By REGINA GARCIA CANO (Associated Press)
In demonstrations on International Women’s Day on Friday, women worldwide will demand equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice, decision-making jobs, and other important needs.
Formally acknowledged by the United Nations in 1977, various places around the world commemorate International Women’s Day in different ways. Protests are often political and can sometimes be violent, stemming from women's efforts to improve their rights as workers.
Demonstrations are set to take place from Tokyo to Mexico City, with this year’s global theme being “Inspire Inclusion.”
Here's what you should know about the global event on March 8:
International Women’s Day is a global celebration and call to action marked by demonstrations, mainly featuring women, across the world, ranging from confrontational protests to charity runs. Some celebrate women's economic, social, and political accomplishments, while others urge governments to ensure equal pay, access to healthcare, justice for victims of gender-based violence, and education for girls.
It is an official holiday in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine, Russia, and Cuba, the only one in the Americas.
As in other areas of life, social media plays a significant role during International Women’s Day, particularly by drawing attention to demonstrations held in countries with oppressive governments towards women and dissent in general.
Although the concept of a women's day originated in the U.S. with the American Socialist Party in 1909, it was a German feminist who advocated for a global observance during an international conference of socialist women held in 1910 in Copenhagen. The subsequent year, events across Europe marked the day, and during World War I, women used it to protest the armed conflict, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.
International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 after a large-scale protest in Russia on Feb. 23, 1917, which led to the country’s eventual withdrawal from the war. At that time, Russia had not adopted the Gregorian calendar — named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582 – and still used the Julian calendar – the brainchild of Julius Caesar and still used by Orthodox churches for religious rites.
“On Feb. 23 in Russia, which was March 8 in Western Europe, women went out on the streets and protested for bread and peace,” said Kristen Ghodsee, professor and chair of Russian and East European studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Demonstrators included widows, wives and mothers of men who died or were injured during the war. “The authorities weren’t able to stop them, and then, once the men saw that the women were out on the streets, all of the workers started coming and joining the women.”
The U.N. began commemorating the holiday in 1975, which was International Women’s Year, and its General Assembly officially recognized the day two years later.
It depends on the time and place.
In Eastern Europe, women have traditionally received flowers and sometimes had the day off work on March 8. However, giving chocolates and candy can seem like a gesture that belittles women's struggles, especially in areas where protests have been confrontational.
Last year in Turkey, women defied an official ban on an International Women’s Day march in Istanbul and protested for about two hours before police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and detained dozens. In Mexico City, dozens of people were injured during a March 8 demonstration in 2021, as protesters clashed with police using rocks, bottles, metal poles, spray paint, and flaming aerosol cans in the main square.
Online retailers have often used International Women’s Day to sell various March-8-themed items such as sweatshirts, greeting cards, sticker packs, cloth totes, jeopardy games, cupcake toppers, and other purple-heavy products.
The internet also provides many guides for businesses to take advantage of the occasion, from providing cupcakes and appreciation emails for employees to offering product bundles and social media deals for existing or future customers. However, companies have had different levels of success with these efforts.
In 2018, McDonald’s changed its golden arches to a “W” on its social media accounts and a store sign in California. This marketing move was criticized online as an empty gesture, leading to calls for the company to improve the working conditions of its employees instead.
Ghodsee stated that commemorating International Women’s Day is now more crucial than ever, as women have experienced setbacks, notably the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn a nationwide right to abortion, which ended constitutional protections that had been in place for nearly 50 years.
“I think women around the world before (Donald) Trump became president, — when Hillary Clinton was running for president, Sheryl Sandberg was writing “Lean In” and it was all girlboss feminism – we didn’t know how quickly all of that could be taken away,” she said.
The U.S. decision on abortion has had an impact on Europe’s political landscape, reigniting public debate in some countries at a time when far-right nationalist parties are gaining influence.
On Monday, France became the only country to explicitly guarantee abortion as a constitutional right, following a historic move proposed by President Emmanuel Macron and praised by women’s rights activists worldwide.
The vote during a special joint session of France’s parliament received a long standing ovation from lawmakers.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told lawmakers before the Monday vote, “We have a moral debt to women.”
