How Does The World Celebrate International Women’s Day?

Image: geralt, Pixabay

It’s been one week since International Women’s Day and we’ve had time to look around to see how the rest of the world chose to mark the occasion. Because who’s to say we should only celebrate women one day a year? (mic drop).

The gestures:

• Italy. The chosen symbol of International Women’s Day - or Festa della Donna - in Italy is the mimosa, a small yellow flower (and the equivalent of a red rose on Valentine’s Day), said to represent female strength, and women are given bunches of these to celebrate. Of course, being a country that takes its food seriously, you’ll also find yellow-colored treats made especially for today, too. A stand-out feature of International Women’s Day in Italy is that some museums will give free access to women while over 200 hospitals offer free medical check-ups. Among the free venues are the Colosseum, Pompeii and the Ufizzi.
  
• Romania. Men use today to show appreciation for their wives, daughters, mother and grandmothers with cards and flowers.
  
• Bulgaria. Women receive cards, chocolates and flowers while schoolchildren give the same to their teachers. Many companies even give a red rose to each of their female employees!
  
• Germany. It is only Berlin that recognizes today - known as Frauentag - as a public holiday, meaning all workers in the capital get the day off to celebrate! And if you’re wondering how best to spend the time, why not get yourself a ticket to Museum Island, offering entry to all five museums and discounted prices on a range of attractions?

The changemakers:

• America. The United States doesn’t do anything by halves, which is why International Women’s Day is overlooked in favor of Women’s History Month, shining a spotlight on women’s achievements.
  
• Australia. Australians take the day seriously, with a variety of events featuring distinguished women in a range of fields speaking publicly for more equality, diversity and representation.
  
• The UK. Marked similarly to Australia, the three-day event, which includes International Women’s Day and the Women of the World festival, also chooses to give the podium to speakers, activists and performers to tackle the social and political issues facing women globally via demonstrations, workshops, exhibitions and charity fundraisers.
  
• Spain. Famed for hosting some of the largest women’s marches in the whole of Europe, people dress in purple (the official color of International Women’s Day) and take to the streets to fight for women’s rights.
  
• Chile. The day is spent marching through cities - particularly Santiago - waving a sea of green handkerchiefs, chanting and banging on drums to symbolize support for sexual and reproductive rights.
  
• Turkey. Inequality, abuse and violence are all protested against here, despite receiving a heavy-handed response from authorities, which only goes to emphasize the whole need for it in the first place, if you ask us!
  
• Uganda. Since becoming an official holiday in 1991, the government has picked a different theme to focus on. This year is ‘Gender equality for a sustainable tomorrow.’

A bit of both:

• Argentina. When International Women’s Day was first celebrated here in the 1900s, it was typically marked by flowers, gifts and other gestures. However, it has since evolved - particularly in recent years - to include protests against violence, reproductive rights, unequal pay and other gender divides.
  
• Poland. Like Argentina, what started as a day of gift-giving and general celebration of women’s achievements has grown into something far more significant, with March 8 now being synonymous with pro-choice. Most women will still receive a tulip today - whether from a husband, father, friend or boss - to symbolize appreciation.
  
• Nepal. Due to its being marked as an official holiday, women get the day off work here. However, that’s not where International Women’s Day begins and ends, with increasing numbers of rallies - clad in work uniforms - to protest against the fact that women earn an average of 24% less than men across the country.
  
• Armenia. Head to Armenia on International Women’s Day, which is also referred to as the ‘Day of Protection of Your Rights,’ and you’ll be met with streets of colorful balloons and decorations while several public events are also held.
  
• China. A recognized holiday since 1949, female employees are entitled to half a day off while men are encouraged to shower them with commercial goodies to show their love and respect. While this is the primary focus of the day, some important discussions, meetings and award ceremonies are also held in various parts of the country, too.
  

No matter how you did it, we hope it was great!