International women’s Day trivia: 95 facts about this historic day!

International women’s Day is being celebrated every year at the 8th of March and its a day to commemorate women’s fights about equality!

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about this day!

1. International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year
2. It is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights
3. The Socialist Party of America organized a Women’s Day on February 28, 1909, in New York
4. The 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference suggested a Women’s Day be held annually
5. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there
6. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries
7. It was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations
8. Today, International Women’s Day is a public holiday in some countries
9. And largely ignored elsewhere
10. In some places, it is a day of protest
11. In others, it is a day that celebrates womanhood
12. The earliest Women’s Day observance, called “National Woman’s Day
13. It was held on February 28, 1909, in New York
14. It was organized by the Socialist Party of America
15. At the suggestion of Theresa Malkiel
16. Though there have been claims that the day was commemorating a protest by women garment workers in New York on March 8, 1857
17. Researchers have described this as a myth
18. In August 1910, an International Socialist Women’s Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark
19. Inspired in part by the American socialists, German Socialist Luise Zietz proposed the establishment of an annual Women’s Day
20. It was seconded by fellow socialist and later communist leader Clara Zetkin
21. Supported by Käte Duncker
22. Although no date was specified at that conference
23. Delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights including suffrage for women
24. The following year on March 19, 1911, IWD was marked for the first time, by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland
25. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone, there were 300 demonstrations
26. In Vienna, women paraded on the Ringstrasse
27. And carried banners honouring the martyrs of the Paris Commune
28. Women demanded that they be given the right to vote and to hold public office
29. They also protested against employment sex discrimination
30. The Americans continued to celebrate National Women’s Day on the last Sunday in February
31. In 1913 Russian women observed their first International Women’s Day on the last Saturday in February
32. In 1914 International Women’s Day was held on March 8 in Germany
33. Possibly because that day was a Sunday
34. And now it is always held on March 8 in all countries
35. The 1914 observance of the Day in Germany was dedicated to women’s right to vote
36. Which German women did not win until 1918
37. In London there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of women’s suffrage on March 8, 1914
38. Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square
39. On March 8, 1917, on the Gregorian calendar, in the capital of the Russian Empire, Petrograd, women textile workers began a demonstration, covering the whole city
40. This marked the beginning of the February Revolution
41. Which alongside the October Revolution made up the Russian Revolution
42. Women in Saint Petersburg went on strike that day for “Bread and Peace”
43. Demanding the end of World War I
44. An end to Russian food shortages
45. And the end of czarism
46. Leon Trotsky wrote, “23 February (8th March) was International Woman’s Day and meetings and actions were foreseen. But we did not imagine that this ‘Women’s Day’ would inaugurate the revolution. Revolutionary actions were foreseen but without date. But in the morning, despite the orders to the contrary, textile workers left their work in several factories and sent delegates to ask for support of the strike… which led to mass strike… all went out into the streets.”
47. Seven days later, the Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote
48. Following the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Alexandra Kollontai and Vladimir Lenin made it an official holiday in the Soviet Union
49. But it was a working day until 1965
50. On May 8, 1965, by the decree of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet International Women’s Day was declared a non-working day in the USSR
51. From its official adoption in Soviet Russia following the Revolution in 1917, the holiday was predominantly celebrated in communist countries
52. And by the communist movement worldwide
53. It was celebrated by the communists in China from 1922
54. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949
55. The State Council proclaimed on December 23 that March 8 would be made an official holiday with women in China given a half-day off
56. Communist leader Dolores Ibárruri led a women’s march in Madrid in 1936 on the eve of the Spanish Civil War
57. The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in the International Women’s Year, 1975
58. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace
59. On the occasion of 2010 International Women’s Day the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drew attention to the hardships displaced women endure
60. The displacement of populations is one of the gravest consequences of today’s armed conflicts
61. It affects women in a host of ways
62. Though the celebration in the West was low-key, events took place in more than 100 countries on March 8, 2011
63. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day
64. In the United States, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 2011 to be “Women’s History Month”
65. Calling Americans to mark IWD by reflecting on “the extraordinary accomplishments of women” in shaping the country’s history
66. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the “100 Women Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls through International Exchanges”, on the eve of IWD
67. In the run-up to 2011 International Women’s Day, the Red Cross called on States and other entities not to relent in their efforts to prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence that harm the lives and dignity of countless women in conflict zones around the world every year
68. Australia issued an IWD 100th anniversary commemorative 20-cent coin
69. In Egypt, however, the day was a step back for women
70. In Egypt’s Tahrir Square, hundreds of men came out not in support, but to harass the women who came out to stand up for their rights as the police and military stood by watching the events unfold in front of them, doing nothing to stop the crowds of men
71. The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2012 was Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty
72. In that year, Oxfam America invited people to celebrate inspiring women in their lives
73. By sending a free International Women’s Day e-Card or honoring a woman whose efforts had made a difference in the fight against hunger and poverty with Oxfam’s International Women’s Day award
74. On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2012, the ICRC called for more action to help the mothers and wives of people who have gone missing during armed conflict
75. The vast majority of people who go missing in connection with conflict are men
76. As well as the anguish of not knowing what has happened to the missing husband or son, many of these women face economic and practical difficulties
77. The ICRC underlined the duty of parties to a conflict to search for the missing and provide information to the families
78. The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2013 was “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women”
79. While International Women’s Day 2013 declared the year’s theme as The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum
80. The 2013 International Women’s Day, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) draw attention to the plight of women in prison
81. The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2014 was “Equality for Women is Progress for All”
82. American singer Beyoncé also posted an International Women’s Day video to her YouTube account
83. The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2015 was “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!”
84. Governments and activists around the world will commemorate the 20th anniversary year of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
85. An historic roadmap that sets the agenda for realizing women’s rights
86. The International Women’s Day theme for 2016 was “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”
87. The ministry of women and child development announced the setting up of four more one-stop crisis centers on March 8, in addition to the eight already functioning across the country
88. Ahead of Women’s Day, the national carrier Air India operated what it claimed to be the world’s longest non-stop flight where the entire flight operations were handled by women
89. As part of International Women’s Day celebrations
90. The flight, from Delhi to San Francisco, covered a distance of around 14,500 kilometers in around 17 hours
91. The theme for International Women’s Day 2017 was “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”
92. In a message in support of International Women’s Day, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres commented on how women’s rights were being “reduced, restricted and reversed”
93. With men still in leadership positions and a widening economic gender gap
94. The theme for International Women’s Day 2018 was ‘Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives’
95. The theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is: ‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’