International Women's Day will be observed on Sunday across the country, as elsewhere in the world, with the theme "Digit ALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality".
The president and prime minister have issued separate messages marking the day.
The United Nations has been observing the day as International Women’s Day since 1975. The theme of the day this year is “Rights, Justice and Opportunities for All Women.”
The day will be celebrated worldwide through various programmes to highlight the need for immediate action, not just discussions, regarding women’s rights and dignity, and celebrate women’s economic, political and social achievements.
The objective of the theme is to encourage everyone to contribute to establishing gender equality in society. It also aims to promote women’s empowerment through cooperation, support and sharing of resources, conveying the message that the development of women equally benefits society and the economy.
The observance of the day has its roots in the historical struggle of women workers to secure their rights. In 1857, women workers from textile factories took to the streets in New York in the United States to protest wage discrimination, demand fixed working hours, and oppose inhumane working conditions. The procession faced repression by government forces.
On February 28, 1909, the first international women’s conference was organized at a women’s rally arranged by the Social Democratic women’s organization in New York under the leadership of German socialist leader Clara Zetkin.
Clara, a German politician and one of the architects of the German Communist Party, later proposed at the second International Women’s Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1910 that March 8 be observed annually as International Women’s Day.
Around 100 women representatives from 17 countries attended that conference and decided that the day would be observed from 1911 as a day for women’s equal rights. Socialists from different countries came forward to observe the day, and from 1914, March 8 began to be celebrated in several countries.
United Nations formally recognized March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1975 and called upon countries to observe it. Since then, the day has been celebrated across the globe with due importance, with a specific theme announced every year.
In Bangladesh, various programs have been taken at the national level under the auspices of the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs to observe the day. Different offices and organizations have also undertaken diverse initiatives to mark the day.
