Google doodle celebrates International Women's Day
Google commemorated the International Women's Day with a special doodle. The doodle features a compact video where women from 13 countries were seen sharing their ambitions based on the theme "One day I will..." The video features women of all ages and from different walks of life. The video also featured Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai sharing her dream to see all girls study.
International Women's Day: The beginning
The first annual 'international women's day' was organised in March 1911 under the leadership of a German socialist and theorist Clara Zetkin. She was helped by 100 delegates from 17 countries. The event was celebrated by almost 1 million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, with a number of demonstrations all over the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To begin with, the women had demanded right-to-vote.
March 8 declared International Women's Day
International Women's Day was first commemorated as a popular event only after 1977 when the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to declare March 8 as the "UN Day for women's rights and world peace."
Women's Day in India
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, greeted women on the eve of International Women's Day and thanked them for their contributions. The Ministry of Women and Child Development marked the day by declaring that it would set up 4 more one-stop crisis centers apart from the existing 8. Furthermore, Air India operated the 'world's longest non-stop flight' completely handled by women.
Pledging for parity: UN's 2016 Women's Day theme
The 2016 International Woman's Day is being celebrated with the UN theme "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality". UK's Ernst & Young company also launched the #PledgeForParity campaign for women. The official UN commemoration will be held at the UN Secretariat in New York City. 2 panel discussions will take place to ascertain how this goal is to be achieved.
UN themes for Women's Day
From 1996 onwards, UN began celebrating each Women's Day under a specific theme, the first one being "Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future".
