Parliamentary delegates attending the annual session of the National People’s Congress in traditional dress in March .
    Photo: ImagineChina

       1910年在哥本哈根召开的第二届国际社会主义妇女大会决定，将每年3月8日设立为国际劳动妇女节，以团结全世界妇女，反对阶级压迫与剥削，争取在经济、政治上与男子平等的权利。以此为起点，世界各国妇女争取和平、平等和发展的斗争历程已经走过100年。

       遥想上世纪初，我们的曾祖母们还迈着三寸金莲踯躅于闺房，周旋于锅台，读书写字、参政议政对她们而言只是梦想；而今，女性不仅活跃于社会的各个领域，在精神上、人格上逐步摆脱被动依附的状态，对自身地位和权利也有了更深刻的认识、更积极的追求。

    International Women’s Day (IWD) has grown from its birth in the socialist movement to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women’s rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 

    The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitude shift in both women’s and society’s thoughts about equality and emancipation. A younger generation frequently feels that “all the battles have been won for women” while feminists from the 1970’s know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. 

    With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights and an increased critical mass of women’s visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. And yet, women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health and the violence against them is worse than that against men.

    Nonetheless, great improvements have been made. There are female astronauts and prime ministers, schoolgirls in most cultures are welcomed into universities, women can work and have a family, and women have real choices. The tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

 Origin of IWD

    The idea of an International Women’s Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.

    In 1910, the Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen established a Women’s Day, international in character, to honor the movement for women’s rights and to assist in achieving universal suffrage for women. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries. 

    Since those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. Increasingly, International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women’s rights.