International Women’s Day being observed

ISLAMABAD: International Women’s Day (IWD) is observed globally including Pakistan on Friday to honor achievements of women in various fields of life and renewed commitment to empower them, ARY News reported.

This year’s theme of the Day is “Think equal, build smart, and innovate for change”.

Various ceremonies are scheduled to be held countrywide to highlight the importance of the day and create awareness to overcome bias against women.

There is a public holiday today in Russia, China, Vietnam and Bulgaria, where the women are considered as symbol of ‘struggle’.

History of Int’l Women’s Day

In New York in 1910, a protest demonstration was organized by the garment factory women workers for increase in their wage and decrease in working hours. The participants of the protest were brutally tortured by the policemen.

In August 1910, an International Socialist Women’s Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was attended by women hailing from more than 17 countries.

The conference decided to celebrate the day as Women’s Day to highlight their struggle, the later the United Nations (UN) announced to celebrate the day as the International Women’s Day.