Women's Day – What happened on March 8, 1857 and why we celebrate

Today is dedicated to all the women of the world and there is a very serious reason for that.

So, today we may have our due, but beyond the flowers and gifts we must not forget the essence of the matter, namely the sacrifices and achievements that women from all over the world have made for over a century.

Besides these, for the last 15 years, the aim of the Day is to remind us that women should have equal rights with men, in all areas.

What happened on March 8, 1857

March 8th was established as Women's Day in commemoration of a large protest event held on March 8th, 1857 by textile workers in New York who were demonstrating for better working conditions. It was one of the first movements to claim rights by women.

International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time in 1909 at the initiative of the Socialist Party USA and in 1911 it was also adopted by the Socialist International.

In Russia after the October Revolution, Lenin was persuaded by the feminist Alexandra Kolodai and established March 8 as an official holiday in the country, but soon the political background of the holiday faded and now women's day is celebrated around the world as an expression of love and appreciation for the fairer sex.

Since 1975, Women's Day has been held under the auspices of the UN to highlight women's rights around the world.

 Why was it instituted?

When this day was first established, women from various states demanded to have the right to vote, which the women of the British colony of New Zealand first officially obtained in 1893.

However, it took almost a century for women in Saudi Arabia to gain this right, as last year they were given public office and equal work rights with men.

Today, there is more room for change

Today, when only 1/5 of the parliamentary seats are occupied by women and there are only 19 female heads of state (out of approximately 196 nominations), it becomes clear that many things can still change.

It should be noted that the number of female cabinet members has tripled between 1994 and 2014, but remains at low levels compared to the male gender. According to research by the Independent, in about 118 years the wage gap between women will be completely closed, while today of the 500 richest people in the world, only 55 are women.

The World Economic Forum points out that the global female workforce has grown by 1 billion in the past ten years, but a large proportion have the same privileges as men in 2006.