In 1910, during the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, German feminist Clara Zetkin proposed that each year all the countries earmark the same day – a Women’s Day – for women to press for their demands. The conference, with over 100 women from 17 countries and various walks of life, offered its unanimous approval for the suggestion, and the International Women’s Day was born.
Zetkin was a personal friend of Vladimir Lenin, and in 1915 organised the first international women’s conference against World War I. In 1916, she co-founded the radical Spartacus League.
After World War I, Zetkin played a leading role in the German Communist Party, which she represented in the Reichstag (German parliament) from 1920 until 1933 — the year the party was banned by Adolf Hitler.
Zetkin died in Russia in 1933 shortly before Hitler came to power.
March 8 became the official date of IWD after a women’s protest in 1917 led to the forced abdication of Nicholas II, the last Russian Emperor.
In the early years, the IWD was celebrated on February 28, according to the Julian Calendar observed by Soviet Russia. It was converted to March 8, as per the Gregorian calendar, which is used by most of the world.
The day was mostly considered a labour movement until 1967 — the year when the feminist movement adopted it.
In 1975, the United Nations celebrated March 8 for the first time and invited member countries of the General Assembly to proclaim it as International Women’s Day two years later.
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