A Day to Celebrate – International Women’s Day
March 12th, 2026 by Annabelle Sali
Every March 8th, International Women’s Day occurs, raising awareness and efforts to take action against gender inequality, fighting for “Rights. Justice. Action for All Women and Girls” (UNWomen). International Women’s Day brings attention to “to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls” (United Nations). It is a day to not only celebrate but recognize all the achievements that women have accomplished, without regard to any divisions, which could include ethnicity, race, economic, political, or etc. It is a day to acknowledge how much more women deserve in the world, deconstructing generational disparities in pay, power, opportunities, and resources between genders.
International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world, the United States prioritizing March as Women’s History Month. International Women’s Day is considered to be an official, public “holiday in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ukraine, Russia and Cuba” (PBS). The United Nations officially recognized the day of celebration, in 1977, being 49 years since, however, Women’s Day has been around for several more years (PBS). International Women’s Day was originally started by the Socialist Party in the United States, in 1909. In New York, Theresa Malkiel, a Russian refugee who served on the U.S women’s committee of the Socialist Party of America, wanted women to have a more active role, establishing February 23, 1909 “National Woman’s Day” (National Geographic ). Therefore, resulting in many New York socialists to celebrate, having 2,000 people in Manhattan reverberating cries for women. In 1910, Clara Zetkin, a German feminist, observed the festivity in New York, pushing it to be a holiday, and caused it to skyrocket in Europe (UPenn). The holiday was then adopted throughout the world, being “celebrated in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 1911, and became an important day for pacifist protests during World War I” (UPenn). Therefore, 2026 marks the 115th year of International Women's Day, from 1911, when it was first acknowledged as a holiday.
In history, International Women’s Day, surging the fight for women’s rights, and in 1917, became an extremely important holiday in Russia. In Russia, the importance persisted throughout the years because women workers led the February Revolution on International Women’s Day, even though, Bolshevik leaders wanted to wait until Workers’ Day on May 1 to launch the revolution (UPenn). However, women marched the streets of Petrograd, Russia, demanding women's rights, the end of World War I, protesting food shortages, and the demonstrations eventually grew, turning into a strike (National Geographic ). It was described that “women took to the street to demand bread and an end to the war…it spread throughout the socialist world, to places like China and Cuba, as an important day to recognize the contributions women have made to both family and the economy” (UPenn). The movement included people, including men, leaving their jobs, and even the Russian army, walking out to join the marchers, preaching women's rights – also marking the beginning of the Russian Revolution (National Geographic ). Therefore, the drive and determination of young aspiring women not only made a difference for themselves, but the world as a whole.
International Women’s Day continues to be celebrated today in high regard in countries like India, China, Russia, Italy, the United States, and many more. In Russia, it used to hold strong ties with politics, however, overtime became a holiday about symbolism— much like Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day (RW3culturewizard). Similarly, in other countries like China, and Italy, the holiday is used to express admiration for women, giving flowers or small gifts (RW3culturewizard). In India, “the country hosts rallies and seminars on women’s issues, with a particular emphasis on raising awareness and prevention of violence against women” (RW3culturewizard). Similarly in America, Women’s Day is seen as a celebration and as a day of activism, where the itinerary fills with rallies, marches, and educational events.
As a whole, International Women’s Day shares the important story of women, their influence and enduring significance. The day provides momentum and a reminder how important it is to recognize all the important women of the community and continues the fight for the awareness of women’s rights – including their health.