Representational image of women protesters at the Singhu border. Image courtesy: Kisan Ekta Morcha

International Women’s Day is observed in 8 March every year, with the annual event being recognised by the United Nations (UN).

International Women’s Day grew out of a labour movement, with the day first being celebrated over a century ago, in 1911 by well-known Marxist Clara Zetkin. Zetkin, a teacher by profession, was associated with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and was one of the leading champions of both the labour as well as the women’s movement.

In 1910, Zetkin proposed at a conference that Women’s Day be celebrated in every country on 28 February. At the international conference which was attended by several women representatives from different countries, the suggestion got widespread appreciation. From the next year, people across the world started celebrating women’s day.

It was in 1913 that the celebration day was pushed back to 8 March.

International Women’s Day 2021: Theme

According to the official site of IWD, this year’s theme is #ChooseToChallenge. “A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose to challenge,” says the synopsis on the website. People can celebrate women’s achievements and increase visibility, while calling out inequality on this day.

International Women’s Day 2021: Celebration and Significance

The website stated that collective action and shared ownership is needed for driving gender parity to make IWD 2021 a success. Every person needs to realise the potential of letting women flourish without obstructions and provide them with a gender-equal society.

This year, many virtual events are going to happen to mark the day. Apart from them, IWD is a national holiday in several countries, reported BBC. Nations like China also give half days to women today and the event is celebrated by giving mimosa blossoms in Italy.