CAPE TOWN - International Women's Day, marked on Tuesday, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality, and this year's campaign theme is: #BreakTheBias.
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.
After World War II, March 8 started to be celebrated in a number of countries. In 1975, during the International Women's Year, the United Nations (UN) began celebrating the day as International Women's Day.
Two years later, in December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by its member states, in accordance with their historical and national traditions.
The UN has said it and its agencies have worked tirelessly since then to secure gender equality worldwide with great outcomes achieved: in 1995 the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic roadmap signed by 189 governments, focused on 12 critical areas of concern; and the inclusion of Goal 5 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The growing international women's movement, which has been strengthened by four global UN women's conferences, has helped make the International Women's Day commemoration a rallying point to build support for women's rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.