International Women's Day

11.39.03am GMT Wed 8th Mar 2006

Today women's groups around the world mark International Women's Day (8 March).

It is a day when women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day. They can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

The first International Women's Day was celebrated in 1909 across the United States. Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women's movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women's conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point for coordinated efforts to demand women's rights and participation in the political and economic process. Increasingly, International Women's Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's rights.

For more information on International Women's Day and the status of women across the globe, please visit www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/