International Women's Day 2018

March 8th 2018 marked International Women’s Day, the theme for this year was “Time is now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”. The day is an official holiday in many countries such as China, Vietnam and Ukraine, in these countries it is tradition for the men to present the women in their life with presents such as flowers or small gifts. In Ukraine specifically it is seen as the equivalent to mother’s day where children give presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

It is surprising that the U.K doesn’t celebrate International Women’s Day especially since it’s been 100 years since women got the vote, you would assume that 100 years of progression in women’s rights would be cause for the celebration of women especially in the modern age. Even though it’s not an official holiday in the U.K the movement is still supported by many in the U.K, museums are celebrating the history of women and there are events like The Phenomenal Woman Tea Party. Also some massive companies like McDonalds and Amazon support International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day is about pushing for progress in topics like equal pay for men and women, now more than ever there is a strong call to action to press forward and get equal pay. Movements like #me too and #time’s up have shown that women in today’s society are avidly fighting the sexist elements that stunt their growth and freedom in this world. International Women’s Day is important because it organises a push against some of society’s terrible flaws and it shines a spotlight on these issues which lets more people know the sad truth and how to fight back against these and hopefully make the world a better place.

Movements that move against social issues are important because change is needed to grow and questioning the things around us help us be aware of what’s wrong and why, if we never question anything we never will progress, this is why International Women’s Day is important.