A global celebration of the social, economic and political achievements of women that serves to champion women’s rights, female empowerment and gender equality marks the International Women’s Day. Many are not aware of the fact that International Women’s Day has actually been around for more than a century and dates back to the early 1900s.
It was Theresa Serber Malkiel who first suggested the observance of a ‘National Women’s Day’ in the US, a concept that was soon picked up by countries across Europe.
The United Nations started celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975 during its International Women’s Year. This signified that the aims of the day – to advance the status of women worldwide and campaign for gender equality – had officially been recognized as a part of the organization’s commitment to championing human rights.
In 1996, the UN began adopting an annual theme for International Women’s Day, the first of which was “Celebrating the past, Planning for the Future”. This was followed by “Women at the Peace table”, “Women and Human Rights”, and in 1999, “World Free of Violence Against Women”.
This year the theme for International Women’s Day is #BalanceforBetter, which is described on IWD’s website as a “call-to-action for driving gender balance across the world”.
Google has created a doodle to honour female trailblazers from around the world. In the interactive doodle, Google showcased inspirational quotes across various languages by thirteen international female trailblazers-both past and present. “We aimed to include a diverse representation of voices on a day which celebrates the past, present, and future community of diverse women around the world,” Google said.
Some of the quotes included in the doodle are:
The first quote in the slideshow belongs to Dr Mae Jemison, who became NASA’s first African-American woman astronaut. “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations,” she had said.
Mary Kom’s quote packed as much power as her punches in the boxing ring. “Do not ever say you are weak because you are a woman,” the boxing legend from Manipur had said.
Beno Zephine, who became India’s first visually challenged diplomat, had said: “We are too precious to let disappointments enter our minds.”
“Feet, what do I need them for if I have wings to fly?” is Frida Kahlo’s quote chosen by Google.
Yoko Ono, who was married to Beatles star John Lennon, is quoted in the Google Doodle as saying “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is a reality.”
Image Courtesy: INDEPENDENT
