Women’s history month is celebrated every year in March. The main aim of this month is to honour the vital role of women in history and celebrate their diverse achievements and stories.
International Women’s Day is March 8, and it has been observed in some shape or form since 1911. It was officially commemorated by the United Nations in 1975 and was officially recognized by the UN two years later.
Why Women’s History Day is observed in March?
In the 1970s, local groups and municipalities began celebrating Women’s History Week. The month started as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978.
Presentations were given at local schools where hundreds of students participated in a “Real Woman” essay contest. A parade was also held in downtown Santa Rosa to celebrate.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. The March 8 date was chosen as it corresponded with International Women’s Day.
In 1987, the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March and was successful.
International Women’s Day:
This day is observed on March 8 all across the world. The day is a focal point of the movement for women’s rights. The proposal to mark a special women’s day was put by German delegates after the Socialist Party of America celebrated Women’s Day in New York City in 1909.
Women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917. To mark this, March 8 became a national holiday there. Later, in 1977, the United Nations started celebrating this day.
