of women are given rights, but just at the lowest level. Gender discrimination is very common.
It is a common stereotype that women are just associated to household work and outside work only belongs to men. For this purpose, International women’s day 2013 has declared the year’s theme as the gender agenda: Gaining momentum. The main focus of celebrating international women’s year 2013 is to eliminate gender discrimination from the world. Women are equivalent to men and they should be given their due rights in all aspects of life. Gender equality is main focus of international women’s day 2013.
International women’s day 2013 is celebrated throughout the world both at large and small level. Different seminars and conferences are held in different areas to highlight the rights and role of women in the development of a nation. Various slogans and messages that promote the importance of women are publicized. The faces of women are also seen in various promotions, such as posters, booklets, pamphlet and postcards on this day. International women’s day 2013 is focusing on themes like innovation, importance of women education, career opportunities and the most important thing is the portrayal of women in media.
The theme of United Nation for international women’s day 2013 is “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women”. This year international’s women day aims at improving the existing miserable condition of women. The strict action will be taken against any violence that will be made against women. International women’s day 2013 has lost its political importance and has equivalent status of mother’s day and valentines’ day where children, husbands and lovers give presents to their mother, wives and girlfriends respectively. One must make everyday like international’s women day thinking globally about the rights of women.