International Women's Day 2023: History, marches and celebrations

You fit don see International Women's Day wey media pipo dey report or hear say friends dey tok about am.

But wetin dis day dey for? Wen e be? E get International Men's Day? And which event go take place dis year?

For more dan 100 years, pipo around di world don dey mark 8 March as special day for women.

Continue dey read to find out why.

How e start?

International Women's Day, also known as IWD for short, bin grow out of di labour movement to become recognised annual event by di United Nations (UN).

Dem plan di seed for 1908, wen 15,000 women march through New York City and demand shorter working hours, beta pay and di right to vote. One year later, di Socialist Party of America declare di first National Woman's Day.

Di idea to make di day international come from one woman called Clara Zetkin, communist activist and advocate for women's rights. She bin suggest di idea for 1910 for one International Conference of Working Women for Copenhagen. 100 women from 17 kontris na dem dey dia and na all of dem accept her suggestion.

Dem first celebrate am for 1911 for Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

100 years anniversary na for 2011, and dis year na di 111th International Women's Day.

Dem make tins official for 1975 wen di United Nations start to dey celebrate di day. Di first theme wey di UN adopt (for 1996) na "Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future".

International Women's Day don become a date to celebrate how far women don come for society, for politics and for economics, while di political roots of di day mean say strikes and protests dey organised to raise awareness of continued inequality.

Why 8 March?

Clara's idea for International Women's Day bin no get fixed date.

Dem no formalise am until one strike for 1917 wen Russian women demand "bread and peace" - and during di fourth day of di strike, dem force di Tsar to step down and di provisional goment grant women di right to vote.

Di date wen di women strik bin strat on di Julian calendar, wey dem bin dey use for Russia, na Sunday 23 February. Dis day for di Gregorian calendar, na March 8 - and dis na wen dem dey celebrate am today.

Why pipo dey wear colour purple?

Purple, green and white na di colours of IWD, according to di International Women's Day website.

"Purple signify justice and dignity. Green symbolises hope. White represent purity, though na controversial concept. Di colours originate from di Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) for di UK for 1908, dem tok.

International Men's Day sef dey?

Yes e dey, and na on 19 November.

But na since di 1990s dem don dey mark am and di UN no recognise am.

Pipo dey celebrate am for more dan 80 kontris worldwide, including di UK.

Di day celebrate "di positive value men bring to di world, dai families and communtiies," according to di organisers, and aim to highlight positive role models, raise awareness of men well-being, and improve gender relations.

How dem dey celebrate Women's Day?

International Women's Day na national holiday for many kontris, including Russia where flower sales dey double during di three or four days around 8 March.

For China, dem dey give many women half-day off work on 8 March, na di State Council advise dis.

For Italy, dem dey celebrate International Women's Day, or la Festa della Donna by giving mimosa blossoms. Di origin of di tradition dey unclear but belief be say dem start am for Rome afta World War Two.

For di US, di month of March na Women's History Month. One presidential proclamation wey dem dey issue every year honour di achievement of American women.

Wetin be di IWD 2023 theme?

Di UN theme for 2023 na "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality". Dis themes dey try recognise and celebrate di contribution women and girls dey make to technology and online education.

Dis year, IWD go also explore di impact of di digital gender gap on inequality for women and girls, as di UN estimate say women lack of access to di online world go cause $1.5 trillion loss to gross domestic product of low and middle-income kontris by 2025 if action no dey taken.

But oda themes also dey around. Di International Women's Day website - wey tok say e dey designed to "provide one platform to help forge positive change for women" - don chose di theme #EmbraceEquity. Organisers and events seek to "challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion".

Wetin di theme mean to us

Three Nigerian women share wetin dis theme mean to dem.

For Ewatomilola, na call to action for everyone to work towards a more equitable future, where technology dey used to empower pipo of all genders.

Seun tok say everyone, regardless of dia gender, suppose get equal access to technology and im benefits, and dat technology fit dey leveraged to promote gender equality in various areas, such as education, health, and employment.

And lastly, Nifemi believe technology fit play a significant role in promoting gender equality by creating new opportunities for women and girls, addressing gender-based violence and discrimination, and improving access to education and healthcare.

Why we need am?

For di past year, women for many kontris such as Afghanistan, Iran, Ukraine and di US don dey fight for dia rights amid war, violence and policy changes for dia respective kontris.

For Afghanistan, di resurgence of di Taliban don hinder di advancements for human rights. Dem don ban women and girls from higher education, working most jobs outside dia home, travelling long distances witout male driver, and dem instruct women to cover dia faces for public.

For Iran, na di death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini spark protests. She be woman wey morality police arrest for Tehran on 13 September 2022 for alleged violation of Iran strict rules wey require women to cover dia hair wit scarf.

Since den, demonstrations don continue across di kontri and many female and male Iranians don call for beta rights for women and a change from di current political leadership. "Woman, life, freedom" na di slogan of di protests. Authorities don portray dem as "riots" and respond wit force. More dan 500 pipo don die.

Afta di invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces on 24 February 2022, di UN report say gender gaps for food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty, and increased gender-based violence don worse inside Ukraine and around di world sake of di price hikes and shortages wey di war cause.

For June 24, 2022, di US Supreme Court overturn Roe v Wade, one historic piece of legislation wey protect di right to abortion for American women. E cause widespread outcry and demonstrations for US. A number of US women don seek support to get termination from pipo in Mexico, where one historic ruling for 2021 effectively decriminalise abortion.

For di past few years though, progress don dey.

For November 2022, di European Parliament pass one law after one 10-year battle to ensure say more women dey represented on publicly traded companies' boards by July 2026. "Plenty of women dey wey qualify for top jobs and wit our new European law, we go make sure say dem get real chance to get dem," di EU tok.

Meanwhile parental leave laws bin dey updated for Armenia and Colombia, and Spain pass laws to support menstrual health leave and extend access to abortion.

Di International Olympic Committee report di most gender-balanced Winter Games as women make up 45% of athletes for Beijing 2022. Though gender parity no dey achieved, new guidelines promote more balanced coverage of women's sport.

Di Fifa Women's World Cup for 2023 dey newly expanded, and 36 teams dey take part. Ahead of di competition, di US Soccer Federation reach one historic agreement to pay dia men's and women's teams di same moni, and dis one make am di first in di sport to promise both sexes di same moni. Female players don file a number of equal pay claims and lawsuits, arguing dia case for more dan five years.