STAND UP FOR WOMEN, IT'S WOMEN'S DAY

Since then, the Women's Month Celebration in the Philippines has provided a forum for discussing ongoing and new women's empowerment and gender equality issues as well as women's accomplishments. The celebration focuses on practical initiatives that are in line with laws and agreements at the local, national, and international levels, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (1995-2025), the Framework Plan for Women, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

International Women's Day is observed annually on March 8 to recognize and honor women's achievements, to increase awareness of gender inequality and discrimination, and to encourage global support for women. On February 28, 1909, the Socialist Party of America, which was then in power, observed the first National Woman's Day in remembrance of the 15,000 women who demonstrated in New York against oppressive working conditions and lower pay.

The concept of an international International Women's Day was first presented in 1910 by Clara Zetkin, a proponent of women's rights and the head of the Social Democratic Party's Women's Office in Germany. More than a million people participated in the first International Women's Day celebration on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. It took until 1975 for the United Nations to acknowledge and start commemorating International Women's Day (IWD).

Since then, the United Nations has acted as the event's primary sponsor, urging more nations to honor "acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an outstanding role in the history of their countries and Communities." For those who are wondering and feeling left out (get over it), there is also an International Men's Day, which is observed on November 19 in more than 80 nations around the world, including the UK. It was only marked in the 1990s, and the UN does not recognize it.

A feminine gender symbol is used as the International Women's Day emblem. According to the website for International Women's Day, purple stands for dignity and justice, green represents hope, and white represents purity. It is typically accompanied by the colors purple, green, and white. The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK introduced the colors in 1908.

REFERENCE:

International Women’s Day. (n.d.). Western Australian Government. Retrieved March 12, 2023, from https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-communities/international-womens-day