topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.44 0.28
DAX 6339.94 0.38
IBEX 30 6543 0.13
CAC 40 3047.94 0.32
FTSE 100 5351.53 0.03
AEX 292.76 0.23
DJIA 12454.83 -0.60
Nasdaq 2837.53 -0.07
FTSE MIB 13154.8 0.36
TSX Composite 11576.47 0.09
ASX 4081.2 -0.61
Hang seng 18713.41 0.25
Straits Times 2772.75 -0.24
ISEQ 20 500.94 1.55
You are here: Home News German News A century on, Women's Day is a reminder of enduring...

German News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


07/03/2009A century on, Women's Day is a reminder of enduring inequities

One of this year's key events will be a massive Women's Day meet this weekend in Liberia to focus on the future of women in the world.

Paris -- Nearly 100 years old, International Women's Day on March 8 marks an ongoing worldwide battle to ensure equal rights for half the globe's population on issues such as work, voting and abortion.

One of this year's key events will be a massive Women's Day meet this weekend in Liberia, hosted by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, to focus on the future of women in the world.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among 400 leading women, several of them heads of state, expected at the gathering -- which also marks a milestone for Liberia, still recovering from its 1989 to 2003 civil war and hosting its first such high-profile event since the late 1970s.

Conceived in 1910, International Women's Day was recognised by the United Nations in 1977. The origin of marking a day for women's rights is actually American -- although, like many such symbolic days, it is clouded in uncertainty and competing claims.

In the United States, the country's long-defunct Socialist Party of America celebrated a National Women's Day on February 28, 1909.

But it was a year later, at an International Socialist Women's conference in Copenhagen, that the notion was born of an international day to celebrate the female sex -- at a time of mounting anger over unequal treatment in politics and the workplace.

On March 19, 1911, the day was commemorated for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, with more than a million women and men coming out onto the streets.

A massive women's protest in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg in 1917 to protest the price of bread and to welcome soldiers home from the World War I front on March 8 (February 23 in the Russian calendar) helped spark the Russian Revolution and cement the day in history.

Today, the March 8 tradition still remains strong in communist countries: in China, for example, female workers are granted a half-day off.

Elsewhere, it gained momentum alongside the broader feminist movements of the 1970s, when women seized the symbolism of the day to mark their demands for equal political and social rights.

In 1977, the UN General Assembly officially declared the day the United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.

And at a 1995 UN Women's Conference in Beijing, representatives from 189 countries agreed that gender inequalities affected the well being of all the world's population -- both men and women.

Today, the day serves as a reminder of the fields in which women must still battle for fundamental rights and where they remain victims of violence and enduring inequalities.

AFP/Expatica


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating



0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Legal Problems in Germany

Visa employment help

Australians in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Irish in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Canadian in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Discuss German Culture

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
The ABCs of the German school system

The ABCs of the German school system

What you need to know about German schools and daycare.

German immigration and residency regulations

German immigration and residency regulations

Want to move to Germany but haven’t figured out the details? Check out Expatica’s overview of the German permit system.

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

In part one of our two part series, we cover the driving culture in Berlin, where to park and buy gas and, most importantly, the laws.

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Our comprehensive guide includes information on how to find work, recruitment agencies, employment contracts and labour law.