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International Women's Day

In order to acknowledge achievements and contributions of women, a day has been earmarked. Every year, on March 8, International Women’s Day, or IWD is commemorated across the globe. On this very day, we express our gratitude towards women for all they did. There is hardly any area where women have not made their presence felt, be it politics, business, education, arts or defence forces, policymakers of various governments worldwide. Women’s day is the day reminds us of the various challenges that still prevent women from realizing their full potential and contribute heavily for the greater good of the governments of the day. Besides, this day is also the reminder of the transformation of women from no one to someone substantially figuring in almost every sector. Simply put, the International Women’s Day has been quite instrumental in creating awareness in women and promoting gender equality.

The Origin of World Female Day

The call for an exclusive World Female Day started a century ago. You might not be aware of the fact that Clara Zetkin, a renowned German activist mooted an idea of World Female Day at Copenhagen, Denmark on the occasion of International Conference of Working Women  back in 1910. She was a known socialist and feminist.  She had good reasons to believe that  together with their collective strength, they would influence social change. The first international official day came on March 19, 1911, in such places as Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. But the concept of World Female Day began even earlier, with the year 1908, when 15,000 women in New York City stormed the streets, demanding shorter working hours, better pay, and the right to vote.

Why Celebrate Women’s Contributions?

No one can deny the enormous contributions of women in contemporary world. There is hardly any area or sector, women still have to make noticeable contribution. Whether it is science, technology,  health, education, arts or politics the contribution of women are huge and omnipresent. The women like Marie Curie, Maya Angeloy, Indira Gandhi, Frida Kahlo along with several others rose to the occasion and proved to be the beacon of light for the women of their generation and beyond that. They are the ones who achieved great feats of success with their untiring and dedicated efforts and paved the way for future generations to achieve big in their chosen fields. Those women became the role model of the next generations. They taught women across the globe as to how to pursue their passions doggedly and achieve whatever they like in their life.

However, there are many gaps that need to be plugged. Women still face several issues, such as wage gaps, gender stereotypes, lower representation in positions of authority and to top them all they face violence.

Celebration of women does not only look into the recognition of their contributions that have occurred previously but also advocacy for continuous empowerment in any sector of society. Women contribute towards a greater degree of social integration, diversification, and fairness. A society that values and amplifies the voices and potential of women is one that benefits everyone, regardless of gender. Ensuring equal opportunities and dismantling discriminatory structures will pave the way for a more just and equitable future.

International Female Day: A Global View on Women's Accomplishments

While the formal name for the day is "International Women's Day," most people refer to it as "International Female Day" due to its non-gender-based principle. In today's world, where gender identity seems to be a consideration, International Female Day beckons recognition of such achievements not just among cisgender women but also from transgender women and non-binary personalities who face unique challenges in society.

Women around the world have achieved significant improvements in many things, such as political and business science. However, in numerous pockets, it is still one of the critical barriers to inequality. International Female Day calls for a day of reflection upon these inequalities but, at the same time, pays respect to women who have broken these barriers and set new standards to be followed by future generations.

Key issues that are highlighted on International Female Day include:

Equal Pay: Although women have the same access to education and employment, many industries still pay them a wage lower than that of men for the same job. The World Economic Forum calculates that if the current trend continues, the gender pay gap will be closed in more than 250 years. International Female Day is an annual reminder that the tendency should not continue. It is high time that wage differentiation was rectified and pay equated to the same quantity of work.

Access to Education: Millions of girls lack access to education in areas experiencing war, poverty, or traditional gender roles where girls are given lesser importance than boys across the world. International Female Day is a good time to demand policies for girls and women to have equal opportunities for education and to improve their living conditions everywhere.

Gender-Based Violence: The most prominent issue on the observance of International Female Day is gender-based violence. Domestic violence and human trafficking constitute the utmost violence against women through which they receive limited freedom and safety. IWD is a platform for activists and victims who advocate for better laws, supportive systems, and cultural changes for the protection of women and girls from harm.

Women's Health: This aspect includes reproductive rights and health issues being under women's control. They should have access to the fundamental aspects of their reproductive rights, including access to contraception, maternal health, and reproductive autonomy whether they want it or not. World Female Day advocates and raises public awareness concerning the limitation barriers to their health and calls for policies for policies that address them.

Political Representation: Women hold very few political offices globally despite constituting half of the human population. Therefore, it is upon IWD to enhance women's participation in making political decisions since that alone will make policies for women and girls.

Power of Women Leaders

The most inspiring aspect of International Female Day is the recognition of women leaders. From business leaders and heads of state to activists and artists, women are shaping the world more influentially.

Politics has further seen superb leadership qualities women can offer to governance. For example, a country like New Zealand is headed by Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the former president of Liberia, and Angela Merkel was the former chancellor of Germany. Such leaders have exhibited elements of empathy and pragmatism to maintain excellent governance while at the same time advocating policies that advance gender equality and other parts of social justice.

Breaking corporate glass ceilings is one of the main ways businesswomen like former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and General Motors CEO Mary Barra can be considered an inspiration to future generations of businesswomen as they break away from changing how companies run today. It involves sustainable growth, social responsibility, and good welfare of employees in such multibillion-dollar corporations.

They also significantly contributed to the arts and sciences. There's Marie Curie, the first woman Nobel laureate, and women like Dr. Katalin Karikó, who was pivotal in developing the mRNA vaccine.

Progress and innovation can hardly be talked of without women, at least based on this world. Female Day called for global solidarity.

The concept of a "World Female Day" might loosely be used synonymously with the term International Women's Day. Still, in fact, it stretches the sense of solidarity to go beyond borders. World Female Day invites a global reckoning on social, cultural, and economic inequality against women and calls for collective action to embrace such challenges.

Millions of women worldwide have started to mobilize together to dismantle systems and frameworks that favor gender inequalities. Whichever one of these is seen, whether grassroots mobilizations or international movements of advocacy, the force indeed is mounting with this universal pursuit of a better, equal world.

The battles for gender equality overlap with many other human rights advocacy, such as racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and economic fairness. For these women of color, Indigenous women, and women of marginalized communities, this means compounded experiences of discrimination. International Women's Day and World Female Day have a time to amplify them, such as women who are vanguards in fighting to bring justice and equality into every person's life.

Conclusion: The Future of International Women's Day

International Women's Day is about celebrating women's achievements and reminding us of what is still in store. Call it International Female Day or World Female Day, the call for equality between genders is universal.