March 8 is an International Women’s Day (IWD) observed by the entire globe. But do we actually know what happened on March 8 and why we celebrate this event?

Here are some facts you didn’t know about International Women’s Day.

Why do we celebrate IWD?

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a worldwide day to celebrate the physical, economic, cultural, and political contributions of women. The day also marks a call for action to accelerate gender diversity.

How did it start?

It was first initiated by the Socialist Party in the United States in 1909 and was noticed in New York, but it wasn’t until Clara Zetkin, a German feminist, forced it to be a holiday in 1910 that it truly took off across Europe.

What happened on this day?

The United States had a strong socialist party and in 1909 who decided to wanted to celebrate International Women´s Day in order to mark a garment factory strike by women the previous year.

in 1910 German Communist leader Clara Zetkin championed the idea in Europe at the International Conference of Socialist Women

After that 19 people marched for women´s rights in Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland at Women´s Day rallies.

When did the first celebration take place?

The first March 8 celebration observed in 1914 in Berlin, all the women protested and demanded the right to vote.

Previously

Before that women were looked down upon. Those now “modern” countries were back then so conservative that they didn’t allow women to vote.

They were also denied the right to receive education and pursue their career.