The origin of Women's Day is a story.

The full name of International Women's Day (IWD) is "United Nations Women's Rights and International Peace Day", and it is also called "International Women's Day", "March 8th Festival" and "March 8th Women's Day" in China.

On March 8th, 1857, female garment and textile workers in new york, USA took to the streets to protest against inhuman working conditions, 12 hour working system and low wages. The demonstrators were besieged and dispersed by the police, but this protest led to the establishment of the first trade union organization in March two years later.

In the next few years, there were similar protests on March 8 almost every year. The most striking one was 1908, when nearly15,000 women took to the streets of new york, demanding shorter working hours, higher labor remuneration and voting rights, and prohibiting the use of child labor.

Their slogan is "bread and roses". Bread symbolizes economic security and roses symbolize a better quality of life. In May, the American Socialist Party decided to take the last Sunday in February as the National Women's Day.

The first celebration of Women's Day was on February 28th, 1909. At that time, the American Socialist Party issued a declaration calling for holding commemorative activities on the last Sunday of February every year. This annual celebration lasts until 19 13.

19 10 In August, Socialist International held the first international women's conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Representatives from 65,438+07 countries attended the meeting. The main issues discussed at the meeting were opposing imperialist expansion and preparing for war and safeguarding world peace. At the same time, issues such as protecting the rights of women and children, striving for an eight-hour working system and women's right to vote were also discussed.

At the meeting, Clara Zetkin, the leader of the German women's movement, proposed to designate a day as International Women's Day, which was unanimously supported by the delegates. Since then, "March 8" Women's Day has become a festival for women in the world to fight for their rights and liberation.

Six days later, on March 25th, a famous triangle factory fire broke out in new york, which killed 140 garment workers, most of whom were Italian and Jewish immigrants. Poor working conditions are considered to be the main cause of such heavy casualties. The fire later had an important impact on American labor legislation.

19 17, Russian women called for a strike on February 23, demanding "bread and peace" to protest against the harsh working environment and food shortage. According to the Russian julian calendar, this day is the last Sunday of a month, and March 8 is converted into the Gregorian calendar widely used in Europe.

On the eve of the outbreak of World War I, European women also took to the streets on March 8 19 13 to oppose the war by holding a peaceful assembly.

The United Nations began to celebrate International Women's Day 1975, which confirmed the tradition that ordinary women strive for equal participation in society. 1977 65438+In February, the United Nations adopted a resolution inviting countries to choose a certain day every year as the United Nations Women's Rights and World Peace Day according to their own history and national traditions and customs. For the United Nations, International Women's Day is designated as March 8th.