One hundred Years celebrating Women's Rights

1911-2011

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CENTENARY 1911 - 2011

International Women's Day (IWD) was first declared in 1910 with the first

 IWD event held in 1911. 2011 sees 100 years of International Women's Day

 having been celebrated around the world. Widespread increased activity is 

anticipated globally on 8 March 2011.

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great
 expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth 
and the rise of radical ideologies.
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) 
was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. 
More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights
 to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than
 a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more 
than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event 
drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 
'Bread and Roses' campaign.