Something about International Women's Day

International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year. It became official day for women, when in 1977 the United Nations' General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women's rights and world peace.
How do common people celebrate it worldwide?
International Women's Day is celebrated worldwide to enhance the awareness about women, their struggles, their rights, contributions, importance of education, career opportunities etc. and so it holds immense socio-political as well as cultural importance in some places. In different regions, the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women for their economic, political and social achievements. In some regions, the day lost its political flavor and became simply an occasion for people to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.
The day is an official holiday in Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macedonia (for women only), Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. In some countries, such as Cameroon, Croatia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria and Chile, the day is not a public holiday, but is widely observed nonetheless. On this day it is customary for men to give the women in their lives - friends, mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters, colleagues etc. - flowers and small gifts. In some countries (such as Bulgaria and Romania) it is also observed as an equivalent of Mother's Day, where children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers. In Armenia, after the collapse of the Soviet Union celebrations of IWD were abandoned. Instead, April 7 was introduced as state holiday of 'Beauty and Motherhood'. The new holiday immediately became popular among Armenians, as it commemorates one of the main holidays of the Armenian Church, the Annunciation. However, people still kept celebrating IWD on March 8 as well. Public discussion held on the topic of two 'Women's Days' in Armenia resulted in the recognition of the so-called 'Women's Month' which is the period between March 8 and April 7. In Italy, to celebrate the day, men give yellow mimosas to women. Yellow mimosas and chocolate are also one of the most common March 8 presents in Russia and Albania. In many countries, such as in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Colombia, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine the custom of giving women flowers still prevails (within these regions only). Women also sometimes get gifts from their employers. Schoolchildren often bring gifts for their female teachers, too. In countries like Portugal and Italy groups of women usually celebrate on the night of March 8 in "women-only" dinners and parties. In Poland, for instance, every IWD includes large feminist demonstrations in major cities.

Do we need a holiday?

As mentioned earlier, the day is an official holiday for women in neighbouring country China. In Pakistan, although there is no official holiday but there is non-official observance of holiday, especially among working women. Women working in formal and informal sectors celebrate International Women's Day every year to commemorate their ongoing struggle for due rights, despite facing many cultural and religious restrictions. Some women working for change in society use IWM to help the movement for women's rights.
In India, there is neither official nor non-official observance of holiday. It is only observed mainly by Women's Right Activist and some other people including women leaders from the business, politics, community, educational institutions, inventors, TV personalities etc, who celebrate it by organizing variety of programs highlighting women's issues and rights like seminars, women parade, conferences, banner, debates, presentations, speech, competitive activities, breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, including other women rights promotional activities, with the purpose to make women more aware and promote empowerment. These are usually informal, scattered and with very limited audience.
While some women I talked to believe that there is no need of a holiday and dare I quote them, "Women should go out and kick more arse on this day instead of staying home", others believe that this will contribute incalculably in making people more aware; this will fill in each individual with spirit of 'Women Empowerment' and can call for mass campaigns for Women Rights and Equality. Again, what do you think?