Why International Women’s Day is March 8

Quite often the reason particular dates for international days are chosen is unclear but in the case of March 8 for International Women’s Day it’s down to religion.

Russian Revolution

Prior to the Revolution, Imperial Russia had not recognised the Gregorian Calendar, choosing instead to follow the Julian Calendar, created before the birth of Christ and as the saying goes it ‘marched to a different drum’.

On the last Sunday of February 1917, Russian women began a strike for “Bread and Peace” in response to the death of an estimated two million Russian soldiers during the First World War and four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.

The women’s strike commenced on Sunday February 23 which in the Gregorian Calendar created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 was actually March 8 and this is why that became the date for the annual International Women’s Day celebrations.

Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.

Women still fighting for their rights

For decades in the 20^th Century, women had to fight firstly to gain the vote and then to obtain the same rights as men and even now, more than 100 years later, there are still differences in salary based on gender, glass ceilings and an ongoing fight against gender violence around the world.

It has been a long hard struggle but women are monarchs, successful business owners, influencers and political leaders in the majority of nations although perhaps the greatest achievement will be if a woman ever becomes President of China, Russia or the USA.