Why International Women's Day Is Celebrated on March 8?

                                                BY SELENA BARRIENTOS AND HANNAH JEON Mar 4, 2020

Celebrated on March 8 every year, International Women's Day is a day dedicated to honoring the achievements of women throughout history and all across the globe, and is typically a day for women from all different backgrounds and cultures to band together to fight for gender parity and women's rights. International Women’s Day (IWD) is dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. The day, collectively founded by women, also brings attention to gender parity and women's rights.

Gender parity is a statistical measure that compares women and men through their income, education, and work hours, among other points. This sociological metric helps researchers understand how society is progressing or regressing in specific areas. It’s also an important tool for policymakers striving towards gender equality. Of course, the global celebration of International Women’s Day is a time for reflection of how far women have come, advocacy for what is still needed, and action to continue breaking down barriers. With over a century of history, IWD is a growing movement centered around unity and strength.

International Women’s Day has a rich history dating back 108 years — the first glimpse of it was in 1909 when the Socialist Party of America celebrated 15,000 women who protested long work hours, low pay, and the lack of voting rights in New York City. Originally called National Woman’s Day, the monumental annual celebration spread across the world (officially celebrated in 1911), but it was Russia who unknowingly set the March 8 trend.

Although International Women’s Day became an official holiday in Russia in 1913, women still experienced difficulties caused by WWI. While men were off at war, women dealt with food shortages and a government who wouldn’t listen to them. On March 8, 1917 (February 23 in the former Russian calendar), tens of thousands of Russian women took to the streets demanding change. The unified cry for help paved the way for Russian women to be granted voting rights soon after.

International Women's Day is an official holiday in at least 20 countries, including: Afghanistan, Cuba, Laos, Russia, and Vietnam. In many of these countries, tradition holds that men honor their mothers, wives, girlfriends, and colleagues with flowers and small presents. In other nations, the day is much like the holiday of Mother's Day, in which children give gifts to their mothers and grandmothers. In other countries, however, like Nepal and China, IWD is a holiday only for women.

There are many ways you can participate in the celebration for International Women's Day, including joining in on the numerous events that will be held worldwide. These special events will span from global gatherings and informative conferences to powerful art exhibitions and festivals, and will be held by women's networks, charities, political parties, corporations, and other communities. You can easily search for an IWD event happening near you before the big day in this website:  https://www.internationalwomensday.com/EventSearch.

Even if you can't attend an IWD event, though, you can still join millions of participants by wearing purple on March 8. Signifying justice and dignity, the color purple has become an international symbol for women since the origination of purple, green, and white as a symbol of women's equality from the Women's Social and Political Union in the UK in 1908.

Adapted from: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a26539742/international-womens-day-march-8/

 

Question 1: (2 points) Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE OR FALSE and write down the sentence or the part of the text that justifies your answer. No points will be given if the evidence is not correct.

a)    8^th March´s celebration has the aim of protesting against gender violence.

b)    There is a big necessity to support IWD fighting against obstacles

c)    It was not until 1913 in Russia, when 8^th March was officially proclaimed as a national holiday for women.

d)    Worldwide meetings will spread with artistic, musical and cultural events. 

Question 2: (3 points): Answer the following questions in your own words according to the text.

a)    Why did the Socialist Party of America go on strike?

b)    Explain the different ways of celebrating IWD in different countries, including yours.

c)    What the real origin of purple colour? 

Question 3: (2,5 points, 0,25 each) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a)    Equality (p.1)

b)    Salary (p.2)

c)    Sight (p.3)

d)    Lack of or with very few (p.4)

e)    Custom (p.5)

f)     to be celebrated (p.5)

g)    globally (p.6)

h)    group of organizations (p.6)

i)     to go (p.7)

j)     to be included (p.7) 

Question 4: ( 2,5 points) Written production

Write a short essay ( 120-150 words). Essays up to 200 won´t be penalized.

OPINION: What´s your opinion on the celebration of IWD?

KEY

Question 1:

FALSE: “dedicated, to honoring the achievements of women through history and all across the globe”

b)    TRUE: “advocacy for what is still needed, and action to continue breaking down barriers”.

TRUE: “Although IWD became an official holiday in Russia in 1913”

TRUE: “These special events will span from global gatherings and informative conferences to powerful art exhibitions and festivals”.

Question 3:  

Equality (p.1) parity

Salary (p.2) income

Sight (p.3) glimpse

Lack of or with very few (p.4) shortage

Custom (p.5) tradition

to be celebrated (p.5) holds, to hold

globally (p.6) worldwide

group of organizations (p.6) networks

to go (p.7) to attend

to be included (p.7) to join