Emancipate a Woman and the entire Society will be empowered. This is the founding Principal for International Women’s Day and its celebrations. International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women’s Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere through the world. This is a day that first emerged from the activities of Labour Movements at the onset of the 20th Century in North America and Across Europe.
The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide. Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN’s efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe.
Since those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women’s movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women’s conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.
International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. Under this year’s UN’s Theme, “Time Is Now: Rural And Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives,” GECPD funded with UNHCR and Donor Direct Action, will be joining the rest of the World in Celebrating 2018 March 8th International Women’s Day with the following activities slated to mark the Day and its final celebrations on 8th March 2018.